
A snare drum (bendir) made from goat skin, painted wood and gut snares. The skin is decorated with henna depicting the Hand of Fatima.
Bendir is its name in the Berber language spoken by the Berbers of Morocco.
A Bendir is a frame drum with a snare. A snare is usually metal wire or cords of animal gut stretched across the skin which vibrate against the skin to make an extra ‘cracking’ type of sound.
The bendir may be held vertically or horizontally (with the drumskin facing the ground).
It is played with both hands; one hand slaps the centre of the drum and the other taps the edge of the skin with the fingers. The Bendir is used to accompany songs and dances and is often played by women at weddings. The drum is held in one hand with the thumb gripping through the hole in the frame. The bendir is not hit with a stick; it is a hand drum. The rhythm is beaten using both hands. It is hit with the free hand using a mixture of palm and finger slaps at the centre and edge of the drumskin to get different tones. The hand holding the drum also uses the fingers to tap the edge of the skin. Strings of gut are stretched across the inside of the drumskin These strings are called a snare. When the drumskin is hit, the skin vibrates against this snare string to make a buzzing effect.
In certain religious brotherhoods in Morocco such as Jilala or Derqaoua, Bendirs are used to help believers enter a trance to bring about healing or purifying of the spirit and better worship their god. Particular Bendir drumming patterns and rhythms were used to switch believers in and out of trance along with the burning of incense and certain herbs. Whilst in trance, believers dance and spin in time to drumming and music. This practice is part of the Sufi tradition which originated in the middle east but is practiced throughout the world and believers are sometimes referred to as Dervishes.