DESCRIPTIONS OF
THE NEW GUINEA SOUND EFFECTS
Natural Setting
1. Dawn chorus in high-sun season:
alongside flowing river in Torembi 3. Birds call from forest, cicadas are
active, and chickens wake beneath a nearby haus marit.
2. Sounds of late afternoon in high-sun season on outskirts of Torembi
3. Calls of cicadas, frogs and birds: with sound of distant garamut.
3. Frog calls in early evening, on road to Mission. Plus insects: and
chickens in distance.
4. Evening thunderstorm. Sound of rain drumming on thatch roof and
dripping into puddles under eves: also distant thunder,
5. Rats leave nest in roof at night and scurry across floor of hut
in search of food.
Collecting Sago (see also "Day in the
Life of a New Guinea Woman")
6. Woman scraping sago alone, without
rhythmic chant.
7. Two women scape together; with two different chants.
8. Sago being washed in swamp, with insect hordes buzzing.
Livestock (see also "Day in the Life
of a New Guinea Woman")
9. Hens with chicks at feeding time.
10. Pig eating happily in late afternoon.
11. Pigs scream for food.
Music (see also Weddings, Naven, and
the Opening of the Spirit House)
12. Two garamuts, two players, one
stick each. The first part of what was to be a long sequence.
13. A faster two garamut piece.
14. Garamuts played during sing sing at opening of new Spirit House,
with chanting of dancers in background carrying kundu drums.
15. "Bells" (actually lengths of steel pipe) at opening of new Spirit
House.
16. Two long flutes (and yelping dog).
17. Flutes at opening of new Spirit House: contrasting pitches.
18. Ditto: higher pitched piece.
19. Mouth pangal (or jaw's harp) made and played by Raymond Kami. Storyline
unknown.
20. Mouth pangal by Raymond Kami. Song without words; about a woman
and a man. He tempted her to do wrong, but she rejected his advances.
21. Pangal played and made by Raymond Kami. Full-size and placed on
ground in front of him. "Em tasol" at the end means "that's all".
22. Ditto: a longer piece.
23. String band (with 6 members) in Torembi 3, performs a song about
a band member who had two girl friends at the same time -- which was considered
unfair.
24. Ditto. Song about an old man from the Wanniko clan in Torembi 3
who was moved to tears recalling stories of his ancestors.
25. Ditto. Duet about a bride price of 1,000 kina.
26. Ditto. Song accompanied by clapping.
27. Ditto. An instrumental piece, without words.
Family Life (see also "Day in the Life
of a New Guinea Woman")
28. The village awakes -- from 5.00
am. Bird calls from the forest, cicadas, cockerels wake those still
sleeping, children cough in huts, chicken, chicks and pigs emerge, and
someone washes in the river in the distance. (Recorded in Torembi 3: with
some motor noise from tape deck.)
29. Sounds of a hot afternoon. Children play; some throwing sticks
to knock down coconuts, others jump in the river. (Men chat or sleep in
Spirit House while their women are working at home or in the forest.) Sound
of frogs, forest birds, cockerels, cicadas, and radios: plus a rifle shot
(probably at a pig).
30. Children play alongside the river Kwatit, close to the fishing
weir ( the noise of which can be heard in background).
31. Sick parade. Sound of patients (women and children mostly) at the
haus sik or clinic, at 8.30 am.
32. Series of children's songs sung by Francis Mungun and friends:
(1) "Wok Garden": Wok gaden, wok gaden
Wok gaden long moning
Wok gaden long belo
Wok gaden, wok gaden
Wok gaden long apinun taim.
("Belo" refers to "midday" or "lunchtime")
(3) "Somebody's knocking at our door"
(4) "I believe God"
(5) "This old man"
(6) National Anthem:
Arise all ye sons of this land
Let us sing of our joy to be free
Praising God and rejoicing to be
Papua New Guinea.
Shout our names from mountains to sea
Papua New Guinea
Let us raise our voices and proclaim
Papua New Guinea.
Now give thanks to the good Lord above
For his kindness, his wisdom and love
For this land of our fathers so free
Papua New Guinea.
Shout again for the whole world to hear
Papua New Guinea
We have received our unity
Papua New Guinea.
