58 BULLETIN 136, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Students of music will be interested in two characteristic drums 

 of India which have the tension of the head regulated by means 

 of wooden " spools." There are the tabla and the mridanga, having, 

 respectively, one and two heads. The tabla (92727, pi. 2-k?) is 

 turned from a solid block of wood and has its greatest diameter a 

 short distance above the base. The parchment head is laced with 

 thongs to a small rawhide hoop around the base, and crowded under 

 this lacing are eight short cylinders of wood which can be rolltd 

 back and forth, adjusting the tension of the head. A round patch 

 of black cement, said to be made of resin and oil, is placed in the 

 center of the head. The reason for this is not explained, but it 

 probably affects both the resonance and the pitch. The pale green 

 margin around the edge of the head of this and the mridanga is 

 not part of the head but a sort of circular mat placed over the 

 parchment and fastened with it to the hoop. Among instrumental 

 performers this and the mridanga are considered the standard instru- 

 ments and all others are tuned to them. 



The mridanga, as mentioned, has two heads, but will be described 

 at this time for comparison with the tabla. The specimen exhi- 

 bited (92724, pi. 246) is from Calcutta and is 2iy 2 inches in height. 

 The parchment heads are fastened to hoops which are laced to- 

 gether with thongs. The heads are of different sizes, the larger or 

 bass head being 7% inches, and the smaller or tenor head being 6 1 /* 

 inches in diameter. The circular spot of black cement is seen 

 on the smaller (tenor) head. According to Albert A. Stanley: 10 



The tension is so regulated, by wooden rollers under the straps, that the 

 two heads are a fourth or a fifth apart in pitch. The larger head is beoten 

 with the left hand, the smaller with the palm, finger tips, and wrist of the 

 right. 



Tagore says : 



Of all the instruments mridanga, the father of Indian drums, appears to 

 have been the most primitive with respect to its origin. • * * When 

 Mohedeva elated with his victory over the invincible demon Tripurasura began 

 to dance, surrounded by Indra and other deities, Brahma is said to have 

 invented the mridanga to serve as an accompaniment. 



The instrument is used to accompany dignified music, often in 

 connection with the vina. Capt. Meadows Taylor writes that " On 

 this instrument players are exceedingly expert. * * * The notes 

 which are produced assist the voice, while the time, however compli- 

 cated, is kept with exactness." 



In this section are included drums with shells of earthenware, 

 resembling jars or bowls, and drums made from a chunk of wood, 

 the resonance chamber being hollowed out and a vibrating mem- 

 brane stretched across the opening. Perhaps the most interesting 



10 Catalogue Stearns Collection at Ann Arbor, Mich., p. 59. 



