Old Kundu drum from New Guinea - how odd!

get this...

My neighbor, had this in his storage.. his aunt was a missionary in New Guinea, back before they Joined Papua to form Papua New Guinea. She brought this back to the states in 1964. who knows how old it was then... but looks much older than that.

What a strange drum... very well made... seemingly out of Mahogany.

It has, what is said to be an opossum skin, with bird bone tensioners... very bazaar, and kind of chilling to see. I can see some cat with a big bone in his nose, playing the shit out of it in some wild ceremony! after all, these cats were some of the last cannibal tribes in existence.

Creepy.. as this drum looks like it was actually ceremonial, and may have played a part in some of these gruesome rituals.... who knows.

It had some kind of resin tacked to the skin, like fardella to dampen the sound. I am told that the usual skin for these drums is lizard! crazy...

It has a big hand carved bell that is exactly an octave lower than the top.

Its finished with what looks like pitch and ash... very cool...

It has the strangest and most unusual tunning system ive ever seen, with little pebbles tied into the skin with the hand made tensioning rope... very cool.

It's the only system ive ever seen that puts no holes in either the skin, or the shell!!! What a Trip!

I sent off an email to a museum that displays art from this area.. perhaps we'll find out more about it.