(NB: These are the correct words. the children blend verses 2 &
4)
(7) "The parmer sows his seed" (there being no "f" sound in pidgin)
(8) "Old Macdonald had a farm" (or a variant thereof)
(9) "Yankee Doodle"
(10) "Germany Bomb":
Mother's in the kitchen
Cooking rice and meat
Daddy's in the toilet
Making Germany (or Japany?) bomb.
33. Sound of drums, plus pots and pans and tin cans carried around
the village, at midnight on New Year's Eve, to frighten away evil spirits.
Schooling
34. Reading and spelling class at the
elementary/pre-school.
35. English language lesson at the primary school.
36. Classroom devotions at the end of the school day in the primary
school (Lord's prayer and hymn).
37. End of term church parade. Primary school children attend Mass
at the mission church, singing first in pidgin then English. Service taken
by local deacon (in 1994).
38. Choir at Arts Festival sing "Kaikai" (meaning "food"), promoting
the virtues of a variety of vegetables. (Nutrition songs are an important
element in the official curriculum -- to encourage better diets.)
39. "Papamama" -- another nutrition song (sung to an old French tune):
PAPAMAMA
Papamama, papamama
Harim gut, harim gut
Wokim pinat gaden
Wokim bin gaden
Bilong yu, bilong yu.
Papamama, papamama
Harim gut, harim gut
Wokim kumu gaden
Wokim sayor gaden
Kaikai gut, kaikai gut.
Papamama, papamama
Harim gut, harim gut
Wokim kaukau gaden
Wokim kaukau gaden
Bilong yu, bilong yu.
Markets
40. Thursday market in a dry year (January
1981). Sound of friendly banter and bartering. Women's voices almost entirely.
41. Thursday market in full swing in a wet year (January 1982) with
sound of women walking through mud.
42. Near close of this same market in the same year. Sepik women, with
a powerful radio, pack produce into their canoes. The banks of the river
were slippery and the radio was bumped during loading. The music changes
and fades as the canoes disappear downstream.
Transport
43. Crowd waits beside mission airstrip for plane to take off.
The pilot warns of the prop starting up, then taxis to the far end of the
runway, becoming airborne on its return.
44. "Bus service" (using small truck) operated by Peter Marion from
Torembi 3. People line up and jostle for room -- for their baggage as well
as themselves. Others just watch. After a false start the vehicle drives
away -- to wild applause.
Spirit House
45. Extracts from long debate in haus
tambaran. Series of spirited exchanges when debating stool struck with
switch of leaves to emphasize points. Plus sounds of chicken (hanging from
roof) that will be handed over at the end to seal the agreement: and of
notched lime sticks being withdrawn from gourds by men chewing betel nut.
(In earlier days each notch signified an enemy killed in battle: and the
noise one's stick made won you attention.)
46. Men sit and chat there of an evening, swatting mosquitoes, and
listening to the radio (once it has been tuned in).
Christian Church
47. Church bells invite people to Mass
on Christmas Eve in 1980.
48. Similar invitation in 1994: but start of service now also
marked by musical instruments being tuned in readiness. (Recorded inside
church.)
49. Extracts from Mass on Christmas Day in 1980. Begins with chant,
missionary priest's invocation, then local deacon welcomes the congregation
to their Christmas celebration: then prayers, more chanting, and hymn "Do
Lord remember me" (unaccompanied singing).
50. Mass led by deacon in 1994. Verses and responses, hymn "Alleluia"
(with guitar and keyboard accompaniment), then prayer.
51. Praise song "Hosanna" -- spirited rendition with accompaniment,
in 1994.
52. Communion hymn: "Eat my bread and drink my wine."
Radio Broadcasts
53. Typical afternoon programming on radio from Port Moresby.
Weddings
54. Initial drum call on garamut announcing
to neighbouring villages that the bride price ceremony will soon take place.
(Complete call.)
55. Drum call an hour or so later, as crowd gathers, urging clan members
to pay their share of the bride price.
56. One of several follow-up calls reminding people of their responsibility
to come and contribute: with spoken encouragement from the sidelines in
the haus tambaran.
57. Bride price harangue. Heated debate in haus tambaran critical of
those who had promised to contribute but had yet to do so. With sounds
of the celebratory chicken; also of notched lime sticks withdrawn from
their gourds by men chewing betel nut. Additional garamut call.
