The elephant foot drum is named because the drum body resembles an elephant's foot, and it is extensive. The elephant foot drum is also loved by the people of other ethnic groups and the Kemu people, and is an indispensable musical instrument in the songs and dances of various ethnic groups.

The elephant foot drum looks like a delicate goblet, it is made of a whole piece of wood (or a few pieces of wood glued), the whole body is hollow, the upper end is a cup-shaped resonant body, the drum surface is skinned, the drum skin is tightened with thin leather strips around the drum skin, tied to the lower part of the drum cavity, and its tension can be adjusted. The exterior of the drum body is painted, the waist of the drum and the lower part of the drum are carved with decorative patterns, and some are also tied with flower ribbons and colored balls on the drum body.

The elephant foot drum body often has a picture decoration, the graphics are mostly peacocks, sometimes the elephant foot drum also inserts a few peacock feathers in the dance, and the peacock is the most cherished and loved bird of the Dai people, it represents auspicious wishes, and shows the Dai people's yearning and pursuit of a better life. Similarly, the elephant's foot drum resembles an elephant's foot, and the elephant symbolizes a good harvest and a good life in the hearts of the Dai people. The peacocks and elephants were seen from the elephant's foot drum, all of which showed the good wishes of the Dai people.

2 A Brief History of DevelopmentEditing

The elephant foot drum is an ancient national musical instrument of the Dai people. The book "Biography of Baiyi" written by Qian Guxun of the Ming Dynasty said that the Dai people "used sheepskin as three or five long drums and slapped them with their hands". The "three or five long drums" here refer to the elephant foot drum, and its length has the meaning of three to five feet. It can be seen that before the Ming Dynasty, the Dai people already had elephant foot drums.

Regarding the origin of the elephant's foot drum, there is a very interesting story among the Dai people. It is said that a long time ago, the Dai area was plagued by floods every year, and people could not live and work in peace and contentment. Everyone hates this dragon to death, and there is a brave young man of the Dai nationality who is determined to eliminate harm for the people. With the help of his fellow villagers, he finally killed Jiaolong. When celebrating the victory, in order to express their hatred for the evil dragon and their longing for a happy life, they peeled off the skin of the dragon and made an elephant foot drum in imitation of the feet of the white elephant, which symbolizes good luck. Since then, the sound of the elephant foot drum has resounded throughout the Dai villages, expressing the joyful mood of the Dai people. In the minds of the Dai people, the elephant among the beasts and the peacock among the birds are regarded as auspicious symbols. Therefore, whenever the elephant's foot drum is beaten, men, women and children dance merrily.

The elephant foot drum made by the Dai people has a slender drum body, and the drum surface is no longer made of python skin, but is made of sheepskin. The drum body is made of light wood, a complete log hollowed out of the heart of the tree. The entire body of the drum is painted in bright colors and decorated with peacock feathers, which is very beautiful. Yellow or other colored ribbons are tied around the drum and hung on the left shoulder of the drummer. The drummer holds the drum under the left flank and hits the drum with both hands. Before beating the drum, moisten the drum surface with sticky rice to make the drum sound pleasant. The drummers dance while beating the drums, and the drums are sometimes tight and sometimes slow, and the rhythm is bright. The drummer is the organizer and conductor of the entire dance. People dance happily to the sound of drums, dancing in a variety of ways.

3 LegendsEdit

There is also a legendary story about the origin of the Dai elephant foot drum. Legend has it that in ancient times, the Mong Sha area was a beautiful lake with rippling blue waves. But on the shore of the lake, there are python demons and turtle demons, which go around causing evil and devouring people and animals. Later, a Dai warrior came to the lake with a group of hunters, destroyed the python that devoured people and animals, and took the skin and beat it on the hollow tree and bamboo tube for fun, so the drum was formed. A few years later, two mahouts changed the drum to the shape of elephant's feet and legs, and since then the Dai people have had elephant foot drums.

4 Playing method editing

The playing methods of the elephant foot drum are very rich, and they are often used with the fingers, palms, fists, elbows, and feet according to the emotional needs of the performance, and the drum beats are varied. The drummers beat and dance, and from time to time make movements such as swinging the drum, shaking the drum, and turning around, which is very tempting.

When playing, hang the elephant foot drum strap on your shoulder, the drum body is inclined to the front, or you can stand the drum upright on the ground, hold the edge of the drum with your left hand, and alternately hit the drum with your index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger and right hand. Even the elbows and feet participate in the percussion when the performance is high or emotional.

There are several ways to play, such as the front beat, muffled beat, finger beat (with one finger), palm beat, and boxing (half-fist), and the right hand hits multiple beats, and even the elbows and feet participate in the beating when the performance is high or emotional.

