|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Story
& Pictures by : Ly Vanna. |
|
 |
|
The Khmer Drums are an
important traditional instrument.
Mr. Oum Nean, 81 is still drumming away
at
the Royal University of Fine Arts.
|
| |
|
 is
the Khmer word for drum. For centuries this
has been an important musical instrument.
It is often used during ceremonies and celebrations.
The importance of the drum is evident, ironically,
in cases where drums are not available; in
such circumstances rural Cambodians will use
almost anything to create the drum sound.
This will include hitting plates, pot and
cutlery to imitate the drums.
The drums are seen as a way of emulating the
sound of thunder and thunderbolts. In this
way, it can be seen as being an important
connection to the natural world. Across the
globe, the drum has been one of the earliest
instruments of mankind.
In the book "Traditional Cambodian Musical
Instrument" writer Mr. Hun Sarin
mentioned that there are ten types of Khmer
drums are often utilized. They are skor
arak, skor thon - skor romonea, skor somphoo,
skor thom, skor chey, skor chhaiyam, skor
yikei, skor chvea, skor mohortheuk, and
skor basacc. Most of the drums are
made of wood and covered with animals' skin. |
|
|
 |
|
|
The 81 year old is pictured
here playing the Skor Thom.
|
| |
 |
|
Skor Chey: Inscribed with
a powerful talisman to protect and to ensure
the sonorous are heard far and wide.
|
| |
|
|
|
A religious procession
in Kampong Speu
|
|
|
|
Skor
Arak is also called skor dei, skor
dai, skor kar, or skor ayai. A long time ago
this drum was made of clay. The body of the
arak drum looks like a wax gourd, whilst the
head looks like a pumpkin. This drum is 40
to 50 cm in length and 15 or 16 cm in height.
The drum is used in arak music, wedding music
and ayai music. In the wedding music, two
drums are used to represent the female and
male elements- referring to the bride and
the groom.
Nowadays, skor arak is made of wood - more
specifically the jackfruit tree - this is
due to the fragility of pottery. People like
to cover it with snake's skin, trakourt's
skin (a kind of monitor lizard), or wild ox's
skin, because these are all both tough and
make a clear sound. Before covering the drum
with skin they put it into limejuice or another
sour liquid. This process cures the wood and
will mean that the sound will resonate further.
"Skor arak is the most difficult of the
drums to learn and use because the modulations
of arak music: it consists of 50 tones. Therefore
the drums' sound must change to keep up with
those modulations," said Mr. Chom Brasoeur,
a specialist of Khmer drums.
Skor Thon
- Skor Romonea is a partnership
of drums and thus complimentary sounds. Skor
thon is similar to skor arak, but the hole
inside is smaller than skor arak; it is lead
by the sound of skor thon, less than that
of skor arak. Skor romonea is the shortest
drum and looks like a pumpkin. This partnership
of drums is only used in Mohori music.
Skor Somphoo
is a two faced drum, which is kept on a wooden
support. Skor somphoo is usually 55 cm in
width and a metre in length. It is the most
important drum in Pinpeat music. Most of these
drums are made from a variety of wood and
covered with the skin of a horse or an ox.
It is then put in the sun to dry. Before beating,
the drum the user will stick a pile of rice
on the middle of the covered skin to level
the sound. Khmer people have used this kind
of drum for centuries as is evident on the
bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat.
Skor Thom (big drum)
is also used in Pinpeat music. They normally
use two skor thom with differing sounds; if
one sounds "tong-tong" (a lower
more resonant tone), another one sounds "ting-ting"
(a higher pitched tone). To get the higher
sound: "ting-ting", the drum maker
has to scrape the middle of the skin to make
it the same thickness as the edge. To get
the lower sound: "tong-tong," the
drum maker has to keep the middle of the skin
at the original thickness.
