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Image / Men and boys with slit drums, Malakula, ca.1890

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Title
Men and boys with slit drums, Malakula, ca.1890
Date Created and/or Issued
circa 1890
Publication Information
University of Southern California. Libraries
Contributing Institution
University of Southern California Digital Library
Collection
International Mission Photography Archive, ca.1860-ca.1960
Rights Information
For commercial reproduction please contact the National Library of Scotland by referring to http://www.nls.uk/copyright . For access to the originals please e-mail manuscripts@nls.uk
National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EW, Scotland, UK
The National Library of Scotland license the use of this content under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 UK: Scotland License.
manuscripts@nls.uk
Description
“Heathen natives and idols – Malekula [Malakula] - people very savage at this place.” Group portrait of around 20 men and boys, naked except for ‘nambas’ (traditional penis sheaths from the New Hebrides [Vanuatu]). The people of the New Hebrides cut large logs with 'totem' type carvings on the outer surface and hollow out the centre leaving only a slit down the front. These hollowed out logs give the deep resonance of drums when hit on the outside with sticks.
Type
image
Format
Photographic prints, 14.3 x 10.7 cm.
Identifier
impa-a-nls-75654033-1.tif
http://doi.org/10.25549/impa-c123-79561
http://thumbnails.digitallibrary.usc.edu/impa-a-nls-75654033-1.jpg
Subject
Carvings (visual works)
Idols
Men (male humans)
Musical instruments
Time Period
circa 1890
Place
Malakula
Malampa Province
Oceania
Vanuatu
Source
Acc.7548/F/19 [Reference number]
NLS DOD ID: 75654031 [File]
Relation
Missions in the New Hebrides’ Islands", ca.1890
International Mission Photography Archive, ca.1860-ca.1960
Photographs from Scottish Missions, the National Library of Scotland
image/tiff

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