slit-log drum, hinen nimbwilei, nerumbwen, simbesimb, bewelep

Slit-log drum system of the Nahavaq-speaking Sinesip (or Seniang) people of the South West Bay of Malekula in Vanuatu, described by A. B. Deacon (1934). The instrument itself is a slit-log drum with four varieties of different sizes: “hinen nimbwilei, the ‘mother gong’; next in size is the kind known as nerumbwen, and smaller still is that named simbesimb… [and] the small hand-gongs, bewelep” (1206). The language is not tonal, and the drummed rhythms do not appear to encode phonological information. Instead, non-iconic rhythms stand in for words or phrases, which may be combined: “Suppose that a man… has lost a pig of nitavu grade… He will go to the gongs and beat out the rhythm called inswus ngileo [‘Where is …?’] and follow it with that called naai tamap, which stands for an animal of nitavu status… The two rhythms beaten in this manner signify, there: ‘Is my natavu pig at your place?’ or ‘Where is my nitavu pig’?” (1207-8). Crucially, there is little direct relationship between the rhythm’s name and the commonplace Nahavaq words the rhythm alludes to: for example, “the rhythm called iusus ngileo signifies ‘Where is…?’, but the meaning of the words … is not known, though they may have some connection with the verb iwus, ‘he asks’” (1207). Still, complex expressions are evidently possible: “by a suitable combination of rhythms more complicated messages can be sent, such as ‘We are going to knock out the tusks of eight pigs the day after to-morrow’” (1208). Only men use the drum, and it may only be comprehensible by men as well (1210). Ordinary use among men is not specialized, however: “to the average adult male Malekulan the translating of these gong messages presents little or no difficulty… every man is able to beat out such signals as are used in everyday life” (1210). Content includes long-distance announcements, especially of deaths, lost or slaughtered livestock, war, arrivals, and ceremonies as well as for ritual/religious purposes, questions, and the names of villages and people.

Deacon, Α. Β., Sebeok, T. A., & Umiker-Sebeok, J. (1976). 58. MALEKULA. In Speech Surrogates: Drum and Whistle Systems (pp. 1199–1223). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110804423-029