Melanesia, New Guinea
Asmat People

Wood, lizard skin, fiber
Collected in Situ – Casuarine coast in 1992
Length: 25 in
Membranophones – Directly Struck

Drums are the most durable of Asmut carvings. They are made from a hard wood, some even from ironwood, although most carvers avoid the latter because of its weight. It takes months to carve a drum; the carver must carefully watch the drying process, or the piece of wood will split. Shaped like an hourglass, some are elaborately carved and incised with headhunting symbols. After a carver has chosen a section of log to work with, he places hot embers on top of the wood to char and burn it. With a digging stick he carves out the interior. When the drum is ready, a lizard’s skin is sealed to the top with a glue made of human blood and white lime. The blood, from the calves of the owner, is mixed with the lime to make a glue which is smeared around the top to hold the lizard skin. The head of the drum is tuned with the heat of the fire and more finely tuned by placing knobs of beeswax on top of the skin. A drum is held by the handle and normally played by a seated man with the drum resting on his thighs. Although the drum is named for someone recently deceased, small figures on the handle may also be given names.

According to Tobias Schneebaum: Drums in the central and coastal area are generally taller than those in the Northwest area, and drums in the Tjitak and Brazza areas are rarely decorated.