Dholki

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Modern dholki with turnbuckles in a procession in Mumbai , Maharashtra.

Dholki , ḍholki ("small dholak "), is a two-skinned barrel drum that belongs to the group of dholak and the larger dhol and is used in North Indian folk music for processions, to accompany religious songs and by entertainment theaters. Sometimes the drum names dholak and dholki are used in exchange, usually dholki denotes smaller variants in the western Indian state of Maharashtra and in the eastern state of Jharkhand compared to the large dholak of Madhya Pradesh (central India) .

Origin and Distribution

In the ancient Indian literature on music, written in Sanskrit and Tamil , there are hundreds of names for drums, which refer either to the shape, the use, whether they produce a specific or indefinable pitch, or to a general property. According to written sources, the most important drums were in the 1st millennium BC. In addition to the dundubhi - presumably a kettle drum - two-ply barrel drums, which have been depicted in music scenes on numerous reliefs of stupas and temples since the turn of the millennium . The word most frequently mentioned in the tradition for the double-headed barrel drum is mridangam , as the group of Indian double-cone drums and in particular the drums played in classical music of South India are commonly called today.

Procession of dhol players of the Sikhs in Kent (England) at the Vaisakhi harvest festival , a tradition from the Punjab .

The most widely used names in northern India for cylinder drums and barrel drums, which are struck with both hands or with the right hand and a stick in the left hand, are derived from the large barrel drum dhol . A smaller barrel drum is the dholak and a slightly smaller or newer version of the dholak is the dholki . In contrast to some double-cone drums (in addition to the mridangam in South India, especially the North Indian pakhawaj ), drums belonging to this word context are not played in classical, but exclusively in religious or entertaining folk music. The main reason is that the dhol / dholak / dholki drums do not sound at a clear pitch like the double cone drums, which is a necessary requirement for classical music. The double-cone drums are placed across in front of the musician who is sitting on the floor, the group of dhol are also played while seated or held in front of the stomach with a lanyard while standing. Dhol is related to Persian duhul and Turkish davul , as well as dhavul and tavil in southern India and daula or davula in Sri Lanka . The linguistic distribution area extends northwest to the Caucasus (cylinder drum doli in Georgia ). Characteristic for this type of drum is the interaction with a double reed instrument in all regions . The word context also includes hourglass drums in other musical contexts such as the dhadd in Punjab and the dhak in Rajasthan . Dhak also refers to a very large barrel drum in West Bengal .

In the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand , dholki is the regional name for the large barrel drum dhol with two roughly equal-sized membranes made of goat skin. Lying on the floor or hanging over the shoulder with a shoulder strap, it is hit either with two sticks or with the flat hands on both sides. The dholki players there also use the small copper kettle drum dhamu . Alain Daniélou cites these dholki players as an example of a low-ranking caste of village musicians (“dholak”), whose field of activity - preferably accompanying wedding parades - is strictly separated from that of the Hurkiya. The hurkiya are a different caste of musicians: wandering professional bards who play epic songs with their hourglass drum hurka . Musicians usually look after several villages in their area, where they are ordered and paid for for events.

Regardless of the occasional mixing of drum names, dhol generally refers to a large and loud-sounding barrel drum that (with the large kettle drum tassa ) is played in processions in a pure drum ensemble or together with brass instruments, while dholak stands for smaller drums to accompany vocals. Drums called dholki are used in both musical forms.

Design and style of play

The bracing of the shown dholak corresponds to the type of the conventional, West Indian dholki . Musician of the Langa, an ethnic group in Rajasthan, with the double flute satara .

The dholki consists of a 40 to 50 centimeter long, slightly bulbous body that was carved out of a wooden trunk. The two ends are the same size with a diameter of 20 to 24 centimeters. The skin membranes ( pudi ) are drawn over firm skin rings and braced against each other in a V-shape with thick cotton cords. On the right side, the cords run through metal rings that can be moved to adjust the tension. The Y-shaped tension created by the rings has been seen on barrel drums in music and dance scenes of Rajput miniature paintings since the 17th century . On the left diaphragm ( dhumma ) there is a round patch of voice paste ( syahi ) made of resin or a rice flour mixture in the middle to lower the tone opposite the right diaphragm ( chaati ). The sound and pitch of the two membranes are therefore different even for instruments with the same diameter. Dholki with these characteristics, also known as dholak , are found in central and northwestern India and Pakistan . In Pakistan they belong to the ensemble accompanying the Qawwali religious singing style and especially women are used for domestic light music. They are played by the musicians sitting cross-legged horizontally on their legs or lying in front of them on the floor. On the lower left membrane, the player produces a lingering beat with the open hand or a muffled beat with the flat of the hand. For the more varied sounds of the right membrane, the fingers are opened near the edge or on the edge.

