The vanishing art of traditional drum making

The vanishing art of traditional drum making

Published on Wednesday, 01 January 2014 19:39

The Oh-si, an open-ended drum with a long body, and the Doe-pat, or short drum, are traditional Myanmar musical instruments that are widely used for religious events and other social occasions.

Shan State, Mandalay and Minhla are the best-known places for the drum making business in Myanmar. In general, Mandalay drums are prominently used in upper Myanmar while Minhla drums are popular in Magwe Region, Chin State, the outskirts of Rakhine State, and the inner Ayeyawady Region. Shan-style drums, obviously, are popular in Shan State.

Minhla is a town located in Bago Region where Prince Kanaung ordered the building of Minhla fort in 1223 during the Myanmar era. Since then, Oh-si and Doe-pat playing culture has spread to Minhla from Mandalay as the Minhla fort construction workers enjoyed playing drums during their leisure time.

The Minhla fort took three years to build. During this time, the workers celebrated all the seasonal festivals with classical musical instruments. Some could even make the instruments themselves, so they became drum-makers. In this way, the drum-making business was assumed to have originated in Minhla and the business expanded. By the 1950s, the culture of drum playing was very popular. 

However, there is only one person today who runs the drum-making business in Minhla. 

"Drum-making businesses have been on the decline since 2000. I'll do it until I can make my best and I also want to teach the drum-making art to those who want to study it. This is a traditional kind of work," says Tin Yu, owner of the city's only drum-making business.

The decline in drum-making's popularity in Minhla has been attributed to the fact that skilled labourers abandoned the business when industrialisation arrived in Minhla. They shifted to more industrial work, such as the oil deposits.  One could earn Ks 10,000 or Ks 15,000 per day at an oil deposit. But if they worked as drum makers, they would earn only Ks 3,000 to Ks 5,000 per day.

There are still toy drums for children, and they can be found at the seasonal fairs. Toy drums can also produce a good sound.

The drum these days is usually made from rain tree, neem, red silk cotton, gum-kino and soft wood. For the toy drums, the surface is made out of cow leather and goat leather.

Generally, the length of the drum is 31 inches long and eight inches wide.

"The raw leather is burned under the sun. If we use salt in the drying process, it may evaporate and the sound won't be good. We have to adjust the thickness of the leather we use, depending on the compactness of the wood. We also have to adjust the sound by scraping the surface. That work needs to be very skillful," Tin Yu explains.

The current price for an Oh-si or a Doe-pat is Ks 50,000. The toy drum is Ks 2,000 or Ks 3,000.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/the-vanishing-art-of-traditional-drum-making/