Ceremonial Drum
date: label: Accession Date
content: 2 May 1949
name: label: Donor Name
content: American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "PAINTED IN 5 BROAD BANDS, YELLOW AT EACH END, TWO BLACK AND ONE RED IN THE MIDDLE, EACH BAND FILLED WITH DOTS. THIS IS A HOLLOW LOG 5 FT. 2.5 IN. LONG AND 8 IN. IN DIAMETER. THIS TOGETHER WITH A FRAYED ROOT OF THE PANDANUS PALM 7 IN. LONG AND 3 IN. IN DIAMETER, USED FOR POUNDING THE LOG, WAS MADE AND USED DURING AN IMPORTANT INITIATION CEREMONY. THE DRUM OR LOG REPRESENTS BALNUKNUK, ONE OF THE MOST SACRED OF THEIR MYTHOLOGICAL DEITIES. NO WOMEN OR UNINITIATED NATIVES ARE PERMITTED TO HEAR THE SOUND. (SEE OENPELLI DANCE SEQUENCE IN 'ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA' FILM OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY AND FRANK M. SETZLER'S PHOTOGRAPHS.)"
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Oenpelli (Gunbalanya), Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 178294
label: USNM Number
content: E387612-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Drum / Drumstick
physicalDescription: label: Length - Log
content: 158.8 cm
label: Diameter - Log
content: 20 cm
label: Length - Root
content: 18 cm
label: Diameter - Root
content: 8 cm