Water drum

This article is about musical instrument. For steam boilers, see Glossary of boiler terminology#Water_drum.

Water drums are a category of membranophone characterized by the filling of the drum chamber with some amount of water to create a unique sound. Water drums are common in Native American music, being the traditional drum for the Huron/Wendat/Wyandot and Iroquois/Haudenosaune. Its used today in both traditional Longhouse social dances and also ceremonially . yaˀdáhkwah is the Wyandot word for water drum .Today they are made of both wood and clay. Wooden water drums are made either by hollowing out a solid section of a small soft wood log, or assembled using cedar slats and banded much like an old keg. Clay drums are either handmade or an old crock is used. Wyandot and Seneca/Cayuga traditionally used a groundhog skin ( daˀyęh ) for the skin covering,though a piece of deer skin works well today. An Iroquoian or Wendat/Wyandot drum stick is carved from a piece of hard wood with a small rounded tip. Each drum style has its own unique way of tightening the hide to maximize the sound. The drum head must be both tight and saturated with water for the best sound. The water drum is accompanied most often with horn and/or bark rattles.

It is also found in African and Southeast Asian music. It creates a unique sound because the amount of water filled in it is always different. It is usually made with tanned buckskin stretched over it and filled with a unique amount of water. The drums are usually played with a thick drumstick that has a loop on the end.

It is considered the most sacred and rare of all drums. They are almost always the property of religious and ceremonial persons. They have status as a person, not as an object. They are made always of special wood from certain trees.

Native American Church ceremonies often use a water drum made from iron, brass or copper kettle. These styles of water drum are more common than the woodland form and can be purchased in numerous locations. They are very different in intent than the woodland drum and more information is generally available regarding them.

Lil' Dan and St1tch, of industrial metal band Mushroomhead can be seen using water drums on stage during live performances.

References

• Claire King. "Tuning the Water Drum". From Cradleboard to Motherboard. http://www.tolerance.org/teach/printar.jsp?p=0&ar=197&pi=ttm. Retrieved January 22, 2007.