When the Dai drummer plays, in order to change the timbre and pitch of the drum, he also pastes rice balls in the center of the drum surface, and uses the size and thickness of the rice balls to change the performance effect.

The elephant foot drum has different sounds due to different sizes, the big drum has a strong and vigorous timbre, the middle drum is agitated and high-spirited, and the small drum is crisp and bright.

The elephant foot drum is often combined with gongs and Dai cymbals to accompany folk dances such as the peacock dance of the Dai people, and is often used as a colored rhythm instrument in folk bands or Dai opera bands. In addition, the elephant's foot drum is also combined with dance and performed as a solo program, which is known as the "Elephant's Foot Inspiration".

5 Classification editing

Long elephant foot drum

There are not many dance moves, but he is known for his variations in playing style and rich drum beats. There are hand one-finger hits, two-finger hits, three-finger hits, palm hits, punches, elbow hits, and even foot hits, head hits, mostly performed by one person, or for dance accompaniment. The long elephant foot drum is the tallest and largest one of the elephant foot drums, called "Guangya" in Dai language, generally in 13O ~ 160 cm, the highest up to 190 cm, and the diameter of the drum surface is about 30 cm.

Medium elephant foot drum

It is generally beaten with a fist, and in some areas with a mallet. It doesn't have more drum beats, and it's generally a single beat, with a weak beat with the left finger in some areas. It is based on the length of the drum sound, the timbre and the swing of the drum tail during the dance. It is said that the elderly who play the drum can play a mallet drum to unbutton all the buttons of their clothes, and then a mallet drum to button all the buttons, and the drum sound is still not finished. The elephant's feet are solid, steady and strong, and there are many big movements and big dances. There is no limit to the number of people during the dance, and when there are few people, they fight in a circle. The drum is called "light swallowing" in Dai language, it is the most widely used kind of elephant foot drum, the drum height is 60~95 cm, the diameter of the drum surface is 23~28 cm, the diameter of the drum bottom is 23~31 cm, and the diameter of the thinnest part of the waist is 11~15 cm, which is often used for elephant foot encouragement or festival celebration.

Baby elephant foot drum

It is more common only in Xishuangbanna, and the dance steps are flexible and jumping, characterized by fighting drums and racing drums. In the fight and match, the victory is won by flexible and witty attacks, concessions, and finally grabbing the opponent's hat or baotou. It is usually a two-person match. The shape of the small drum is like a short leg, with a height of only 30~40 cm, and it is not as widely used as large and medium-sized drums.

Nagna drum is "iron drum", in the Qing Dynasty historical books called "Nagara", "Nugura", because the drum body is made of iron, so it is called "iron drum", and also has the name of "Dongba". It is said that in ancient times, people tied it to the saddle as a war drum. It only became a percussion instrument for the Uyghur people after about the 9th century.

The shape of the nagra drum looks like a flower pot, the drum surface is covered with camel skin or cowhide, six nagra is a set, each set is divided into three groups, two in each group, one plays the high note, one plays the bass, the difference is 4-5 degrees, and the wooden hand is struck. On festive occasions, the players climb up to the rooftops and beat the cheerful nagra, play the zona, and dance to the sound of the drums and dance to the frenzy of the Sama. This drum not only enhances the warm atmosphere of the festival, but also has a unique national style.

The shell of the Nagra drum is made of pig iron in a special mold, and the drum is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and is cylindrical in shape. Its upper part is stretched with a stretched donkey skin or calf skin, and after the skin is tightened and fastened with a rope, a new nagra drum is ready.

In general folk instrumental ensembles and singing and dancing accompaniments, only a pair of Nagra drums is used, but there are also pieces that are performed together with Dafu. For example, with a wide range of themes and bright rhythms, there are 12 sets of traditional music such as "Sainam", "Double Sainam", "Loxale", "Locshal", "Gudum", "Musha-Uzhek", "Saliha", "Newitt", "Shadiana I.", "Chardiana II".

Listening to the Nagra drum requires a state of mind, which allows you to gallop the wings of your imagination, or you can indulge the secrets that have been hidden in your heart for a long time, you just need to let the drum sound fly into your heart, listen to its rhythm, let your mood fly, and you will unconsciously blend in.

It is precisely this -- it has not yet ascended to the hall of elegance, the appearance is simple, and only the drummer is allowed to stroke lightly, and then it has the world's absolute sound! Its drum sound is like a clear spring in the dry Gobi, bubbling and infiltrating people's hearts, and the drum music is soothing and calm, creating an emotional carnival picture. This is a belief, a calling, an inexplicable spiritual sustenance. It not only gives people strength, but also gives people joy.

