India
Northern India

Wood, buffalo skin, goatskin, fiber, metal 
Mid 20th century
Length: 19.25 in; Larger drumhead diameter: 9.25 in; Smaller drumhead diameter: 7.5 in
Membranophones – Struck Membanophones

The dholak is a very popular double headed folk drum of northern India.  The body is barrel-shaped, made from carved wood painted a dark brown.  The drumheads are attached to the body with white braided fiber rope. Metal rings attached to the rope help tune the drumheads and hold them tight and in place. The rims of the heads are made of thin wood strips, with the animal skin of the heads completely wrapped around the rims. The right-hand membrane is the larger of the drumheads and is made of buffalo skin for low pitch.  It has a black paste (syahi) made of flour, iron filings, and egg, burned into a circular area in the center to add weight to the head, adding a second timbre on the same drumhead. The smaller left-hand membrane does not have this paste. This is one of the features that helps identify the India dholak from the Nepal madal, (also found in this collection). This smaller drumhead is made of goat skin for sharp notes while the larger drumhead is for low pitch.  The dholak can be played with the drum resting on the player’s lap, while standing, or pressed down with one knee while sitting on the floor.

The dholak is widely used in qawwali ( Sufi Islamic devotional singing); kirtan (the narrating or story telling of Indian religions), lavani (a genre of traditional song and dance in Maharashtra, India) and bhangra (upbeat popular music associated with the Punjabi diaspora in Britain)

Resource: Courtney, David. “Dholak – North Indian Hand Drum”