Figure playing a Dong Son Drum,
Kisar, Indonesia.
Photograph from Live Science.
I have
written previously about the topic of music as it relates to rock art. Of
course, both music and visual art share many of the same characteristics;
creativity, discipline, and philosophy. But most of my previous references have
been aimed at the idea of music being played in rock art sites as part of a
ritual. As far as rock art portraying musical instruments I have written about a
possible musical bow (or mouth bow) at the cave of Les Trois Freres in March
28, 2010, "Music At Rock Art Sites?"
and a horn rasp or morache at the cave of Laussel in April 26, 2010, "Music At Rock Art Sites
(Continued)". I also presented an example of flute-playing from Mesa
Prieta in New Mexico in May 28, 2011, "The
Flute-Playing Armadillo". There have also, of course, been numerous
references to flute-players among columns on Ancestral Puebloan rock art (see
cloud index below).
Dong Son Drum, Indonesia.
Note the sunburst in
the center of the head.
Photo: Public Domain.
Dong Son Drum, Indonesia.
Note the sunburst in
the center of the head.
Photo: Live Science
Now, an
article in Atlasobscura.com by Natasha Frost presents us with a large number of
painted images of Dong Son drums in Indonesia. "A Dong Son drum - - - is a bronze drum fabricated by the Dong Son
culture in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. The drums were produced
from about 600 BCE or earlier until the third century CE - - -. The drums, cast
in bronze using the lost-wax canting method are up to a meter in height and
weigh up to 100 kilograms (220 lb). Dong Son drums were apparently both musical
instruments and cult objects. They are decorated with geometric patterns,
scenes of daily life and war, animals and birds, and boats. More than 200 have
been found, across an area from eastern Indonesia to Vietnam and parts of
Southern China." (Wikipedia) These have been prized possessions and
preserved carefully, and were regarded highly enough to become a common subject
of rock art, probably by someone leaving a record of his wealth and importance.
Dong Son Drum
pictographs, Indonesia.
Note the sunbursts.
Photograph from Live Science.
These
pictographs were discovered in caves on the small Indonesian island of Kisar,
off the coast of Timor. "Home to
just a few thousand people, it had never been the site of a full archaeological
exploration before a recent expedition by researchers from the Australian
National University in Canberra, despite being a key site in the historical
international spice trade. The island is almost entirely surrounded by ancient
coralline limestone terraces, which run parallel to the coastline. Over the
centuries, the sea has worn shelters and caves into the terraces. Within these
nooks and crannies, archaeologists found 28 galleries replete with amazingly
well-preserved rock paintings, done by people dead for millennia."
(Frost 2017)
"The paintings themselves are
tiny, barely four inches in height, and show dynamic scenes including boats,
dogs, horses, and people often holding what look like shields, said Sue
O'Connor, the lead archaeologist on the project. 'Other scenes show people
playing drums,' she said in a statement, 'perhaps performing ceremonies.' These
figures, painted in shades of ocher, burnt umber and russet-red, remain in
extraordinary condition, despite being as much as 2,500 years old." (Frost 2017)
Lene Cece Rock Shelter, Photo
from O'Connor et al., Fig. 13, p. 14.
"Dong Son drums have been found
on many of the islands of eastern Indonesia including Flores, Roti, Leti and
Kei. Interestingly, in the last few years two Dong Son drums have been
discovered in the Lautem District, not far from the rock-art sites in
Timor-Leste discussed here (Oliveira 2015). Spriggs and Miller (1988) suggested
that Dong Son drums may have been carried on exploratory maritime expeditions
by elite traders wishing to establish client-patron exchange relationships in
the islands, and given to cement alliance." (O'Connor 2017:14) In other words
quid-pro-quo - I give you a gift that will enhance your standing and reputation
in your community and you give me favorable trading preferences. These islands
were an important link in the maritime spice trade so a good trading
relationship was definitely the road to prosperity. This is apparently pictured
in a boat painting in Lene Cece rock shelter in Timor-Leste. "Although most of the Kisar boat
paintings are highly schematized, features of the large boat in Lene Cece
shelter in Timor-Leste (Fig. 13) resemble those on the boats on the Dong Son
bronze drums in having 'high prows which are vertical or raked back' (Akerman
& Dwyer 2000:87). The prow appears to be carved to resemble a cockerel with
long tail feathers. The Dong Son boats also feature warriors wearing feather
headdresses and carrying weapons or ritual paraphernalia (Kempers 1988). The
Lene Cece boat shows small human figures in X-ray within the boat, and up on
deck warriors wearing elaborate headdresses. - - - The sun-ray motif - directly
above the Lene Cece boat also closely resembles the sun-ray motifs which
decorate the tympanums of Dong Son drums." (O'Connor 2017:11)
Although
these Dong Son drums are being reported as items of ritual significance, they
are also apparently tokens of wealth and importance, the family or individual that
owns one would have enhanced status and public position. This suggests that the
pictographs represent a record of someone's wealth and importance, public
bragging rights - and, they could be played too.
NOTE:
Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for
public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public
domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner
will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should
read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Faris,
Peter
2010 Music At
Rock Art Sites?, March 28, 2010, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=music
2010 Music At
Rock Art Sites (Continued), April 26, 2010,
https://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=music
2011 The Flute-Playing Armadillo, May 28, 2011,
https://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=music
Frost, Natasha
2017 In
Indonesian Caves, a Treasure Trove of Forgotten Ancient Paintings, December
15, 2017, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cave-art-indonesia-kisar-found
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_Son_drum
O'Connor,
Sue et. al.
2017 Ideology,
Ritual Performance and Its Manifestations in the Rock Art of Timor-Leste and
Kisar Island, Island Southeast Asia, December 2017, Cambridge
Archaeological Journal, Cambridge.
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