Rоban or Rоbana (

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

: රබාන) is one-sided traditional drum type played with the hands, used in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

.Its mainly played in Aurudu Kreeda (The Srilankan New Year). The body of these drums are made by carving the

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Vitex ''Vitex'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae.List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below). It has ...

trees. The skin used is that of a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically 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 a ...

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

sarong A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of 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 has woven plaid o ...

and a

bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...

is an iconic in pre-modern Sri Lankan society. * Bench Roban 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 ''Roban'' and play it for various rhythms. These rhythms are called ''Roban 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. Srilankan folk literature is full of varang kavi and roban pada.

References

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

Hand drums Sri Lankan music {{SriLanka-stub

See also

References