2 Kinds of editing

According to the size, the Nagra drum can be divided into three types: large (coarse tone), medium (hoarse), and small (thin tone), its height is about 20-35 cm, and the diameter of the drum surface is 25-40 cm. It is composed of two drums, one large and one small, with a high note and a low note, with a difference of five or four degrees, and is mostly used for band ensembles. Roasting the drum over fire or in the sun can make it sound fine. You can also spray water on the drum surface or use water to moisten it to make it sound thick and hoarse.

3 Playing method editing

Nagra drums can be played with a single click, a double tap, a roll, or a muffled play, and can also be played with different parts such as the center, center, outer ring, or frame to achieve different sounds. The big drum and snare drum can be played alternately.

The nagra drum is played flat on the ground, with one person holding a long, slightly curved wooden crumpet in each hand, striking the big drum with his right hand and the small drum with his left hand. The big drum emits a "dong dong" bass, the snare drum makes a "da-da" high note, the sound is sonorous and strong, the timbre is high and low, bright and sinking, floating and falling, all between the drums and hammers, when soothing, such as roaming in the clouds, when excited, like a thousand horses galloping, combined into a seamless and wonderful musical radiation.

There are three common long drums, one is the Korean long drum, the other is the Yao long drum, and the other is the Fuzhou wolf string. The Korean long drum is mainly popular in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin Province and other areas inhabited by Koreans, also known as Fugu. The long drum of the Yao tribe has been spread in the Song Dynasty, and it is mostly made of swallow fat wood, with fine craftsmanship, and is mainly used for dance accompaniment. Fuzhou wolf strings, also known as Fuzhou long drums, is a traditional percussion instrument in Fujian, mostly used in Fujian folk music.

a class="ed_inner_link" href="/lemma/?lemmaId=8952" target="_blank" ss_c=".link"> Korean long drum, also known as the cane drum and the two-stick drum. It is prevalent in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin Province and other areas inhabited by Koreans.

The long drum is a variant of the ancient thin-waisted drum. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was used in the ninth and tenth pieces of court music. Song Dynasty "Book of Music": "The cane drum, the waist drum, the Han and Wei dynasties used it." The big ones are tiles, and the small ones are wood, all of which are wide and slender. Shen Kuo's "Dream Creek Pen Talk": "Tang's cane drum, originally called 'two cane drums', both ends use canes. Today's cane and drum, one end of the hand to pick it up." The records of the Yuan Dynasty are particularly detailed, "Yuan History, Lile Zhi": "The cane and drum, made of wood for Kuang, thin waist, with skin, on the colorful embroidery belt, right hit with a cane, left clap with a hand."

The body of the drum is wooden, cylindrical, thick and hollow at both ends, and thin and solid in the middle. Full length (70-80 cm, drum diameter about 40 cm. The size of the drum cavity at both ends is different, and the skin is also different. The thick end is covered with cowhide, horse skin or pig skin, and the thin end is covered with deerskin, white fish skin or dog skin, and the skin is framed by an iron ring, which is tightened by a leather strip or rope and can be adjusted in tension. The drum is painted with red paint on the outside. Due to the difference in the size of the drum cavity and the thickness of the skin, it can produce two different timbres, the thick end is a soft and deep bass, and the thin end is a crisp and bright treble, generally a fourth or fifth interval relationship, and the pitch can be adjusted as needed.

When playing, sit and place the drum on the stand, stand up, hang the drum in front of the player, hold the drum with the right hand and strike the thin end of the drum surface, the drum is made of thin bamboo strips, about 40 cm long, and the head is slightly larger, and the left thumb is placed on the edge of the thick end of the drum frame, and the other four fingers are beaten. There are four kinds of playing skills, including single drum point, single flower point, double flower point and muffled drum point in the left hand, and single drum point, single flower point, double flower point, rolling and vibrating in the right hand. Performers tend to be young girls between the ages of 10 and 20.

2 Yao Patriarch Drum Editing

Introduction to the Long Drum

The long drum of the Yao nationality, a thin-waisted drum spread in the Yao area, is mainly used for dance accompaniment. As early as the Song Dynasty in the 12th century, the Yao people were able to make long drums. But it is not sent, not sold, and there are all in the village. In ancient times, it was called "cymbal drum" or "gun drum". The Ming and Qing dynasties still take the cymbal drum as the name, and some Yao villages still call the long drum the cymbal drum.

