Raban or Rabana () is a one-sided traditional drum type played with the hands, used in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It's mainly played in Aurudu Kreeda (The Sri Lankan New Year). The body of these drums is made by carving the Jack or

Vitex ''Vitex'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae. It has about 250 species.Raymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tat ...

trees. The skin used is that of a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

. There are two types of Rabans as Hand Raban and Bench Raban. * Hand Raban is about one foot in diameter. Some performers keep revolving the Raban on the tip of their fingers while others play it accompanied with singing. This is played with one hand only. This type of Rabana is mostly associated with the type of folk songs called 'Virindu'. The 'Virindu' singer carrying a 'Hand Rabana' clad with a

sarong A sarong or a sarung (, ) is a large tube or length of textile, fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often ...

and a

bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...

is iconic in pre-modern Sri Lankan society. * Bench Raban is the biggest of the drums used in Sri Lanka with the diameter of it about four feet. The special feature of this drum is that it is played by two or more people at a time. They use both hands. During the festival season, people gather around the ''Raban'' and play it for various rhythms. These rhythms are called ''Raban Sural'' and they're mostly played by women. It's played on every happy occasion. They also sing songs along the rhythm called ''varang kavi'' or ''raban pada''. Sri Lankan folk literature is full of ''varang kavi'' and ''raban pada''.

References

Dances, Masks and Drums of Sri Lanka, Ranga Dance Ensemble - Sri Lanka

Hand drums Music of Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-stub

See also

References