Crossword Dictionary

Any kind of flute, tubular or vessel, side- or end-blown, which is sounded by nasal breath. Such flutes have a very wide distribution, but are particularly common in the Pacific Islands and South-east Asia. Sachs suggested that the origin of nose flutes lies in the association of nasal breath with magic and religious rites. In Oceania the nose flute is pre-eminently an instrument of Polynesia and Micronesia. It is only rarely reported for mainland New Guinea but is present in the offshore D’Entrecasteaux group to the south-west and in the Bismarck Archipelago to the north-west. Southwards in Melanesia it is prominent only in areas adjacent to western Polynesia as in New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands and in Fiji.