A piece of PNG

Garamut drums

WHAT ARE THEY?

Garamuts are slit-drums or gongs, traditional musical instruments made and played by numerous cultures around the country. Carved from a log, the hollow chamber of the drums produces a loud sound when the top surface is struck. Garamut is a pidgin word, derived from a Kuanua term meaning ‘long drum’.

WHERE WERE THEY TRADITIONALLY MADE AND PLAYED?

They were traditionally made and played in regions of coastal and riverine New Guinea, from West Sepik down to Morobe, the islands of Manus, New Britain, New Ireland and the North Solomons. They are not found in the Highlands or Papuan regions.

WHO MAKES THEM?

Garamuts are manufactured by men, especially in regions such as the Sepik, where they are part of secret male cult paraphernalia.

HOW ARE THEY MADE?

Carved from hardwood, they are made today using steel hand tools but in the past construction would have been more time-consuming, using stone axes or adzes to cut, shape and decorate. In simple terms, a garamut drum is a hollowed out wooden cylinder that usually has a lug or handle at each end, for decoration and to assist moving the instrument.

HOW ARE THEY DECORATED?

The presence, and degree, of decoration depends on where the drum comes from. In the Sepik and Ramu areas, carved and relief decoration of the drum body and handles can be very ornate, reflecting those local cultures. The drums used today by performance troupes are often brightly painted.

HOW WERE GARAMUTS USED TRADITIONALLY?

They were played in a variety of ceremonies, celebrations and dances, known as sing sings. In some areas drums are struck vertically with the end of one or two drumsticks. In other places, such as Manus, they are struck repeatedly across the slit with two smaller drumsticks to create a staccato beat. Garamuts were also traditionally used for communication, for example to summon people back to the village from the gardens because of an important event. In Manus, it is common to have an ensemble of

garamuts of various sizes – a large bass drum almost two metres long held and played vertically, along with two or three smaller drums, which depending on their size, produce sounds of a different pitch.

WHERE CAN GARAMUTS BE BOUGHT?

Due to their size, shape and bulk

garamuts are not usually made for the tourist market, although occasionally you might be lucky enough to find a small child’s drum that would be more transportable. These traditional instruments are still used in ceremonies and by performance groups, so the best place to see them is in villages and rural areas.