Goblet drum
Maker
Bangsamoro people
Date1925-1975 ca.
Place MadeTawitawi Island, Sulu Province, Philippines, Asia
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
DescriptionCarved from a single piece of teak, this large drum is decorated with okir motifs - geometric, plant-based patterns characteristic of the Southern Philippines. Typically, this folk style is associated with the Moro (or Bangsamoro) people that make up the 13 Islamisized ethnolinguistic groups of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.
Ethnomusicologists have noted the traditional use of drums like this in mosques throughout Southeast Asia for calling people to prayer. While sources vary as to the earliest presence of the Muslim faith in the area, certainly by the 12th century there is no doubt of its influence. Specifically in the Philippines, the Sultanate of Sulu was founded in 1405.
Seldom are instruments associated with religious purpose in Muslim traditions; however, the pre-Islamic long drum traditions of the native inhabitants of the Southern Philippines, and elsewhere, have resulted in a beautiful melding of practice.
DimensionsHeight: 8 feet (2480 mm)
Diameter: 25 in (650 mm)
ProvenancePurchased in 1998 from Tony Bingham, London, England, who purchased it from a dealer that bought it on Tawitawi Island, Philippines.
Published ReferencesAndré Larson, “Celebrating Our First 25 Years . . . 25th Anniversary to be Observed with Special Events,” America’s Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter 25, No. 3 (May 1998), pp. 1-2.
Sarah E. Smith, “Percussion Instruments in America’s Shrine to Music Museum,”
Percussive Notes, Vol. 37, No. 1 (February 1999), pp. 6-10.
Credit LinePurchase funds gift of Margaret Ann and Hubert H. Everist, 1998
Object number06106
On View
Not on view
1900 ca.
1630-1680 ca.
1900-1925 ca.
