Damaru Drum Views

Musical Instruments

A damaru (Devanagari: डमरु) or damru is a small two-headed drum shaped like an hourglass[1]. The drum is typically made of wood, with leather drum head, or made out of human skulls.[2] Its height ranges from a few inches to a little over a foot. It is played one handed. The strikers are typically beads fastened to the ends of leather cords around the waist of the damaru. Knots in the leather can also be used as strikers. As the player waves the drum using a twisting wrist motion, the strikers beat on the drumhead.

The damaru is very common throughout the Indian subcontinent[1]. The Damaru is known as a power drum, and when played tends to bring spiritual energy. It is especially associated with the Hindu deity Shiva. One legend has it that Shiva gave the world its first syllabary as the sounds of the Sanskrit language arose from his drumbeats (see Shiva Sutra for the sounds), and his performance of the cosmic dance of tandava. The damaru is used by itinerant musicians of all stripes, due to its small portable size.

NMM 1383. Skull drum (damaru), eastern Tibet, mid-19th century. Hourglass-shaped drum constructed of two inverted skull caps, symbolic of the joining of the female and male elements of life. Silver band, ornamented with coral and turquoise stones, connects the two halves. Played by rotating, causing the swinging beater to strike each head. Mantras were often written on the interior of drums such as these. Held in the right hand, the hand of method, the skull drum is an example of the synthesis of tradition that took place between B

Side Views of the Damaru The skull drum, often paired with the thighbone trumpet in ritual use, existed as part of traditional B ouml;n ceremonies prior to the presence of Buddhism in Tibet. Traditionally, the crania would be gathered from a sky-burial site, or charnel ground. It is the Tibetan belief that the body is nothing more than a vessel and, upon death, it should continue the cycle that is life; therefore, corpses are exposed to the elements, in order to decompose, in designated areas known as charnel grounds. The selection of skulls from charnal grounds, for use in making the damaru, traditionally involved several factors including age of the deceased, gender, and cause of death.