211.311

Khamok. Frame drum with a single membrane. Carved wooden shell with yellow ochre paint on the outside and rust coloured paint on the inside. The goatskin head and the outer ring are separated by lengths of reed Imperata cylindrica inserted between them, like the khol drum. The head is braced by lacing in a V-pattern looped around a leather ring half way down the shell, to which a small leather handle is also attached. The shell was carved in Botiamari village and the skins applied in Kamalabari town in Majuli.

The khamok is held in the left hand and played with the right. The left hand dampens the underside of the membrane to produce different sounds. The drum is used in tokari git (songs accompanied by the tokari lute) and informal devotional music in Assam.

Collection Information

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