Telegraph Drum (Wooden Drum)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1895
name: label: Collector
content: Richard D. Mohun
label: Donor Name
content: U. S. Department Of State
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "WATOMBYA" IS POSSIBLY BA TABWA (WATOMBWA IS GIVEN AS A VARIANT IN MAES ET BOONE "LES PEUPLADES DU CONGO" BELGE P. 178). UNABLE TO LOCATE "HELOMANIE RIVER"; HOWEVER THE LOMAMI RIVER MAY BE MEANT - THIS IS FARTHER WEST, FORMING THE BORDER BETWEEN THE TRIBAL TERRITORIES OF THE BAKUSU AND THE BATETELA, BANKUTSHU, AND BAHAMBA. CARRINGTON (TALKING DRUMS OF AFRICA, P. 25 AND FIG. 4) NOTES THIS TYPE OF SLIT DRUM AS COMING FROM THE SOUTHEAST CONGO; MAES IN "LES TAM-TAMS DU CONGO BELGE", FIG. 8, SHOWS A SIMILAR DRUM, ASSIGNED TO THE BASONGE, BATEMPA SUBDIVISION. THE LOMAMI RIVER CUTS THROUGH SONGYE TERRITORY. A SLIT DRUM OF THIS TYPE IS ILLUSTRATED IN "NOTES ANALYTIQUES SUR LES COLLECTIONS ETHNOGRAPHIQUES DU MUSEE DU CONGO", TOME 1, LES ARTS - RELIGION (ANNALES DU MUSEE DU CONGO, D SER III, 1902), P1. V, FIG. 113, ASCRIBED (P. 74) TO MANYEMA DISTRICT IN THE REGION DE L'EST. THIS IS ESSENTIALLY SONGYE TERRITORY. "WATOMBYA" MAY BE A VARIANT OF YANTAMBWE, A SONGYE SUB-TRIBE ON THE LOMAMI RIVER. ON BALANCE, THE ABOVE EVIDENCE POINTSTO SONGYE AS THE PROPER ASCRIPTION FOR THIS INSTRUMENT.--G. D. G. 6/29/63. ("HELOMANE" MAY BE A MISREADING OF HET LOMAMI, "HET" BEING "THE" IN FLEMISH.) ILLUS. USNM BULL. 136, PL. 3B, PG. 116 MADE FROM SOLID LOG OF WOOD, WITH SLIT."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 17 Jul 2023
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Helomane River, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
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: 029024
label: USNM Number
content: E174758-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Drum
physicalDescription: label: Length
content: 69.8 cm
label: Length - Body
content: 56.52 cm
label: Diameter - Body
content: 36 cm