Urumi (drum)
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The ''urumi'' (; also known as ''urumee'') is a double-headed hourglass-shaped
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
from the state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
,
South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. Two skin heads are attached to a single hollow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jackwood, although other woods like
rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...
may be used. Both left and right heads are usually made from cow hide that is stretched around a thin metal ring (sometimes
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
skin is used for the right head). The outer circumference of each head is perforated with approximately seven to eight holes. The two heads are held in tension by a continuous rope that is woven around the drum in a V-shape pattern. Additional small coils of string or metal are tied around each pair of ropes near the left head. These coils can be slide horizontally along the length of the drum, increasing or decreasing the tension between the heads as necessary. For example, during the monsoon season the drum heads will slacken so much that the instrument becomes unplayable. Using these coils drummers can easily rectify such problems.


Technique

The urumi is slung with a cloth strap across the shoulder and played by the drummer horizontally. This simple harness allows the drummer to play standing or walking. The urumi is played entirely with sticks. There are five basic sounds that can be played on the drum: an "open sound" produced by striking the right head, a deep resonant "moaning" sound produced by striking the right head while simultaneously rubbing the left head with the edge of a long curved stick, a bent "talking drum-like" tone in which the right head is stuck while the left hand squeezes and releases the rope holding the heads together, and two closed (non-pitched) sounds produced by striking and pressing/muting with the left and right stick respectively.
Castor oil Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans. It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...
is often applied to the left head in order to facilitate the drummer's ability to produce the "moaning sound" described above.


Notation

As an oral tradition, Tamil folk music does not have a codified system of written notation. Musicians learn through years of unconscious absorption, conscious listening, imitation, and practice.


History and performance context

This drum is widely believed to possess supernatural and sacred powers. When played in religious ceremonies and processions, the performance of specific beats on the urumi may induce spirit possessions or
Trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
. The urumi is also played in the South Indian state of Kerala, which borders Tamil Nadu. The urumi is most often performed in two types of ensembles: *Urumi Melam *Naiyandi Melam Urumi melam ensembles usually consists of double-reed instruments
Nadaswaram The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudes ...
, a pair of double headed drums called pambai, and one to three urumi drums; this particular ensemble is associated exclusively with funerals and other inauspicious occasions. The naiyandi melam is the most common type of folk ensemble associated with ritual and dance. A typical naiyandi melam is composed of two double-reed nadaswaram, one or two
thavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana States of South India. It is used in temple, folk ...
(barrel drums), a thamukku (kettle drum played with leather straps), a
pambai The pambai or pamba (Tamil: பம்பை) is a pair of cylindrical drums used in temple festivals and folk music in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is ...
, and an urumi. In the popular dance known as Devarattam (dance), usually 2 to 3 urumis will be played with specific beats; sometimes a thappu (parai) is played in the background to keep a tempo. It performs for a number of festive occasions including dance-dramas, menstruation ceremonies, weddings, harvest festivals, and staged folk dances such as: * Deverattam - Performed by the Rajakambalathu Nayakkar community * Poikkal Kudirai (dummy horse dance) * Mayil Attam (peacock dance) * Puli Attam (tiger dance) *
Kavadi Kavadi Aattam (Tamil: காவடி ஆட்டம், Malayalam: കാവടിയാട്ടം) ("Burden Dance") is a ceremonial sacrifice and offering practiced by devotees during the worship of Murugan,Kent, Alexandra. ''Divinity and Di ...
Attam (a devotional dance to Lord Murugan) and many others. The urumi may also be heard on commercial recordings of film soundtracks and popular folk music.


See also

*
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 Tant ...
*
Hourglass drum Hourglass drums are a sub-category of membranophone, or drum, characterized by an hourglass shape. They are also known as ''waisted drums''. Drumheads are attached by laces, which may be squeezed during a performance to alter the pitch. The cate ...
*
Kaval Deivam The village deities of Southern India are the numerous spirits and other beings venerated as part of the Dravidian folk tradition in villages throughout South India. These deities, mainly goddesses, are intimately associated with the well-being ...
*
Madurai Veeran Madurai Veeran, also known as Veeran, is a Tamil folk deity popular in southern Tamil Nadu, India. His name literally means, "warrior of Madurai". Legend According to the ''Maduraiveeraswamikathai'', Veeran was born to royal parents and w ...
*
Music of Tamil Nadu Music of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition and history going back thousands of years. Music is a very important aspect of marriage and temple festival Tamil people. Ancient music The tradition of Tamil music goes back to the earliest period o ...
*
Parai The parai is a traditional Tamil frame drum about 35 centimeters in diameter, used in the parai attam dance. It consists of a shallow ring of wood, covered on one side with a stretched cow hide that is glued to the wooden frame. The preferred ...
*
Sangilikaruppan Karuppu Sami ( Tamil: கருப்பசாமி, IAST: Karuppasāmi) is one of the regional Tamil male deities popular among the rural social groups of Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala. He is one of the 21 associated folk-deities, and is he ...
*
Udukai The udukkai, udukai or udukku (Tamil: உடுக்கை) is a member of the family of membranophone percussion instruments of India and Nepal used in folk music and prayers in Tamil Nadu. The drums are an ancient design of hourglass drums si ...


References

* *{{cite book, last1=Sherinian, first1=Zoe, last2=Wolf, first2=Richard, title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC&pg=PA350, year=1998, publisher=Taylor & Francis, isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1, page=914, chapter=Music Regions: Tamil Nadu, editor1-last=Nettl, editor1-first=Bruno, editor2-last=Arnold, editor2-first=Alison *Sambamoorthy, P.1964.South Indian Music, Book III, 6th ed. Madras: The Indian Music Publishing House. *Wolf, Richard. 2000."Embodiment and Ambivalence: Emotion in South Asian Muharram Drumming." In ''
Yearbook for Traditional Music The ''Yearbook for Traditional Music'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on folk music and dance. It is published by the International Council for Traditional Music, once a year in December. The editor-in-chief is Kati Szego. T ...
''. v. 32. *Masana Kali Urumee Melam, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLhr36HsUnY Indian musical instruments Membranophones Tamil music Musical instruments played with drum sticks Asian percussion instruments