URUMI MELAM

The urumi is a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum from the state of Tamil nadu, south India.

Two skin heads are attached to a single hollow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jack wood, although other wood may be used. Both left and right heads are usually made from cow hide that is stretched around a thin metal ring (sometimes lizard skin is used for the right head). The outer circumference of each head is perforated with approximately seven to eight holes. The two heads are held in tension by a continuous rope that is woven around the drum in a V-shape pattern. Additional small coils of string or metal are tied around each pair of ropes near the left head. These coils can be slided horizontally along the length of the drum, increasing or decreasing the tension between the heads as necessary.