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Indian Arrival Committee looks to revive tassa drumming

Apr 25, 2010 News

The Indian film industry exerts a strong influence on the song and dances of East Indians in Guyana, so much so that the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) fears that the musical traditions of those who came from India under indentureship are fading.
As a result, the IAC will use its countrywide melas to celebrate 172 years since the first Indians arrived here, to revive tassa drumming and the nagara dance which compliments it.
The word “tassa” comes from the Persian ”tash and Hindi tasha, which both mean “kettle drum”. Traditionally, the tassa was made by tightly covering a clay shell with goat skin; early tassa were covered in monkey skin as well. When ready to play, the skin is heated by aid of a fire to tighten the head, making the pitch higher. In this way, the pitch can stay high for 20–30 minutes.
Now tassa drums are even made by cutting an empty coolant tank in half and attaching a synthetic drum skin to the top of it with nuts and bolts, welding it shut.
Aditya Persaud of the IAC told Kaieteur News that tassa drumming is an art and serves to accompany the different aspects of an Indian wedding. However, the tradition is fading and this is especially worrying in rural Indo-Guyanese communities where one would have thought tassa drumming would be vibrant. Because the music from the Hindi film industry dominates such a strong influence among East Indian households, Persaud told Kaieteur News that the sounds of the dholak and tabla, and other Indian drums, are slipping into obscurity.
To help preserve the art form of tassa drumming, he said the IAC decided to hold a tassa drumming competition as part of its countrywide melas.
The first will be held at the National Park today.
The competition is sponsored by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company. The first prize winners will receive $50,000.

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