Elephant foot drum is a percussion instrument of Dai nationality, which is deeply loved by Dai family members and widely used in song and dance and Dai opera accompaniment. Named after the shape of the drum like an elephant foot drum, it is mainly spread in areas where Dai people live in Yunnan Province. Elephant foot drum plays an important role in Dai culture and is widely used in folk dances, sacrificial activities and other occasions.

The elephant foot drum looks like a delicate goblet. It is made of a whole piece of wood, and the whole body is hollow. The upper end is a cup resonator, and the drum surface is covered. The periphery of the drum surface is tied tightly with thin leather strips and tied to the lower part of the drum cavity, and its tension can be adjusted. The outside of the drum body is painted, and the waist and lower half of the drum are engraved with decorative patterns, and some of them are tied with ribbons and colored balls.

Shape structure

The drum body is slender, the head is big and the waist is thin, and the tail end is trumpet-shaped, which can be divided into three parts: drum chest (resonance cavity), drum waist (sound transmission channel) and drum foot (drum tail). Specifications vary from place to place, with different heights. General height 160 cm ~ 180 cm, maximum 200 cm, drum head diameter 28 cm ~ 32 cm, maximum 38 cm.

The chest (head end) is a cup-shaped resonator, about 60 cm long, and the lower part is arc-shaped and connected with the waist. The drum waist is a hollow cylinder, with a length of about 100 cm, the thinnest part with a diameter of 15 cm, and the outer surface is engraved with rings.

The drum is bell-shaped with a lotus pattern painted on it. The drum body is mostly hollowed out from the core of the local common Mengman tree (mango tree), and the drum surface is covered with cowhide, and the leather surface is fixed on the circular rattan ring on the edge of the drum cavity. The lower part of the drum chest is also provided with a circular small rattan ring, and the two rattan rings are tightened back and forth with thin leather strips, so that the tension of the drum skin can be adjusted to control the pronunciation level.

The above contents refer to Baidu Encyclopedia-Elephant Foot Drum