Trump; jew's harp

Makomako Saketi, trump (jew's harp), Alu Island, Solomon Islands, Central Melanesia These instruments have a very wide distribution, as this example from Alu Island in the Solomon Islands illustrates. As is the case with other Melanesian trumps, this makomako saketi is cut from a single triangular fillet of bamboo, which has then been almost sectioned in three pieces by a V-shaped cut. The central tab (or ‘lamella’) formed by this cut is made to vibrate, and the broader end of the instrument is held in front of the player's mouth cavity, so that the mouth itself acts as a resonator. This particular kind is played exclusively by men, while Alu women have another style of trump which they play in a slightly different manner. Bamboo. Early 20th Century. Collected and sold to the Horniman Museum by Mr G.C. Wheeler.