58. Drumming and conversation as payment of bride price nears completion
... with sound of chicken used to seal agreement. Women dance outside and
their voices join with those of the men to celebrate the successful outcome.
59. Extracts from rituals at the house of the bride before she leaves
it for the last time, with chanting and stamping of feet: and, eventually
tears. (Ceremony explained in pidgin for my benefit.)
60. Final chant at bride's home before her departure. Incorporates
improvised percussion provided by a load of beer bottles in a string bag
on a woman's back.
61. Two extracts of chants en route to the groom's village (with beer
bottle percussion as before). Male and female voices interwoven. Call of
garamut in background not related to this procession.
62. Scene at groom's house as the bride arrives and is soon engulfed
by teams of dancers from both villages.
Funerals
63. Men with kundu drums chant in act
of mourning outside the house of the deceased.
64. The official mourners bow and weep in front of an effigy of the
deceased. Men continue to chant in the background and are joined later
by women.
Honouring the Living
65. On the day of the naven ceremony
a pig is shot early in the morning and a garamut, softly at first, announces
the killing and broadcasts an invitation to the ceremony. (Recording
made at house of the one to be honoured, which was some way from the haus
tambaran.) This is followed by an answering call in the distance, which
is then acknowledged by the Torembi 3 drum. (The intervals between the
calls have been reduced but the drum sequences are complete.)
66. Early in the naven ceremony. Kundu drumming plus chant -- first
solo, then duet. Sound of the three dancers' movements faint in background.
67. Chanting without drums but several voices now, including women.
68. Two kundu drums plus chorus of voices with, in background, faint
sound of women's footsteps as they dance. The ceremony actually lasted
most of the day.
Opening of new Spirit House in Torembi
2
69. Before sunrise. The initial invitation
to each of the moiety's ancestral spirits to occupy the building
prepared for them. Their arrival was signified by the voices of flutes
hidden in the roof of the building. (Recording continuous, without editing.)
70. Sound of flutes and gathering crowds later in the morning.
71. Complex flute sequences later that day, before the dancing started,
plus sounds of conversation (because recorded inside haus tambaran.)
72. Interweaving of long flutes and percussion (bells -- actually
pieces of steel pipe) on day one, with men talking .
73. Bird-like flute calls and improvised "bells", plus men talking.
First day still.
74. On the third day. Flutes and bells still speak for the spirits.
75. Garamut and flute sequence on day of the opening, just prior to
the arrival of dancers for the main sing sing.
76. Sing sing on day one. Dancers from Torembi 2 and 3 -- backed
by kundu drums, flutes and chimes -- chant as they process round and round
the Spirit House and its waak. Footsteps and crowd noise: with some distortion
from bass flute, and from kundus as the dancers pass close to the microphone.
The first of the 150 verses in their chant runs:
My father, they are all going around the Waak,
My elder brother, they are all going round the Waak,
With fine decorations, the elders are going round
the Waak and Stone at Timbunmeri.
My father, they are all going round the Waak,
With fine decorations, the elders are going round
the Waak and Stone at Mangawimeri.
My elder brother , they are all going round the
Waak.
("Timbunmeri" and "Mangawimeri" are the names of an old village
on the Sepik.)
77. A different drum rhythm, with long flutes in background.
78. Debate in the new Spirit House on day three, in which the men of
Torembi 2 discussed how they should decorate themselves for the next phase
of the celebrations, when the dancers from Torembi 1 would join them.
79. Dancers from Torembi 1 take over the sing sing, backed by garamut
and kundu drums. Some wear rattles on their ankles made from seed pods.
In background can sometimes be heard, briefly, instructions from a presiding
"lapun man" spoken via a short flute. (Sequence recorded as before
inside the haus.)
80. Dancers from Torembi 1 pause, receive fresh instructions from the
presiding "lapun man" with his short flute, and set off again ... round
and around the Spirit House and its waak.
81. Sound of crowd resting (and eating) during break in sing sing.
Dance Forms in Modern Contexts
82. Flutes speak for ancestral spirits
in the haus tambaran at Namagua as an introduction to the drama which would
unfold outside.