This wooden drum is 50 cm in length and 40
cm in height. Around the ends, of both drums,
the maker creates two rows of holes; these
are for putting pins to join the skin to the
drum. The pins are also used for fine-tuning
the drum at a later stage. There is an iron
ring in the middle of the drum for hanging
up. The musician uses two sticks; one side
is smaller being 35 cm in length. This drum
is covered with an old ox's skin or an old
buffalo's skin because these skins are thicker.
These drums have louder sounds than other
drums in Pinpeat music. No one knows when
Khmer started using this drum, but it is seen,
once again, in the carvings of Angkor Wat.
Skor Chey (successful
drum), skor torb (soldier drum)
or skor yeam (guard drum) are drums that are
used in pagodas. More recently they are used
to make the sign to gather Buddhists together,
or for informing of ritual ceremonies. Skor
chey is also used in mourning music at a funeral. |
|
Within
a historical context, the army, as a way of
passing information, used these drums. This
meant that orders could be given without the
enemy realizing. The secret signs varied with
each group and their enemies would not know.
The rhythmic beat of the drums was also used
to stir the troops and encourage bravery amongst
the ranks.
To make these drums, the drum maker takes
a piece of log - 111 cm in length and makes
a hole inside the log - about 240 cm in height
- he then covers it with the buffalo's skin
on both sides. When the drum is ready, the
magician draws a talisman on the drum's surface
and he calls many spirits to come and take
care this drum. They burn incense to recall
these spirits when they start to use the drum.
Skor Chhaiyam
is used for celebrating happy events. It is
the longest drum - so much so that it has
a string for carrying it on the shoulder.
The drum is covered with skin only on one
side. There is a mixed color cloth wrapped
round it called chhaiyam, to make the drum
more attractive. They stick a piece of rice
on the middle skin to set the level of sound,
essentially tuning the drum.
There are between four and five sorts of skor
chhaiyam, of which two provide louder sounds,
another two provide quieter sounds and the
one other is for the dancer to beat and dance
with.
Skor Yikei
is used in Lakhon Yikei. A long time ago these
drums are made of palm trees but now it is
made of jackfruit tree and covered with ox's
skin. There are 13 different skor yikei, from
large to small. The biggest one is called
skor mei- this is always the first drum to
start. The theatre leader always beats skor
mei to order, or to stop the activity of the
performers. The theatre can use either solely
the skor yikei, or an ensemble of six different
drums, depending on the play being performed.
Skor Chvea
is a drum created on an island in South East
Asia. The Muslim people, who live on this
island, are called chvea. Skor chvea have
appeared in Cambodia for centuries as is testified
to by the carvings on the walls of the Bayon
temple.
There are many kind of skor chvea such as
skor samngnar, skor phloh, skor phlourk, skor
klorng chhnash (skor klorng kheik, skor yol).
Skor samngnar has two faces used for mourning
ceremonies. When two skor samngnar play together
this is called Skor phloh - which is used
for rapid dancing. Skor phlourk is also used
for mourning ceremonies - they beat it with
two sticks. Skor klorng chhnash is traditionally
used for sports competitions.
Skor Mohortheuk
is made of an alloy and looks like a mill.
It is different from the other drums and it
was used only for royal ceremonies. Nowadays
it is rarely played and is only present in
the museum.
Skor Basacc
can be divided into two kinds: Skor thom (large
drum) and Skor Lork (small drum). Skor Basacc
is used in conjunction with other instruments
in Bassacc theatre. It is used during the
performance rather than as a signal to raise
or lower the curtain. Skor thom is a leading
instrument - it makes a sign to all instruments
to start or to stop. They beat this drum with
two sticks.
The younger Khmer generations know and hear
the sound of drums. They even make small drums
as their toys to play with. Their toy drums
are made from a piece of bamboo, or another
tube and covered with frog or snake's skin
Even today, with the twenty first century
unfolding around them, Cambodian people look
to the past for the musical inspiration.
As long as there are Cambodians, there will
be drums. They beat the rhythm of life throughout
the kingdom and form a crucial percussive
voice within Khmer music.
Next time you hear distant drumming . . .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Previous
Article |
Next Article
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
|
|
Read
Leisure By :
