A term used since medieval times for various types of Indian drum.
The dhakkā documented in medieval Sanskrit texts was a large cylindrical or barrel-shaped drum. Referred to in the 12th-century Kashmiri chronicle Rājataranginī as gajadhakkā(‘elephant drum’) and jayadhakkā (‘victory drum’), these terms suggest they were large, loud public instruments (in modern Bengali ‘to beat the dhāk’ means to make a great commotion).
In southern Bihar the dhāk is a large wooden drum from 65 to 95 cm long, with two heads equal in size, stretched over bamboo hoops and laced to the body. Played by traditional musicians, it is similar in construction to the dhollū of southern Bihar but much larger and cylindrical or slightly barrel-shaped. The drum hangs from the player’s left shoulder and is held at his left side with its goatskin or calfhide playing-head facing forward. He beats the head with thin reed sticks, one in each hand, or with a thick wooden stick in his right hand and a bamboo stick in his left. The drum’s rear head is of ox-hide, with a temporary paste of resin and/or burnt oil residue applied in a circular patch at the centre. The dhāk has traditionally been associated with hunting and warfare. In the early years of the 20th century it was apparently played by some Ādivāsī groups, particularly the Mundā, in percussion ensembles accompanying certain communal dances. It is now known, however, primarily as a drum of certain leather-working communities, such as the Ghasi and Gorāit. These musicians play it in an ensemble at weddings and for the paīkisword dance.
The dhāk of Bengal (India and Bangladesh) is a large wooden barrel-shaped drum of approximately equal diameter and length. Its two heads are braced by leather lacings; metal tuning-rings convert the V-shape of the lacing into that of a Y. The drum is hung aslant in front of the body by a shoulder-strap and played on the upper head with two cane sticks, often with the brass gong kasar. It is very loud and is associated especially with Śaiva-Śākta religious festivals (worship of Śiva or his consort goddesses Dūrga, Kāli etc.) such as Carak (the hook-swinging festival), Gajan (a ritual ascetic period with mime) and Dūrga Pūjā. The player often dances while drumming and decorates the drum with feathers.
In Rajasthan ‘dhāk’ denotes a double-headed hourglass drum with variable tension. It is also called deru, a name probably derived from the Sanskrit term damaru, denoting another drum of similar shape, which is widespread in North and South India. Over both openings of the wooden waisted body (about 25 cm high) are placed goatskins, previously stretched on a wooden hoop and in diameter slightly greater than the openings (about 12 cm). A string laced in a V-shaped pattern connects the two hoops, holding the skins against the body. The tension can be varied during playing by squeezing or relaxing (with the hand or the foot) a double looping of cord which girdles the centre of the lacing where the body narrows. The pressure on the skins changes the pitch. Only one head is beaten, with a stick. The dhāk is always played with thālī(percussion trays) as an accompaniment to epic-religious songs, principally among the Bhil and Garasia Ādivāsī groups of the Aravalli Hills.
S.C. Roy: The Mundas and their Country (Calcutta, 1912/R)
C. Sachs: Die Musikinstrumente Indiens und Indonesiens (Berlin and Leipzig, 1914, 2/1923), 75
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J. Hoffmann and A. van Emelen: Encyclopaedia mundarica (Patna, 1938–50)
K.S. Kothari: Indian Folk Musical Instruments (New Delhi, 1968)
O. Prasad: Munda: Music and Dance (diss., Ranchi U., 1971)
S. Raya: Music of Eastern India: Vocal Music in Bengali, Oriya, Assamese and Manipuri with Special Emphasis on Bengali (Calcutta, 1973, 2/1985)
K. Kothari: Folk Musical Instruments of Rajasthan (Borunda, 1977)
B.C. Deva: Musical Instruments of India (Calcutta, 1978)
CAROL M. BABIRACKI, ALASTAIR DICK, GENEVIÈVE DOURNON/R