Maharashtra

A smaller version of the dholak is the dholki or nal played on the west Indian coast in Maharashtra and Goa . The length of the slightly bulged, almost cylindrical body is about 40 centimeters with a diameter of 25 centimeters. A resin mixture ( dholak masala ) is applied to the inside of the left membrane instead of the black vocal paste . The V-shaped bracing runs from a cord ring on the left membrane to the right membrane, which is pulled over a protruding iron ring. The two differently fixed membranes are made of goat skin. Two tension cords are twisted against each other for the desired pitch and fixed with inserted wooden pegs. Modern dholki have a number of tensioning screws that are attached to a metal ring and with which the eardrums pulled onto a metal ring protruding from the edge can be tensioned with the help of an open-ended wrench. Are commercially Dholki with a handle in the middle of the body.

The player wears the dholki on a string around his neck or over his shoulder and hits the left membrane with the flat of his hand and the right membrane with a stick. The dholki is played in processions at annual festivals and in temples. In Maharashtra it is part of the music that accompanies the easy song and dance style Lavani and the folk dance theater Tamasha . In many Lavani songs, the singing voice is supported by a unison choir in the background, the drone tone of a shrutibox and rhythmically by a tabla ; in the song genre dholkici bari , the tuntune takes care of the drone and the dholki provides the rhythm. When Tamasha act except Dholki the small einfellige drum halgi , cymbals ( manjiras ) and the plucking drum tuntune , with larger ensembles nor the semicircular Naturtrompete tutari with. The dholki found its way into Bollywood film music via Tamasha, Lavani and other popular dance styles and song genres in Maharashtra . One of the most famous players of Maharashtra Dholki Vijay Chavan.

In the Panchavadyam (“Five Instruments”), a ceremonial temple orchestra in Goa, the dholki takes on a leading role, while in the orchestra of the same name in Kerala the double-cone drum madhalam is played instead . Furthermore, the religious singing style dholki bhajan is known in Goa . According to Charles Russel Day (1891), the dholki was particularly popular with women from the central Indian Deccan highlands at the end of the 19th century . With dholki , Day referred to a drum that is much smaller than the dhol and as dholuk and dak drums, which are usually larger than the dhol .

One of the annual festivals where processions with music groups take place is the spring festival Holi . The Bhil , a West Indian ethnic group, play the drums dhol and dholki, jhanj (cymbals), pavri (wind instrument made of calabashes) and ghunghru (small bells) for the dances on Holi . In Maharashtra, the dholki is played by numerous Adivasi groups. The Gamit in northwestern Maharashtra and adjacent areas of Gujarat light a fire on Holi that is kept burning for five to seven days. At night they dance around the fire, accompanied by dhol, dholki and, as the melody instrument of the bamboo flute, bansuri . The festival also serves as a partner search for the young people. In the vicinity of Sawantwadi in the south of Maharashtra, the dholki is part of the music that accompanies the shadow play Chamadyache bahulya , which is only performed by a few members of the Thakar community.

Jharkhand

Dhola , regionally for dhol or dholki , used in the Chhau dance theater in Odisha. Wide iron ring on the right side.

Another version of the dholki , also dhulki or dulki , occurs in eastern northern India in the former south of the state of Bihar , today's state of Jharkhand , where it is played by the Munda and other Adivasi groups, among others . The length of the most common dholki type with a barrel-shaped or in some cases approximately cylindrical body made from the wood of the jackfruit tree varies between 50 and 65 centimeters, with membrane diameters between 25 and 29 centimeters. Barrel-shaped dholki are bulged in the middle to a diameter between 35 and 45 centimeters. The barrel drum, called munda dhulki , has a diameter of about 28 centimeters on the left membrane, which is made of strong calf skin, and 25 centimeters in diameter on the right membrane made of finer goat skin. The left membrane is given a deeper sound by an iron powder-based tuning paste applied on the outside. In addition, a paste of boiled rice flour and oil is applied in several layers on the inside of both membranes. The pitch is adjusted by moving metal rings between two adjacent tension cords. The dhulki , usually only played by men, hangs horizontally in front of the body on a leather or fabric strap wrapped around the neck and is hit with a stick on the left and with the hand on the right. The drum beats can be represented with syllables ( bol ), which, however, in contrast to the bol in the tabla, are not clearly defined.

The dholki (or dhol ), which is not played by Adivasis, is used alongside the large kettle drum dhamsa and the only melody instrument, the cone oboe mohori in Bihar and West Bengal to accompany the Chhau dance theater . The dholki used in the Chhau has an iron ring on the right side around which the membrane is stretched, which protrudes four to five centimeters laterally over the edge of the body. In the folk music of Jharkhand, the dholki is also played in an ensemble that includes the kettle drum nagara and the double-headed conical drum karah and which accompanies folk songs and dances. A dance in which several women dance in a row to the accompaniment of drums is the mardana jhumar (“men's jhumar ”). Domkach is a ceremonial dance performed by women of the groom's family in the Chota Nagpur (Jharkhand) area at weddings when the groom's procession ( baraat ) has left home and headed for the bride's house. The women are now among themselves and subsequently entertain themselves with circular dances. Occasionally the dholki is also used as a soloist and as a rhythmic accompaniment for small choirs.

