Images from The Beede Gallery

Skull Drum (Damaru), Eastern Tibet, Mid-19th Century

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NMM 1383. Skull drum (damaru), eastern Tibet, mid-19th century. Hourglass-
shaped drum constructed of two inverted skull caps, symbolic of the joining of the
female and male elements of life. Silver band, ornamented with coral and turquoise
stones, connects the two halves. Played by rotating, causing the swinging beater to
strike each head. Mantras were often written on the interior of drums such as these.
Held in the right hand, the "hand of method," the skull drum is an example of the
synthesis of tradition that took place between Bön and Buddhist spirituality.
Ringley Fund, 1976.

Side Views of the Damaru

The skull drum, often paired with the thighbone trumpet in ritual use, existed as
part of traditional Bön ceremonies prior to the presence of Buddhism in Tibet.
Traditionally, the crania would be gathered from a "sky-burial" site, or charnel
ground. It is the Tibetan belief that the body is nothing more than a vessel and,
upon death, it should continue the cycle that is life; therefore, corpses are exposed
to the elements, in order to decompose, in designated areas known as charnel
grounds. The selection of skulls from charnal grounds, for use in making the
damaru, traditionally involved several factors including age of the deceased,
gender, and cause of death.

Tibetan Monk Holding Damaru and Rkang-Gling

"A wandering Tibetan monk,

or yogi, who lives as a hermit
and recites the holy texts,
gcod. The equipment of the
yogi includes the damaru
drum and the rkang-gling
made from a human femur."
From Lucie Rault, Musical
Instruments: Craftmanship
and Traditions from
Prehistory to the Present,
translated from the French,
Instruments de musique du
monde by Jean Brenton
(Paris: Editions de la
Martinière, 2000 and New
York: Harry N. Abrams,
2000), p. 108. Image source:
A. David-Neel.

Literature: Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal,

Thailand and Tibet, The Shrine to Music Museum Catalog of the
Collections, Vol. II, André P. Larson, editor (Vermillion: The Shrine to
Music Museum, 1982), p. 29.

Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet,

M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, May 1983, pp. 73-75.

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