Dhol () can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in Indian subcontinent primarily includes northern areas such as the Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab region, Haryana, Delhi, Kashmir, Sindh, Assam Valley, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Konkan, Goa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. A related instrument is the dholak or dholki. Dhols are amongst other events used in Indian wedding ceremony processions such as Baraat or Varyatra.
Someone who plays the dhol is known as dholi.
Etymology
The word Dhol is derived from
Sanskrit word
ḍhola, a term for drum in Sanskrit language.
Construction
The dhol is a double-sided barrel drum played mostly as an accompanying instrument in regional music forms. In
Qawwali music, the term
dhol is used to describe a similar, but smaller drum with a smaller
tabla, as a replacement for the left-hand tabla drum. The typical sizes of the drum vary slightly from region to region. In Punjab, the dhol remains large and bulky to produce the preferred loud bass. In other regions, dhols can be found in varying shapes and sizes, and made with different woods and materials (fiberglass, steel, plastic). The drum consists of a wooden barrel with animal hide or synthetic skin stretched over its open ends, covering them completely. These skins can be stretched or loosened with a tightening mechanism made up of either interwoven ropes, or nuts and bolts. Tightening or loosening the skins subtly alters the pitch of the drum sound. The stretched skin on one of the ends is thicker and produces a deep, low-frequency (higher bass) sound and the other thinner one produces a higher-frequency sound. Dhols with synthetic, or plastic, treble skins are common.
Playing
The dhol is played using two wooden sticks, usually made out of wood, cane, or also known as wickers cane. The stick used to play the bass side of the instrument is known as the
dagga in Punjabi. Traditionally the Dhol player would go and look for a branch from a hardwood tree known as Tali (oak or mahogany) that was naturally curved at that angle and use this as the Dagga (Bass Stick). The reason for the bend stick is because of the goat skin. This is thin like 80-100gsm paper, so the stick has to be bent to avoid piercing the skin. The bass stick or Dagga is the thicker of the two and is bent in an eighth- or quarter-circular arc on the end that strikes the instrument.
The other stick, known as the
teeli, is much thinner and flexible and used to play the higher note end of the instrument.
The dhol is slung over the shoulder or, more rarely, around the neck of the player with a strap usually made up of woven cotton.
In the pre-Partition era, dozens of rhythms were played on the Punjabi dhol, which corresponded to specific functions. However, with the decline or disappearance of some cultural practices, recent generations of dhol players have become unfamiliar with many of these. At the same time, the growth of folkloric staged bhangra dance in Punjab inspired the creation of many new rhythms particular to that dance.
Some of the most common dhol rhythms are bhangra (originating with the old, community bhangra dance), dhamaal (associated with Sufi devotional dance), and kaharva, a dance and song rhythm.
The introduction of electronic devices such as tape recorders has led to a decline in the importance of dhol players in celebratory events. Nevertheless, dhol music still figures in the studio recordings of present-day raas, garba and bhangra music artists.
History
Shail Vyas claims several percussion instruments such as the Dhol maybe came from the influence of some clay-made instruments that are similar to the Dhol, which are found in Indus Valley Civilisation.
Dhol is depicted in earliest ancient Indian sculptural arts as one of the chief percussion instruments for ancient Indian music along with
tabla.
Ain-i-Akbari, describes the use of Dhol in the orchestra of the
Mughal Empire emperor Akbar the Great.
The Indo-Aryan word "dhol" appears in print around 1800 in the treatise
Sangitasara.
[, citing:]
Regional forms and traditions
The Punjab region
The Punjabi dhol is used in the
Punjab region of Pakistan and northern India. In Pakistan, the dhol is mostly played in the Punjab region; however, it is also used throughout the country ranging from as far south as Karachi and as far north as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In India it is found in the states of Punjab,
Himachal Pradesh,
Haryana, and
Delhi. The beats of dhol have been an element in the ceremonies of the great Sufi mystics and their followers. The patterns of dhol have been developed to catalyze the mind of the devotee who is seeking spiritual trance.
Assam
In
Assam, the dhol is widely used in
Rongali Bihu (
Bohag Bihu), the Assamese new year celebrations in the month of April. Celebrated in mid-April every year (usually on 14 or 13 April according to the Assamese traditional calendar), the dhol is an important and a quintessential instrument used in
Bihu dance. The origin of the Dhol in Assam dates back to at least the 14th century when it was referred in Assamese Buranjis as being played by the indigenous people. This shows that the origin of Dhol in Assam was much older than the rest of India, and the name was probably due to sanskritisation. The people of the
Assam valley reckon that the beats of the
dhol are enchanting for people even at a long distance. Played by using a bamboo stick with bare hands, the Assamese dhol is made up of a wooden barrel with the ends covered primarily with animal hide (unlike the rest of the Indian subcontinent, where it could be a synthetic skin as well), that can either be stretched or loosened by tightening the interwoven straps. The dhol player is termed
Dhulia and the expert in dhol is termed
Ojah (Assamese: ওজা).
The Khol a kind of dhol also has an aspect of symbolism in Assamese culture, and one considers it to be a " devo badyo" (Assamese: দেৱ বাদ্য) or an instrument of god believed to be brought to Earth by the Pandavas.
Goa
Dhol (which is always accompanied by
tasha,
cymbals, etc.) is an important part of Goan
shigmo celebrations.
It also is an important part of Goan temple music; the temple dhol was traditionally played by a specific caste.
Gujarat
The dhol was used by Gujaratis during celebrations such as Navaratri to accompany garba. Garba are the folk songs which describe the grace of the divine mother. It is one of the important musical instruments in Gujarat.
Maharashtra
In
Maharashtra, dhol is a primary instrument used in
. In the city of
Pune, locals come together to form dhol pathaks (troupes). Pune supposedly has the largest number of dhols in
India. In the city of
Nagpur, there are many troupes that play dhol on festivals and other occasions. Here dhol is referred to as 'Sandhal'. Dhol is made up of two stretched membranes tied by a strong string. One side of the dhol is played by wooden stick called "tiparu", on that side black coloured ink paste stick in the centre. This membrane is called the "dhum". In technical language, it is called base. Another side of dhol is called "thapi" or "chati". In technical language, it is called as tremer, this side of membrane is only played by palm. Boll of the dhol is "Taa", "Dhin" and "Dha". "Taa" for the "Thapi" side, "Dhin" for the "Dhum" side and "Dha" for both sides played together.
Karnataka
Called
Dhollu in
Kannada language, the folk dance is known as
Dollu Kunitha -Kunitha meaning dance. The folk art is mainly preserved and performed by the people of the
Kuruba community of Karnataka.
Uttarakhand
In the
Garhwal division region, specific musical caste groups like the
auji,
das or
dholi have historically played the dhol and damau, the two folk instruments of the region, at special occasions or religious festivals according to the
Dhol Sagar, an ancient treatise that was transmitted orally and by practical teaching.
Bengal
The "dhak" (Bengali: ঢাক) is a huge membranophone instrument from
Bangladesh and
West Bengal. The shapes differ from almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It is suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound.
Drum beats are an integral part of Durga Puja. It is mostly played by the Bengali Hindu community.
Pashtun areas
The dhol is the main musical instrument in the
Pashtun people dance known as
attan. The Afghan and Iranian
Dohol is not the same drum on the Indian subcontinent.
Caucasus
Caucasian dhol is called dhol in
Armenia, dholi or doli in Georgia and
Abkhazia, and doul in
North Caucasus.
In global culture
It has become popular in other parts of the world due to
Indian diaspora and diaspora from the Indian subcontinent. Dhol has been a popular musical instrument in formal and informal dance performances for decades.
See also
