A towering 2.8m high slit drum from Vanuatu is now on display at the South Australian Museum, along with several music objects that have never been exhibited before. The new pop-up display, Pacific Cultures in Motion: Revitalising the Collection, celebrates Pacific cultural traditions and is free to visit.
The display came about through a collaboration between Adelaide-based Ni-Vanuatu performer Edgell Junior Edgell and Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara man Elisha Umuhuri. Both men are collaborating with Adelaide children’s performing arts company Patch Theatre, who approached the Museum about using the slit drum from the Pacific Cultures collection to develop a soundtrack for an upcoming production premiering in 2027.
Visitors can watch a video of Edgell Junior and Elisha creating their musical collaboration in the studio, and hear them share their thoughts on the cultural importance of music.
Originally from the island of Pentecost in central Vanuatu, Edgell Junior is featured playing the slit drum and traditional dance rattles made from the fruit of Pangium edule, a tropical tree found throughout Vanuatu. Elisha Umuhuri is a member of the award-winning APY Lands hip-hop trio DEM MOB.
What the display means to the community
Edgell Junior Edgell shared his thoughts on the significance of the exhibition: “Music is such an important part of Ni-Vanuatu culture. We don’t just sing or play it, we live it. There are so many different types of instruments played across all of our islands, including percussion, wind and water instruments, and they are used for many different purposes or ceremonies.”
He explained how the instruments carry deep cultural meaning: “In most people’s eyes, they would see a Ni-Vanuatu playing a tamtam, but in the eyes of someone from Ambrym (where this tamtam belongs) they would know straight away that I’m not one of their own and that I’m from Pentecost.”
“Each island and language group has its own voice, and our instruments give us a way of celebrating and communicating with each other. For example, the tamtam (slit drum) from my island Pentecost does not have face, like the one in the South Australian Museum exhibit.”
Part of a larger conservation program
This pop-up display is part of the conservation and cultural care program for the Museum’s Pacific Cultures collection. Several items, including musical balls and bamboo flutes, are being displayed publicly for the first time thanks to this ongoing work.
South Australian Museum Director Dr Samantha Hamilton said the Pacific Cultures collection care program is being delivered in partnership with the Pacific Islands Council of South Australia (PICSA) and Pasifika community leaders.
“Pacific Cultures in Motion is the first in a series of community-informed activations that will showcase objects from the Museum’s internationally significant Pacific Cultures Collection, highlighting the living cultural traditions, creativity and stories of Pasifika communities,” Dr Hamilton said.
“Since commencing in July this year, the conservation program is providing culturally appropriate care of ancestral objects and strengthening community connections to the collection.”
The details
What: Pacific Cultures in Motion: Revitalising the Collection
Where: North Foyer, South Australian Museum
When: 15 October until early 2027
Cost: Free
Hours: Daily 10am to 5pm
More info: whatson.samuseum.sa.gov.au
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