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  • Writer's pictureRhythmatist

Nepalese Madal drum

The Madal is a rhythm-keeping drum for folk songs in Nepal.  It averages two feet in length and six inches in diameter.  Black dots made of iron filings, flour and egg are burned onto the skins in the center giving the skin weight that causes the tone to reverberate like a low pitched bell.  They are usually accompanied by a hollow head instrument that goes by the name Sarangi (which is different from the Indian Sarangi that has a hollow leather-covered head upon which the string bridge rests). 


A large version of the Madal is called a Pachima or Khin (the former having round tuning pegs) and can be up to three feet in length and one foot in diameter.  Like the madal, it has a syahi dot on each skin which makes the strikes continue to resonate.  This drum is most similar to the Indian pakhawaj drum except for its rounded shape.

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