Tongan Panpipes

1886.1.1560 Panpipes

Several sets of panpipes (mimiha) from Tonga were brought back by the Forsters from the second voyage.  This set, and one now thought to be from Vanuatu were listed in the 'Catalogue of Curiosities' as 'No. 84 and 85 Two of Pan's pipes or syringae'

There are ten bamboo pipes in the set, bound together with plant fibre.  The bottom of each pipe is closed by a natural node in the bamboo, and the top edge has been bevelled to make it easier to blow into.

Detail to show bevelled top edges of pipes

It has been suggested that panpipes in Tonga were used by the lower classes as a substitute for the noseflute, which was a chiefly instrument.  The panpipes could suggest the sound of two noseflutes playing together, and the number of pipes and their tuning could have been suggested by the tuning of the noseflute.  Unlike the modern South American panpipe, the tune was almost 'built in' to the design of the Tongan pipes, and the player just had to move the instrument across his lips.

The plant fibre binding on the pipes has broken in several places, and is very brittle.  In a previous conservation treatment, possibly in 1970 before conservation records at the Pitt Rivers began, very fine nylon fishing line has been used just above each line of plant fibre to tie the pipes together and stabilise them.  The fishing line is virtually invisible and is not damaging the pipes, and so it will not be removed.

See Adrienne Kaeppler, 'A study of Tongan Panpipes' Ethnos 39 (1-4) 1974 pp102-128

A Tongan Noseflute

Numbers 82 and 83 in the Catalogue of Curiosities are described as 'Two flutes, for the nose.'  Number 83, 1886.1.1534, is now thought to be from Vanuatu, but No.82, 1886.1.1532, is certainly a noseflute, or fangufangu,  from Tonga.  

1886.1.1532 Noseflute, Tonga

In Tonga flutes blown with the nose were used to awaken chiefs - it was considered very bad manners to do it any other way.   Famously, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were woken by the sound of noseflutes during their visit to the Kingdom of Tonga in 1954.  At the time of Cooks' visit, noseflutes were also played in the evenings 'for pleasant amusements'

The noseflute in the Forster Collection is made from a piece of the large bamboo known as pitu, with a node at each end, forming a hollow sealed cylinder.  Holes were made with a shell-bladed hand twist-drill close to the node at each end, with three further holes then made roughly equally spaced along the length of tube between the first two holes.  A final hole was made opposite the central hole. 

The noseflute could theoretically have been played from either end, although it seems that one end was usually preferred.  The playing position involves blocking one nostril with the thumb, and using the other nostril to blow into the first hole, nearest the node.  The second or third finger of the same hand would be used to block the second hole.  The thumb of the other hand is used to support the instrument, while a finger of that hand blocks the hole nearest the end of the flute.  Only two holes appear to have been used, giving a range of four notes.

Detail of decoration

This flute has been decorated by burning a design onto the surface.

See R. Moyle, 'Tongan Musical Instruments', Galpin Society Journal Vol.29 May 1976 pp64-83

Tongan Combs

In the Forster collection are three combs from Tonga.  They are described in the Catalogue simply as '97. A parcel of combs'.

1886.1.1555

1886.1.1556

1886.1.1557

Combs, or helu, were made from the midrib of the coconut leaflet, which were interwoven with coconut fibre in various colours to create patterns.  The tops of the midribs were either squared off, or cut to form triangles of various forms.

George Humphrey, a prominent ethnographic dealer whose museum (the Museum Humfredianum) was sold in 1779, describes Tongan combs his his museum catalogue -   '…Combs from the Friendly Isles made of small sticks of bamboo, fastened by a kind of Wicker-work made with Cocoa-nut fibres, some of which being coloured black are wrought into various figures.  Out of several dozen of these Combs which have been brought very few are alike which shows the great natural taste for invention these ingenious Islanders have and the great pains they take to complete their performances.  The like may be said of their other Manufactures.' *

As in other parts of the Pacific, combs served primarily as decorative items to be worn in the hair.  In Tonga, they were worn by women.

Binding of 1886.1.1556 twined in two colours of coconut fibre x10

Top of comb 1886.1.1555 x10

The microscope images of the coconut fibre bindings show how intricate patterns could be created. 

*Quoted in 'Cook's Pacific Encounters.  The Cook-Forster Collection of the Georg-August University of Gottingen' National Museum of Australia Press 2006.