Whistle in the form of a finger

This whistle is carved as a human finger with well-marked fingernails and lines marking the first joint. It is sounded by blowing across the opening at the end; the air-vent is below the side loop. Whistles were used in hunting, which often took the form of a line of beaters driving game towards a net where other hunters were waiting. In thick bush, whistles served as signals to regulate the line: if there was a kill, a whistle might sound a paean of triumph. In dancing, whether masked or not, whistles still play an important part in the musical accompaniment.

Margaret Carey, 1997

Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997) p. 185.