The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan c11.227

c11.227

The Dhol, drawn at the top of the plate, is a species of drum chiefly employed in the native bands that are usually heard at weddings and other festivities. The shell is of wood bored out of the solid, and usually about 18 or 20 inches in length, and 12 inches in diameter. The size however varies greatly. The thickness of the shell is from 1/8th to 1/10th of an inch. The heads, made of skin, are stretched round hempen hoops, fastened to the shell and strained by means of thongs of leather interlaced. A band of leather passed round the shell and over the braces serves to tighten the instrument up to the desired pitch. The Dhol is played both by hand and stick. Sometimes the left side of this instrument is left out altogether, in which case the right side is beaten with two sticks. Metal rings struck by the drumsticks are sometimes attached as shown.