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Description: | In Kerala, the centa drum has the status of 'king of instruments'. It is played in a range of musical contexts, from Hindu temple music to dance-dramas. Italtalam cymbals, kulal oboes and kombu trumpets take part in the cental melam ensemble, led by the centa drums. Performances take place at temple festivals and may involve around 45 centas playing together. The centa drum is usually suspended from the left shoulder and hangs almost vertically with one drum head facing upwards. For ritual purposes it is held horizontally and played only on the lower pitched valantala head with a stick, centa kol, held in the right hand. In performances of Kathakali dance-drama the drummer plays with sticks on the itantala head. In the melam temple ensemble, complex rhythms are played on the itantala head by the leading musicians, each one using a stick held in the right hand and the palm and fingers of the left hand. Citte, thimble-like finger caps made of cotton and rice paste produce a dry, percussive sound. They are applied wet to the drummer's left hand fingers and dry to an exact fit. They protect the fingers of the left hand during performances, which can last up to four hours.
Centa (cenda or chenda) cylindrical barrel drum. The shell of the drum (centa kutti) is of jackwood (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.). The two heads (tugal) are of cow or ox hide, glued to hoops (valayel), made of joined lengths of wood from the fishtail or sago palm (Caryota urens Linn.). They are braced by a length of yellow nylon rope laced in a V pattern. Twelve leather buffs (bands) close each V-shaped section of lacing, fine tuning the heads. The itantala head of the drum consists of a double layer of skins. The inside of the lower pitched valantala head has five skins of decreasing diameter, glued one upon the other. A shoulder strap in green cotton with a red trim is attached to the drum with red nylon string. Made in Thrissur. Shown with drum stick, cenda kol, and four finger caps, citte.
The wooden drum body is formed on a lathe machine by a carpenter following instructions given by the musician. The leather hides are provided by a traditional craftsman (kollan or tolkollan), who specialises in producing drum membranes. Strings, ropes, shoulder belt, protection cloth & brass rings are bought at the local market. The drumsticks are carved by the musician; the slight bend of the playing side is achieved by boiling the wood in hot water. The stick is formed by putting it in a form.
caption: Half-lateral view from left of object no. 2001.170.1.
caption: Half-lateral view from left of object no. 2001.170. Image of drum (membranophone) (museum no. 2001.170) (museum no. 2001.170.1). | Publisher: | http://www.horniman.ac.uk/ | Rights holder: | Horniman Museum and Gardens | Subjects: | Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) cotton wood hide cendas nylon both heads played brass 211.212.12 Individual double-skin cylindrical drums leather cylindrical drums | Source: | Horniman Museum | Identifier: | oai:oai.horniman.ac.uk:object-112945 | Go to resource |
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