The ''idakka'' (), also spelt edaykka/edakka, is an hourglass-shaped drum from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

in south India. This handy percussion instrument is very similar to the pan-Indian

damaru A damaru ( sa, डमरु, ; Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the deity Shiva, associated with Tan ...

. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a stick. Like the damaru, the idakka's pitch may be bent by squeezing the lacing in the middle. The idakka is slung over the left shoulder and the right side of the instrument is gently beaten with a thin curve-ended stick. It is played in temples and in performances such as Kathakali and Mohiniattam classical dance.

Etymology

The Malayalam name idaykka or idakka is originated from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

word श्रीढक्का (Śrīḍhakkā). In

, a ḍhakkā is described as a double drum which makes ''ḍhak'' sound. ढक् इति गभीरशब्देन कायतीति (ḍhak iti gabhīraśabdēna kāyatīti). The sacred prefix

Śrī Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

is used to denote the auspiciousness of the instrument. Idakka-1

Construction

Similar to the

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pit ...

, The Idakka consists of two circular drum heads each of which is mounted within a circular ring. The hourglass-shaped body is placed between the two heads and lacing is used to pull the two rings towards each other, stretching each drum head over an open end of the body.

Snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle ...

-like strings made of natural fiber are stretched across the open ends of the drum body, under each drum head. It is not uncommon for the diameter of the drum heads to be larger than the diameter of the body, with the result that the drum heads are often seen mounted significantly off-center.

Acoustics

The Idakka is a small, high pitched drum with definite pitch. The snares running under the drum heads have been found to interact with the vibrating membrane in a way that causes the pitch of the instrument to be determinate. Different pitches can be obtained by squeezing the lacing around the instrument, which changes the amount of tension in the skins.

References

{{Culture of Kerala Arts of Kerala Kathakali Mohiniyattam Drums Membranophones Indian musical instruments Kerala music

Etymology

Construction

Acoustics

See also

References