slit-log drum, tam-tam

Slit-log drum system of the Ninde-speaking Mewun people of the South West Bay of Malekula in Vanuatu, mentioned by A. B. Deacon (1934) and discussed in Clayton (1980). The system and instruments as described by Deacon are likely similar to those of the nearby Sinesep people of the South West Bay. Clayton reports a very limited use of the ‘tam-tam’ or slit-log drum for signaling and ritual/religious purposes, but mentions more widespread past use for communication between men.

Deacon, Α. Β. (1934). 58. MALEKULA. In T. A. Sebeok & J. Umiker-Sebeok, Speech Surrogates: Drum and Whistle Systems (1976) (pp. 1199–1223). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110804423-029,System of the Ninde-speaking Mewun people of the South West Bay of Malekula in Vanuatu, mentioned by Clayton (1980) as a now-defunct signaling system of drummed “bullroarer-style pottery cylinders”, likely similar to the Mewun slit-log drumming system.