Ghatam
The Ghatam (Sanskrit घट, IAST Ghata, tamil கடம், ghaḍam, kannada ಘಟ, Ghata, telugu ఘటం, Ghatam ), also Kudam, is a fired clay pot of red clay, which is used in the South Indian music as a percussion instrument. Mostly the Ghatam on your lap or on a stand ring ( vattam ) is struck with the fingers, you can achieve different pitches and sound variations on different parts of the body when hit.
Design and style of play
The thick-walled clay pot has a semi- circular base and tapering at the top to an opening with a short neck, which terminates in a rim. If the straight surface is struck below the neck with the heel of the hand, creating a warm bass, which is called gumki. With the fingertips bright sounding tones are produced in the center of the pot. The pot supports playing with the hole slightly slanted to the upper body of the person sitting on the ground player. He brings the opening close to the bare upper abdomen, it may vary the sound by opening and closing of the sound hole. Never beaten on top of the edge. The neck is called kaguthu, the fat body uddambu.
The Ghatam is played in classical music of South India, often mridangam along with other percussion Intrum ducks as the double-cone drum and the frame drum kanjira. Typical is the Sawal Jawab - ( " Q and A " ) called interaction, in which the percussion instruments play improvised rhythmic phrases and further develop them.
Among the most famous ghatam players counts Bangalore K. Venkataraman. In the Western sphere of the Ghatam among others a larger audience was made accessible in Vikku Vinayakram founded by jazz guitarist John McLaughlin Shakti formation. Another Ghatam players in jazz is Ramesh Shotham.
Origin and Distribution
Clay pot percussion instruments are mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts like the Natyashastra, a written around the time of Christ works for music and dance, Bhanda vadyam ( " vascular musical instrument "). At the East Gate of the Great Stupa of Sanchi from the 1st century BC, can be seen on the outside at the bottom architrave a long relief, which is one of the most important figures of the ancient Indian musical culture. It shows on the left a train of 17 musicians, the trumpets, snail horns, flutes, hourglass-shaped and cylindrical drums play. Move to the head of the procession four musicians who keep the clay pots in the shape of today's ghatams in the hands. Since it was a sacrificial procession, the clay pots should in this case have not served as musical instruments, but as containers for liquid offerings.
After the Indian classification of musical instruments, the ghatam is one of the ghana vadya, the idiophones that can not be tuned. The most original ghana vadya is the human body, its movements - such as clapping hands - rhythmic patterns produce after since ancient times strictly defined principles.
In large parts of India like clay pots are used in folk music. The North Indian counterpart to Ghatam means matka. In Goa, the clay pot has ghumat two openings, one of which is covered with an animal skin. He will always played samel together with the tube drum. Related ghumat With the mizhavu from Kerala, whose body is made of copper. The narrow opening of the vase-shaped instrument is also covered with skin. More Indian percussion instruments with a clay or metal pot as a resonator are: Gagri ( Gagra ) and patbuji -ki- kate in Rajasthan, gummati in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and in kudamuzha noot in Kashmir and Sindh. In contrast to the ghatam beats which. Noot on the accompanying singers on the opening and to the sides
The same clay pot used villadi vadyam as a resonator for the part played in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in its own folk song tradition musical bow. A special type of clay drum, which is excited by a string means pulluvan Kudam. This instrument is one of the ektara mentioned plucks drums.
In West Africa, clay pots are also used as rhythm instruments. In Togo, the traditional singer accompanied on a atukpen, the Nigerian udu offers by an additional lateral sound hole diverse sound variations. In the Arab Gulf countries pearl accompany their workers' songs with standing water pots made of clay ( jaḥla Arabic, Pl jaḥlāt ), boiler drums ( tabl ) and small cylindrical drums ( mirwas ).