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conch-shell trumpet

Description:
This shell is the Charonia tritonis. A single hole has been drilled in the shell where the shell is solid. The hole is placed against the lips and blown using the same technique as for a brass instrument. The most common use of the conch is as a signalling device to announce a wide variety of both secular and religious events. At sea the conch is blown to ensure that divers on spear fishing drives work as a group. When a high chief dies in Fiji conch shells are blown continuously by relays of people in an unbroken signal from the time of death until the burial. Trumpet made from a large shell (Charonia tritonis), blown from the side. Fiji islands. In Greek mythology, Triton is depicted with such a shell. Charonia tritonis is the genus and species name. Conch is the common name for sea snail shells. This conch is classified as a trumpet aerophone because like all aerophones, the sound is made by a column of vibrating air passing through it and in this case blown through it with with vibrating lips as in a trumpet.
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Horniman Museum and Gardens
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Horniman Museum and Gardens
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