Object: Tanpura

E/1954/9/6
India
Date unknown
Materials: Wood, ivory, metal, gourd

A tanpura is a commonly used musical instrument in India. It is a stringed drone instrument, which provides a deep harmonic foundation for a musical ensemble. In India, Taan means a musical phrase and puraa means to complete. Therefore, the name of this instrument means that it completes the entire sound. Tanpuras are made mainly of wood making them very durable and easy to transport. The resonator is made of a gourd and the neck is made of wood and has no frets. There are typically anywhere from four to seven steel strings attached to pegs on the bottom and tightened to nuts on the top. Many tanpuras are sanded and painted or lacquered to enhance their appearance. This object in particular is decorated with green and red dye.

Historically, these instruments were used in folk and tribal music, and often played an important role in religious worship. Now, they are increasingly popular and used by many groups of people. It is interesting to note that men and women play the instrument differently. Women traditionally play from a seated position, and tend to use relatively small versions of this instrument. Men, however, can play the instrument from a variety of positions, including while standing, allowing them to use larger versions of this instrument [Chenoa Copeland].

To hear what a tanpura sounds like, click one of the links below.

Large file.

Small file.

Object: Sitar

AS-12-04-071
Stringed instrument: sitar
Hindu India
Date unknown
Materials: wood, ivory, metal strings, gourd, sting.

The sitar is a classical musical instrument from North India. The sitar resembles a plucked, long necked lute. The player would pluck the six major stings with a metal pick like device that is fashioned out of wire. The thirteen sympathetic strings of the sitar are not plucked, but instead provide a droning sound as the sitar is played.

The construction of this sitar is consistent with the standard classical method of construction. The gourd resonating chamber is connected to the wooden neck by a decorative wooden device that is secured with a combination of glue and nails. The strings are connected to the resonation gourd by a string block that allows the vibration of the strings to be transmitted into the gourd where they are amplified. The tuning devices for the strings are called the peg box.

Click here to hear what a sitar sounds like.

The Ethnology department of SNOMNH invites and encourages your comments on this particular North Indian Sitar. [Zach Duvall]

Object: Drum

AF-1-4-1
Pottery Drum

Imazighen (= Berber), [Former French Morocco], Morocco, North Africa
before 1952
Materials: clay, glaze, adhesive, animal skin

Small, goblet shaped drums of this basic type are found around the Mediterranean eastward through Islamic and Islamic-influenced lands as far as South Asia. The general type is known widely under the name doumbek but this small, Moroccan version of the goblet drum is a tarija. It is central to the traditional music of the indigenous peoples of North Africa, the Berbers. Berber peoples increasingly refer to themselves as Imazighen, meaning ‘free people’ in their own languages.

Hear a tarija played by itself here. Read a BBC story here about Berber music today that includes discussion of the tarija. Find a scholarly account of Moroccan women’s musical performance, including use of the tarija, here.

Collection records indicate that the head of this SNOMNH example is of goatskin, but this has not been studied or confirmed independently.

Do you make or play such drums? Do you know of good sources of information on such drums? Let us know what you know. Provide a comment to this weblog or via email to dcswan (at) ou (dot) edu. [Jason Baird Jackson]