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DAMPHU

Type: AVANADDHA VADYA

Damphu is a percussion instrument made of leather, wood and bamboo. It is a rare instrument which is found in Sikkim.



DAMPHU in Sikkim

Material: Leather, Wood, Bamboo

Damphu is a percussion instrument similar to a big tambourine. It is a double sided disc-shaped drum, covered with leather and with a long wooden handle. This is a very rare musical instrument belonging to the indigenous Tamang community of the state. This instrument is very easy to play and easy to learn. In the Tamang community there are many stories about the invention of the Damphu. According to a popular legend, a hunter, Peng Dorje, once killed a beautiful deer and brought it home.Seeing the dead animal, his wife started crying. Though Peng tried very hard to lift her mood, he was unable to do so. One day he brought a piece of wood, four feet in length, and shaped it into a circle of four inches' width. He also made thirty-two small sticks and tightened the dry skin of the deer to one side of the circle with the help of these sticks. He started singing songs remembering the gods and his ancestors, keeping beat with his newly created instrument. All the creatures of the jungle started dancing to the music. Even his wife forgot her sorrow and joined in the dance. A bird, 'Danpha', danced so beautifully that Dorje decided to name his instrument after her. The Damphu soon became an integral part of the lifestyle of the Tamangs. The Damphu also symbolizes the Buddha and the Bodhisattwa, with the thirty-two bamboo sticks representing the Buddha's thirty-two symbols.