Mridangam

The Mridangam is a percussion instrumentfrom India of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic musicensemble, and in Dhrupad, where it is known as Pakhawaj.
During a percussion ensemble, the mridangam is often accompanied by the ghatam, kanjira, and morsing.


Etymology
In Tamil culture, it is called a tannumai.The earliest mention of the mridangam in Tamil literature is found perhaps in the Sangam literature where the instrument is known as 'tannumai'. The word "Mridangam" is Sandhior union of the two Sanskrit words mŗt (clay or earth) and anga (limb), as early Mridangam were made of hardened clay.


History
In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle and follower of Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva's primordial tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The mridangam is thus also known as "Deva Vaadyam," or "Divine Instrument".
Over the years, the mridangam evolved to be made of different kinds of wood due to its increased durability, and today, its body is constructed from wood of the jackfruit tree. It is widely believed that the tabla, the mridangam's Hindustani musical counterpart, was first constructed by splitting a mridangam in half. With the development of the mridangam came the tala (rhythm) system.
Mridangam has a large role in Newa music. One of the earliest Nepal Bhasa manuscripts on music is a treatise on this instrument called Mridanga anukaranam.[1] The importance of a beating has changed over the years. In the old days, percussionists only used to accompany the lead player like the vocalist but this time their development is not restricted to accompaniment only but also to play one instrument shows.

Tamil culture

In Tamil culture, it is called a tannumai.[2] The earliest mention of the mridangam in Tamil literature is found perhaps in the Sangam literature where the instrument is known as 'tannumai'. In later works like the Silappadikaram also we find detailed references to it as in the Natyasastra.[3] During the Sangam period, it was one of the principal percussion instruments to sound the beginning of war along with murasu (முரசு), tudi (துடி) and parai (பறை) because it was believed that its holy sound will deflect enemy arrows and protect the King.[4] During the post-Sangam period, as mentioned in the epic Silappadikaram (சிலப்பதிகாரம்), it formed a part of the antarakoṭṭu(அந்தரக்கொட்டு)[5][6] - a musical ensemble at the beginning of dramatic performances that would later develop into Bharathanatyam.[7] The player of this instrument held the title tannumai aruntozhil mutalvan (தண்ணுமை அருந்தொழில் முதல்வன்).[8]
ConstructionEdit
The mridangam is a double-sided drum whose body is usually made using a hollowed piece of jackfruit wood about an inch thick. The two mouths or apertures of the drum are covered with a goatskin and laced to each other with leather straps around the circumference of the drum. These straps are put into a state of high tension to stretch out the circular membranes on either side of the hull, allowing them to resonate when struck. These two membranes are dissimilar in width to allow for the production of both bass and treble sounds from the same drum.
The bass aperture is known as the thoppi or eda bhaaga and the smaller aperture is known as the valanthalai or bala bhaaga. The smaller membrane, when struck, produces higher pitched sounds with a metallic timbre. The wider aperture produces lower pitched sounds. The goat skin covering the smaller aperture is anointed in the center with a black disk made of rice flour, ferric oxide powder and starch. This black tuning paste is known as the satham or karanai and gives the mridangam its distinct metallic timbre.
The combination of two inhomogeneous circular membranes