PUBLIC TALK: Exhibition Talk: The Death of a Slit-Gong Drum: Changing Objects on the Rai Coast of Papua New Guinea

James Leach from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland presents his research findings regarding an unprecedented event that took place in 2010 on the Rai Coast of Papua New Guinea.

Slit-gong drums are made and used as part of affinal exchange relations by the people on the Rai Coast of Papua New Guinea. These drums are so closely tied to the person and position of their owners that they are said to be their voice.

In 2010, there was an attack on a large slit-gong drum made and used by the local Community School in Reite village. James will discuss the implications, and the ongoing transformations in how objects and persons are linked on the Rai Coast.

This free public talk is part of the Public Program accompanying the current exhibition of the Berndt Museum of Anthropology titled 'Through the Kunai GrasS: Portraits of a the New Guinea Highlands 1951-53.

For more information visit: www.lwgallery.uwa.edu.au/exhibitions