The idakka (), also spelt edaykka/ edakka, is an Hourglass drum from Kerala in south India, very similar to the pan-Indian damaru. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a stick. Like the damaru, the idakka's pitch may be bent by squeezing the lacing in the middle. The idakka is slung over the left shoulder and the right side of the instrument is gently beaten with a thin curve-ended stick.
Etymology
The Malayalam name
idaykka or
idakka derives from the
Sanskrit word श्रीढक्का (
Śrīḍhakkā). In Sanskrit, a
ḍhakkā is described as a double drum that makes a
ḍhak sound. ढक् इति गम्भीरशब्देन कायतीति (ḍhak iti gambhīraśabdēna kāyatīti).
[Kalpadruma, Sanskrit dictionary] The sacred prefix
Sri is used to denote the auspiciousness of the instrument.
Construction
Similar to the
talking drum, the idakka consists of two circular
each of which is mounted within a circular ring. The hourglass-shaped body is placed between the two heads and lacing is used to pull the two rings towards each other, stretching each drumhead over an open end of the body.
Snare drum-like strings made of natural fiber are stretched across the open ends of the drum body, under each drumhead. It is not uncommon for the diameter of the drumheads to be larger than the diameter of the body, with the result that the drumheads are often seen mounted significantly off-center.
Acoustics
The idakka is a small, high-pitched drum with definite pitch. The snares running under the drumheads have been found to interact with the vibrating membrane in a way that causes the pitch of the instrument to be determinate.
Different pitches can be obtained by squeezing the lacing around the instrument, which changes the amount of tension in the skins.
See also