The long drum of the Yao nationality is finely made, the appearance is beautiful, it is mostly made of swallow fat wood, the drum body is a long cylinder, about 83 cm long, it is made of a whole piece of wood car, the middle waist is thinner and solid, the two ends are slightly thicker and the face is empty, and it is covered with sheepskin or mountain rabbit skin. The whole body is painted with clouds, sun and moon, dragons and phoenixes, flowers and plants or birds and beasts, etc., the paint color is bright, very rich in national style, and some are still tied with 8 small copper bells at both ends of the drum and around the waist.

folk dance

Among the folk dances of the Yao people, "Chang Drum" is the most famous. Dancers hang the drum diagonally at the waist and clap it with both hands, or hold the middle of the drum with their left hand and beat it with their right hand, dancing while striking, and the long drum is both an accompaniment instrument and a prop for the dance. In the Yao villages, every year on October 16, people will be drunk and dance for a long time.

Historical legends

Changgu Yao is called "Bogong" in language, and its history is long. On May 3, the second year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1132), the "Twelve Yao People Entering the Mountain" issued on May 3 contains: "In front of the palace of the Son of Heaven, the king has a long shirt and big sleeves, a long waist and a wooden drum, a spotted coat and a red collar, and a pipa is blown and sung. "It has a history of more than 800 years. Legend has it that the ancestor of the Yao people, Pan Gu, went up the mountain to hunt, fell off a cliff while fighting with a wild bull, and died on a tree right. So the people hollowed out the heart of the tree, peeled off the cow's skin and covered it with a long drum, and beat it day and night to sacrifice to the king of the plate.

Shape classification

Long drums are divided into three types according to their shape: small, medium, and large. The small long drum is also known as the short drum, which is about 70-90 cm long, the diameter of the drum waist is 4-6 cm, and the diameter of the drum surface at both ends is 8-10 cm; the medium long drum is also known as the long waist drum or the yellow mud drum, which is about 110-150 cm long, the diameter of the drum waist is about 15-20 cm, and the diameter of the drum surface at both ends is about 25-30 cm; the large long drum is also known as the race drum, which is about 180-240 cm long, the diameter of the drum waist is about 20-25 cm, and the diameter of the drum surface at both ends is about 30-50 cm. No matter what kind of long drum, it is made of wood and soft trees, and the drum surface is covered with cow and sheepskin, painted with paint, and painted with dragon and phoenix patterns.

Drumming action

There are 72 sets of drumming movements of the long drum, most of which are to express the content of production and life, such as building houses, plowing and farming, imitating the movements of birds and beasts, etc., with vivid images and full of life. Drumming is divided into literary and martial arts. The movements of the literary fighting are soft and slow, and the martial arts are rough and bold; there are two people fighting against each other, four people fighting against each other, and large groups of people can also fight in a circle, the atmosphere is warm, and the drums are loud. Most of the performers are men in their prime, but there are also women who beat them.

Related customs

Most of the long drums played by the Yao people are held on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month, the 6th day of June, the 15th day of August and the 16th day of October of the lunar calendar. In particular, on October 16, the Yao "Panwang Festival" is the most popular. "Return the king's vow" is a small vow for three years, a big vow for 12 years, a small vow to play the long drum for three days and three nights, and a big vow to play for seven days and seven nights. Prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China, such activities were carried out by clan organizations with the same surname. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was organized in villages, and it was not limited to the above-mentioned festivals, such as National Day, Spring Festival or harvest celebrations.

3 Fuzhou Wolf String (Fuzhou Long Drum) Edit

Wolf strings are also known as wolf tents, wolf canes (wolf zhang), Fuzhou drums, Fuzhou long drums, Fujian long drums, canes, wolf drums, and puffy drums.

Fujian folk traditional percussion instruments, like the Korean long drum and the Zhuang bee drum, are the remains of ancient Chinese thin-waisted drum instruments. It is mostly used with the accompaniment of Fujian opera and Fujian folk instrumental ensemble "cage blowing", "Fuzhou tea pavilion Shiban music", "Zhangzhou Nanci", "Shiquan cavity" and other Fujian folk music.

The history of the wolf string

The wolf string refers to the thin waist drum, and the ancient Fujian musician Chen Yang's "Book of Music" volume 137 says: "The system of the waist drum, the big tile, the small wood, are all wide and slender belly." "This percussion instrument only has living fossils of this instrument in Fuzhou, Fujian, Korea and Guangxi Zhuang areas. The Korean people call it "long drum", and the Guangxi Zhuang people call this waist drum "bee drum".

The shape of the wolf string

The wooden drum body is slender and hollow, with a large and a small round shape at the left and right ends, and the sheepskin is the face (or cowhide or snake skin), with a mesh string and a hard ring to adjust the tightness of the drum skin and change the pitch and timbre. The diameter of the drum surface at one end of the big head is about 18 cm, the diameter of the one end of the small head is about 9 cm, the total length of the drum body is about 57 cm, and the color of the two ends is mostly lake blue or green, and the middle is red. According to the size of the head, it is often divided into three types: large, medium and small.