Iatmul people

Kundu drum, from Papua-New Guinea, Iatmul people, 20th century. Kundu is Papuan general name used for drum. It is an hourglass shaped drum made of wood, and normally covered with a snake or lizard's skin as membrane.[1] The crocodile is symbolic to the Iatmul, who believe they are descended from a giant crocodile, and that the world is the back of that first crocodile.[1] There are three crocodiles on this instrument: the handle and each of the drum openings (seen in the engravings).[1]

The Iatmul are a large ethnic group of about 10,000 people inhabiting some two-dozen politically autonomous villages along the middle Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. The communities are roughly grouped according to dialect of the Iatmul language as well as sociocultural affinities. The Iatmul are best known for their art, men's houses, male initiation, elaborate totemic systems, and a famous ritual called naven, first studied by Gregory Bateson in the 1930s. More recently, Iatmul are known as a location for tourists and adventure travellers, and a prominent role in the 1988 documentary film Cannibal Tours.

  • Ancestor Iatmul figure with skull
    Ancestor Iatmul figure with skull
  1. ^ a b c "Hand drum (kundu), 20th century". Minneapolis Institute of Art.