The dhulki probably came to the Munda settlements through the mediation of neighboring folk musicians who did not belong to Adivasi groups. At the beginning of the 20th century, the dhulki was also widespread in more remote Munda villages and was used to accompany group dances and chants at festive events. The loud drum orchestra consisted besides the dhulki from the large barrel drum dumang , the then most important musical instrument of the dance ensemble, the boiler drum nagara , the conical drum karah ( Mundari Rabaga ) and cymbals cua . Around the middle of the 20th century, the dhulki took over the leading role from the dumang , so that today one of the dhulki players is the leader of the group. Several dhulki can take part in a procession . Usually a dhulki and a dumang play to accompany songs. In contrast to the large kettle drum nagara , which is part of the common property of the Munda because of its symbolic meaning, the dhulki are mostly the property of the musicians.

At the Karma annual festival , which creates an identity , the Munda perform the dance karam susun , in which every age group of the village community takes part. The slow movements in a semicircle are accompanied by dhulki, nagara (kettle drum), kortal (a shaking idiot like the chimta ), jhanj (cymbals), basori (flute, bansuri ), sarangi (string instrument) and harmonium . Other drums are the single- headed rubak and the long tubular drum dhak . The drum players do not belong to the Munda, but come from a Dalit group. In the past, the rhythm for the dances was only generated by the cylindrical drum mundar ( mandar, mandra ) made of wood or clay. Chitik is a special dance form of Karam susun performed only by men , in which the actors hold the large musical instruments, which include drums and the harmonium, between their bent knees and thus move back and forth towards a number of women.

literature

  • Alain Daniélou : South Asia. Indian music and its traditions. Music history in pictures . Volume 1: Ethnic Music . Delivery 1. German Publishing House for Music, Leipzig 1978
  • Ḍholki . In: Late Pandit Nikhil Ghosh (Ed.): The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Music of India. Saṅgīt Mahābhāratī. Vol. 1 (A – G) Oxford University Press, New Delhi 2011, p. 289
  • Alastair Dick, Carol M. Babiracki, Natalie M. Webber: Ḍholak. In: Laurence Libin (Ed.): The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Vol. 2, Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2014, pp. 40–42

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Kaufmann : Old India. Music history in pictures. Volume 2. Ancient Music . Delivery 8. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1981, p. 32
  2. ↑ Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva: Musical Instruments . National Book Trust, New Delhi 1977, p. 40
  3. ^ Alain Daniélou: South Asia, 1978, p. 88
  4. ^ Alain Daniélou: South Asia , 1978, p. 7
  5. ^ Peter Manuel: The Intermediate Sphere in North Indian Music Culture: Between and Beyond "Folk" and "Classical". In: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 59, No. 1, Winter 2015, pp. 82–115, here pp. 98f
  6. ^ Alain Daniélou: South Asia, 1978, p. 108
  7. ↑ Alastair Dick: Ḍholak (1), 2014, p. 41
  8. ^ Lavani dancers dancing to the beats of Dholki. Youtube video
  9. ↑ Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Mills (Eds.): South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, London 2003, p. 352
  10. ↑ Tamasha, Indian Folk Theater. Indian Net Zone
  11. ↑ NAAD Foundation and Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam Saturday - November 1, 2014 - 8:15 pm proudly present ... NAAD Foundation
  12. ↑ Ḍholki . In: Late Pandit Nikhil Ghosh (Ed.): The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Music of India , 2011, p. 289
  13. ^ Charles Russel Day: The music and musical instruments of southern India and the Deccan . Novello, Ewer & Co., London / New York 1891, p. 140 ( at Internet Archive )
  14. ^ Robin D. Tribhuwan, Preeti R. Tribhuwan: Tribal Dances of India. Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi 1999, pp. 13, 57, 103
  15. ^ Jharkhand Music . Jharkhand Observer
  16. ↑ Jharkhand . Eastern Zonal Cultural Center. Ministry of Culture, Government of India
  17. ↑ Carol M. Babiracki: Ḍholak (2), 2014, p. 41f
  18. ^ Victor Rosner: An Adivasi Drum (The Mandra). In: Anthropos, Vol. 57, Issue 1/2, 1962, pp. 89-96
  19. ^ Robin D. Tribhuwan, Preeti R. Tribhuwan: Tribal Dances of India . Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi 1999, pp. 189f