83. Flutes continue inside as the drama is acted out.
84. Drumming, dancing and chanting towards the end of the
drama, then debate over compensation to be paid for the killing; crowd
noises, laughter and applause at the end.
85. Rehearsal for sing sing in which young men in Torembi 3 planned
to display their talent while raising money for soccer. They are coached
(musically) by Damien Mungun, most noticeably at the start. Later also
the sound of young men practicing their movements, wearing masks and long
grass skirts which covered their bodies.
A Day in the Life of a New Guinea Woman
86. Antonia Mungun introduces herself.
Prompted (unnecessarily) by her husband, Damien, she talks of her family's
need for food (kaikai) and says she will make pancakes for them from sago
(saksak) while her children wash in the river (barat).
87. Morning outside Antonia's house (around 6.30 am). Sound of bird
calls from the forest, insects, and hen with chicks; also of people moving
in the house, others washing in the river; also of children waking up,
and Damien suggesting they should wash..
88. Antonia chops wood for cooking pancakes.
89. She prepares the fire, using the husks from coconuts and dried
sago palm leaves as starters. Sound of laying the fire, lighting it, and
blowing on it to get it going.
90. Damien and the children chat and the pigs under the house grunt,
as Antonia starts cooking. She chops off sago (saksak) from a lump, kneads
it, and spreads it around the pan. She scrapes the pan clean between pancakes.
Damien asks if their food (kaikai) will be ready soon, and tells the children
they should wash in the river quickly. Thereafter Antonia provides a running
commentary as she works.
91. Damien takes the young ones to the river for wash wash. Donna has
fun but Marion objects strongly. In the background birds, insects, and
the sound of water at the weir.
92. Waiting for Antonia to finish cooking. Fire crackles, Antonia prepares
pancakes, kids cough and chatter, dogs whine, cock crows, chicks
chirp, Damien spits betel juice: while the radio offers "Pearly Shells"
and "Jack and the Beanstalk".
93. Antonia scoops a bucket of water from the river, and washes the
dishes: while her pigs grunt for food in the background.
94. Antonia rolls up the night's bedding -- with encouragement (maybe
even help) from Donna and Marion.
95. Antonia sweeps out the house (with a home-made broom) while her
husband talks to the children.
96. Antonia fells a large sago palm (her husband looking on),
and is panting for breath by the time she's finished.
97. She tidies up along the trunk in readiness for scraping; and starts
to remove sections of the thick bark to provide her with a dry seat above
the swamp. Damien comments from the sidelines.
98. Antonia begins to scrape sago, but first explains to me what she
is going to do. She scrapes to a series of rhythmic chants (which she introduces),
with whispered corrections and criticism from her husband, and is soon
fighting for breath.
99. Antonia washes the sago she has scraped. She adds water to fibres
she has dumped in the trough, and squeezes this mixture against a strainer
to separate the water carrying the powder from the fibres which are thrown
to one side. Damien scrapes in the background to make up for the delay
caused by my presence.
100. Sound of the river in flood as Antonia crosses it on her way to
collect greens from the bush. Sound of debris bumping against the now floating
bridge.
101. Emma (aged 12) sings to herself as she cooks pancakes and cares
for the little kids while Antonia is away. She puts a pan on the fire,
chops up some sago, scrapes the pan clean, spreads the dough around the
pan, and blows on the fire.
102. Antonia feeds her baby chicks on grated coconut. In the background,
news in pidgin on the radio.
103. Antonia next feeds her pigs, which are now hungry for food and
eat with great gusto.
104. Sounds of a typical late afternoon and evening at the Mungun house.
Emma sings while she cooks more pancakes. Antonia scrapes coconuts to feed
her chickens. She then breaks up beans from her garden to make soup and
talks to me about different foodstuffs. She strains coconut milk through
coconut matting to provide stock for the soup, and blows on the fire. Their
radio plays in the background, pigs grunt, hens cluck, cocks crow and Damien
talks with the children. The soup simmers and then boils -- while in the
distance the football supporters practice for their sing sing. The evening's
activities are interrupted briefly by a sudden downpour, during which some
rainwater is collected in a bucket. The family eats the food Antonia
and Emma have prepared: and the children play inside their mosquito net
before sleeping.
105. George sings quietly, accompanying himself on a ukulele.
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