Northeastern Region
Northeast Iroquois

Wood, cloth, leather, metal
1800s
Diameter: 7.5 inches, Height: 4 inches
Membranophones – Struck Membranophones – Drum

An Iroquoian water drum constructed around an old wooden keg and wrapped with very old trade cloth. The leather drumheads of these drums were renewed as necessary. This is an old piece, the keg and trade cloth 19th century, though the leather head has been replaced, and is later. The drum here is pictured on pages 127 + 128 in “American Indian Antiques, Art and Artifacts of the Northeast,” by Virginia Vidler, 1976, New Jersey, ISBN 0-498-01495-9. The author notes, “The water drum was small, about eight inches across, and was held in one palm while being tapped with a stick in the other hand. It was watertight and the small amount of water in the bottom gave it a soft, vibrant tone.” This Iroquoian water drum has a metal rim on the keg’s bottom, and the leather drumhead is no longer tight. A rare Iroquois Indian artifact.

The playing of this drum entails continuous beating with a sculpted stick, sometimes curved, and accompanies most social songs. The water drum, used by men, was designed to be played within the longhouse, the traditional Iroquoian dwelling also used as a place of worship. Thus, its sound does not carry as far as Algonquian-style drums. It is the traditional drum for the Huron/Wendat/Wyandot and Iroquois/Haudenosaunee tribes.  The water drum was usually accompanied by the ‘steer horn’ rattle.

Reference: http://www.nativelynx.qc.ca/en/music/musical-instruments/