Speech Surrogates

Drumming system involving the mnguna (garamut in Tok Pisin), a slit-log drum among the Tangu people of Madang District in Papua New Guinea, described in Burridge (1959) and (1969). The instrument itself is a slit-log drum of “four and a half to six feet in length” (1959:1236), suspended above the ground and struck “on its upper face near the central slit with the butt end of a hardwood”, producing one low tone that reportedly carries several miles (1969:276). Tangu slit-log drumming is not primarily an abridging system that closely encodes the phonological contrasts of natural Tangu speech. Still, the rhythms of a given ‘signal’ can draw from linguistic structure in a limited fashion. Tangu phrases and words are associated with drummed rhythms that are independently composed, or that mimic musical rhythms, or “linguistic [or] quasi-poetic rhythms” (1959:1237). Some melodies in the Tangu musical repertoire are associated with a string of nonsense syllables: “though since they are not linguistically intelligible, they are not, in fact, words…. a particular melody happens to be sung in the following ‘words’… appropriate only to the particular melody” (1238). These nonsense syllables are then reduced to “successive reiterations” of the vocable ti-en, which stands in for each syllable and is “shortened or lengthened as necessary” to encode the linguistic stresses and prosody of the nonsense phrase (1238). According to Burridge, the syllable structure of the resulting string of ti-en vocables is what is mimicked by the rhythm of some mnguna signals. While Burridge does not describe the mechanism for encoding “linguistic [or] quasi-poetic rhythms” (1959:1237), it seems likely that ti-en vocables would similarly be employed; it’s not clear if the words of the source material are closely related to the actual meaning of the signals.Signals are combined in simple ways to identify the circumstances of an announcement: “Thus, ‘I, Garunk’sai, have killed a pig in Wantawut and require help to carry it to the village’, might be rendered by the personal call-sign of Garunk’sai, followed by the standard sign for killing a pig, followed by the identification of Wantawut, followed by the request for help, followed by the call-signs of those whom the hunter wishes to help him” (1239). However, Burridge emphasizes the “relative simplicity” of the signalling system, where context and familiarity makes elaborate combinations unnecessary (1239).Mnguna signaling is used by men but is also understood by women and to some extent children (1240). While a “child grows up knowing the call-signs of individuals, pigs, and dogs, and the phrases for localities and events” (1239), children may not practice on the instrument itself (1241). Among men, the practice is ubiquitous and used for a variety of public and social purposes.Content includes long-distance communication; announcements of official or social events, arrivals, lost property, deaths, and births; accusations of theft or sorcery; warnings; hunting; and the names of people, animals, geographic features, and kinship groups.

slit-log drum, mnguna, garamut

Summary

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