Linton — 77/(7 Marquesas Islands 405 



TRUMPETS 



As INIarquesan musical instruments, trumpets (pii) stand next in import- 

 ance to drums. They are made of inio wood and of Cassis and Triton shells. 



The body of the wooden trumpet was a simple tube tapering toward the upper end. 

 (See PL Lxxii, D.) Dimensions of an average specimen are: length, i foot, 9 inches; dia- 

 meter at mouth, 6}i inches ; diameter at upper end, 3 inches. The walls vary in thickness from 

 slightly less than Yz an inch at the lip to approximately i inch at the upper end. A mouth 

 piece of bamboo. 8 inches to i foot in length and approximately i inch in diameter, was fitted 

 into the small end of the tube. It was not attached in any way, and when the instrument 

 was not in use was usually removed and placed inside the wooden part. A few wooden 

 trumpets were decorated with carving; an unfinished specimen in the Bishop ^Museum bears 

 several designs which appear to have been copied from tattooing. 



The trumpet was blown in the same manner as an European bugle. The 

 trumpets still in use give a remarkably clear and penetrating note. One old in- 

 formant stated that trumpets of this sort were blown by returning fishing parties 

 to summon the villagers to the shore, but no other uses were mentioned. 



Two varieties of shell trumpet were used by the Marquesans. The 

 smaller, which appears to have been somewhat rare, was made from the shell of 

 Cassis rufa by grinding away the apex of the whorl. A Cassis shell trumpet 

 found in a burial cave in Atu Ona, Hiva Oa, can still be blown and gives a clear 

 but not very loud note. (See PI. lxxii, B.) 



Most INIarquesan shell trumpets appear to have been made from the large 

 shell of Triton tritonis. The larger shells of this variety were brought up bv 

 divers from considerable depths and seem to ha^-e been highly valued. 



To prepare the shell for use a hole was ground in the side of one of the whorles a 

 short distance below the tip of the shell, and above this a mouthpiece, made of a small gourd, 

 was attached with breadfruit gum. Handy was informed that the mouthpiece was made of 

 bamboo, but this practice certainly was not general. Langsdorff (38, p. 164) says that the 

 mouthpiece was made from an oil nut, but he is probably in error, for the aiiia nut is too 

 small to have been used in this way. 



Triton shell trumpets were usually provided with a band of sennit which served for 

 decoration and also for the attachment of a suspension cord. (See PI. lxxii, C.) A hole 

 was cut in the farthest projection of the lip by sawing a transverse groove in the outer sur- 

 face of the shell until the channel was reached. A number of small sennit cords were passed 

 through this hole, along the top of the shell, then around the body of the shell a short dis- 

 tance below the apex, and back to the hole again. The separate strands were laid side by 

 side and fastened together at intervals of three or four inches by transverse cords of sennit 

 applied as in simple wrap weaving. There was thus a loop around the apex of the shell and 

 a broad band running longitudinally from the loop to the lip. At either end of the broad 

 band were placed additional lashings from which short loops were made. A long thick cord 

 made from twisted white tapa passed through these loops and served for the suspension of the 

 shell. A tassel, attached just above the lip end of the band, consisted of a number of tresses 

 of human hair which were fastened to strands of sennit in the same manner as in hair 

 ornaments. .\ tube of human bone, carved into a tiki, was threaded over the sennit cords and 

 concealed all but their inner ends. One of the trumpets examined had been broken and mended 

 with pieces of pearl shell glued on with breadfruit gum. 



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