Pambai

Pambai ( tamil ) or Pamba ( telugu ) is a double drum, the interconnected of two, double-sided tube -covered drums there and is predominantly played in the Indian devotional folk music in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Design

The pambai belongs to the cylinder drums, whose body has the same diameter along its entire length. Each of the two drums is about 30 inches long, her body is made of wood or metal, usually brass. The membrane of animal skin becomes wet pulled over a wooden ring and so stuck that it surrounds the ring entirely. By drying it tightens up. The membrane rings protrude laterally beyond two to three inches above the body. By evenly distributed holes on the rings in the skin, a thick line is pulled to V-shaped to brace the two drums together. The cord can be opened at the junction and tighten.

This wide clamping ring corresponds to the construction of the beaten with sticks cylinder drums Chenda in Kerala and chande in Karnataka, as well as in India widespread Sanduhrtrommeln as the idakka in Kerala, the. Urumi in Tamil Nadu, the smaller South Indian udukai and played with the hands damaru The pitch is constant, and playing is the same on both sides, it is not changed by compressing the tensioning cords as in the idakka.

The pambai is usually played while standing in a horizontal position. The musician carries two laterally connected drums at hip level on a lanyard around his neck. The fitting on the body drum is usually larger and has a deeper tone, the second, smaller drum protrudes outward. There are two wooden drums ( Veeru vanam ) or a wood and a brass drum ( vengala pambai of vengalam, " brass " ) combined. The player beats both sides with curved sticks or with a stick on one side and one hand on the other side.

Dissemination

Usually, the pambai is used in the country in rituals for the worship of local gods whose shrines. In the southern Andhra Pradesh have become the Pambalas, members of a group with its own social status, specializing in playing the pambai.

Panguni Uthiram is a Hindu festival years in Tamil Nadu, the (corresponding to March-April) for several days at the time of the full moon in the month of Panguni under the Tamil calendar is celebrated in Murugan temples. A temple in which this son of Lord Shiva is worshiped particularly, is located in the temple town of Palani. For religious ritual heard that gods statues of the side shrines be led in procession with the temple car ( Rathas ). The rich supporting program includes shadow ( pomalattam ), street theater ( terukkuttu ), act at the dancers with a water pot ( karakam ) on the head, folk tales ( villu pattu ) and the instrumental ensemble nayyandi melam.

Usually has practically every major South Indian village on such an ensemble that occurs outdoors in the festivities and its director Nadaswaram the double reed instrument, or playing the same kind mukhavina smaller wind instrument. The rhythmic accompaniment is next to the pambai from the barrel drum and cymbals tavil ( Thalam ). The musicians dance while they play. Karakattam hot in general, various dances with water-filled clay pots and other acrobatic exercises that can be performed, especially in the Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu to honor the Pestgöttin Mariamman, accompanied by nayyandi melam musicians.