To make the drums, the artisans must have skillful hands, experience and the skill to adjust the sounds so as to determine the resonance of the drums. The drums are often made of jackfruit wood, as it is less attacked by termites. The surface of the drum is made of buffalo or cow hide. A finished leather drum has to go through many stages, the most important one is the handling of the leather material, and the most difficult one is covering the drum’s surface with buffalo or cow hide.
There are not many drum-making facilities in Hue now. However, many people still look for buying the drums because of their sound quality as well as their beautiful and sophisticated drum designs.
Hue News would like to introduce a series of photos of Nguyen Khoa Huy, a photographer, about the meticulous drum-making craft, taken at the drum-making facilities in Hue city, Huong Tra town and Huong Thuy town.
Wood is cut according to the patterns
Assembling the body of the drum
Checking the tightness of the drum’s body
Stretching the buffalo or cow hide to make the drum’s surface to create resounding echo
Making the edge of the drum’s surface
Cleaning the drum’s surface
Carving patterns on the drum’s surface
Polishing the drum’s body
In the village communal houses, there are drums, which are nearly as tall as the drum users
The sizes and types of drums are diverse
The drums to be used in the festivals
The artisans pursuing the drum-making craft
The drum set often used in Hue royal court music
A foreign little boy is very interested in the drum in Duyet Thi Duong theater
By Hue News