NMM 2759. Slit drum (nanaru a ting ting), Ambrym Island, Vanuatu, ca. 1900-1915. Vertical slit drum constructed from a breadfruit log. Above the slit are two faces with disk eyes, a design common to the region and said to represent ancestral figures. Slit drums play an integral role in the economic system and social stratification of Ambrym society. When a man accumulates enough wealth, usually in the form of pigs, he pays for a drum to be made, as well as for a na huqe—a ceremony marking the man’s advancement to a higher societal status. The newly made drum is played to accompany the songs and dances of the ritual. Length: 280 cm (about 9'). Board of Trustees, 1981.