Audio file
Title: Alan Lomax and the Gorguechons discuss their film of the Big Namba (part 2)
Date recorded: October , 1970
Contributor(s): Contributor: Gorguechon, Charlène; Contributor: Gorguechon, Jacques; Contributor: Lomax, AlanBelongs to: Gorguechon/Lomax, 1970
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Date recorded: October , 1970
Contributor(s): Contributor: Gorguechon, Charlène; Contributor: Gorguechon, Jacques; Contributor: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s): Cantometrics; Ethnomusicology; Big Namba
Genre: interview/commentary
Location:
Tape number: T3841
Track Number: 2
Archive ID: T3841b
Note: Huge slit drum, nine feet tall, is simple compared to those of other places, which were sometimes even bigger and more decorated. Drum was called a "man." At the turn of the century it is said that victims were killed by attaching them to the drum, tied spread eagled, and beaten on their heads and bodies to tenderize the flesh. Alan Lomax: Gee whiz! Work scene of Fanla village: men pulling a log to be made into a drum. Ambrin people are more cheerful. Sing while drunk. Terfa used to sing to scare off the spirits. Alan Lomax: Do they sing at other work besides this? Jacques Gorguechon: No. Their work is very delicate. People of Fanla village wear red than the Nambas, who wear black. They are the only people among the Melanesians who wear flowers. Footage of large tree fern log being cut to make a statue. Some knee bending, similar to Namba dance, is seen. Also a digging movement. In central Santo, women dance in a line. Making fire the traditional way, all know how to do it but older people are better at it. Food: lap-lap ? grated yams wrapped up in leaves, cooked in bamboo tubes. Men do it when together. Women not allowed to witness men carving the tree trunk. Statue can only be used for one ceremony. Located at a 45 minute walk from the coast, Fanla was the only non-Christianized village at the time. It was surrounded by Christian villages and its men have nowhere to go to get wives, since missionaries have forbidden marriages with non-Christians. Famous slit-gong drums and footage of dance on a platform. This is a ceremony for three men who are going up a grade. Initiation related to number of pigs killed. A chief's funeral. They photographed a man sitting in a hut, when they later returned he was dead, face painted red, body left on a platform covered in ferns. Last time this had happened was during World War II. They played a very lugubrious flute made from a human tibia. The statue contains the skull of the deceased man. They believe the man's soul is still in the skull. Spirit will protect them. Other masks whip the onlookers. They were able to recreate the man's face with ferns. Pieces of cocoanut, taro, and yam on long poles were gifts. Most spectators have never seen this ceremony. Gorguechons were the first white people to witness it. Next highest-rated man will be the new chief. Listless movement seen here is typical. Namangi women's society (possibly the only women's society), associated with the grave. Sacrifice of pigs important for status in this world and the next. Women's husbands or fathers have to pay a certain number of pigs and yams for them to participate. Footage of women carrying babies, and girl with her aunt's skull (so aunt could participate). Women kill a pig with a spear tipped with part of US World-War II bayonet. Reaction of Namba people to seeing film. They watched it over and over. Most excited by hearing own voices. They had seen a film at a US army base and thought it must have been very expensive to pay blood prices for all those people killed. They believed they knew a lot about it. They were eager to cooperate in the film, but embarrassed, laughed and giggled at own customs. Some New Guineans were ashamed at seeing footage from New Hebrides.
About the session: Alan Lomax and the Gorguechons discuss their film of the Big Namba
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