Collected in Fanla Village, North Ambryn, Vanuatu
Melanesian People

Wood – (Breadfruit Tree)
ca. 1950s
Height: 29.5 inches
Idiophones – Directly Struck – Drum Idiophone

A New Hebrides Drum of Ambryn Island, Vanuatu (formerly known as the New Hebrides), called “atingting”.   These vertical slit drums are unique to the central parts of Vanuatu.  Carved from an entire tree trunk of the Breadfruit tree, some drums can be as tall as 19 ft.  When hit with a stick, the hollowed cavity functions as a large resonating chamber that projects sound for miles.  This atingting has the characteristic large disk eyes and carving around the head, said to represent the head of a cassowary – a bird native to Vanuatu.  These towering slit drums/gongs are among the largest musical instruments in the world. 

Ambrym is a volcanic island in the archipelago of Vanuata.  In each village, several atingting drums stood at the village dancing ground and were played at major social and religious events.  They were also used for signaling as a method of communication between villages and even neighboring islands. This slit drum stands vertically on the ground and is traditionally played by men of high rank and wealth.