Other instrument | |
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Developed | as a local custom, among Onabasulu people of southern highlands of Papua New Guinea, and the Telefomin area |
A hugu is a sago-palm weevil ( Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) in Papua New Guinea that has been used by men of the Onabasulu people as a musical instrument. The musicians pin the beetle onto a sharpened stick and hold the beetle up to their mouths, spinning the stick and beetle. If they do this during daylight, the beetle will beat its wings and provide a buzzing sound. The musicians' mouths act as a variable resonance chamber, in the same way as it does for a musician playing a Jew's harp or musical bow. [1] [2] By opening and closing their mouths and changing the shape, musicians can raise and lower the pitch, and make the music louder or softer. [3]
This technique has been documented and made available by ethnomusicologists. [4]
The use of the weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus or, to be precise, its buzz as a musical instrument (Fig. 2), amongst the men folk of the Onabasulu cannibals of the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea has been documented by MEYER-ROCHOW (1973a, 1982b) and is also known from tribals in the Telefomin area of New Guinea.
Other instrument | |
---|---|
Developed | as a local custom, among Onabasulu people of southern highlands of Papua New Guinea, and the Telefomin area |
A hugu is a sago-palm weevil ( Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) in Papua New Guinea that has been used by men of the Onabasulu people as a musical instrument. The musicians pin the beetle onto a sharpened stick and hold the beetle up to their mouths, spinning the stick and beetle. If they do this during daylight, the beetle will beat its wings and provide a buzzing sound. The musicians' mouths act as a variable resonance chamber, in the same way as it does for a musician playing a Jew's harp or musical bow. [1] [2] By opening and closing their mouths and changing the shape, musicians can raise and lower the pitch, and make the music louder or softer. [3]
This technique has been documented and made available by ethnomusicologists. [4]
The use of the weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus or, to be precise, its buzz as a musical instrument (Fig. 2), amongst the men folk of the Onabasulu cannibals of the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea has been documented by MEYER-ROCHOW (1973a, 1982b) and is also known from tribals in the Telefomin area of New Guinea.