It is always difficult to interpret archaeological objects, especially when the original users do not longer exist. The Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden thought of a way to fill in the missing gaps of...Show moreIt is always difficult to interpret archaeological objects, especially when the original users do not longer exist. The Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden thought of a way to fill in the missing gaps of knowledge of their collection of Surinamese Indian objects. By inviting eight Indians from the four biggest Indian groups of Suriname (Wayana, Trio, Kari’na and Lokono), they hoped to find new insights in these objects. These consultations took place in 2009 and 2010. This thesis handles the musical instruments. It uses the ethnomusicological model that has been presented in Alan Merriam’s Anthropology of Music (1964) in order to examine the different aspects of the material culture, as well as the social functions of music. The model examines music on three different levels: cognition, behavior and musical sound. According to the model these three levels are connected and will have an influence on one another. If the musical sound changes, this will have an influence on the way people will react to the music. In that way their cognition will change. This change then has its influence on the way people behave when hearing the music. In the same way this new way of behaving will influence the way of music making by the musician. The research questions will systematically address different facets of this model in order to give an insight to the music and it’s function in four Amerindian societies.Show less
