Musicians

Monks, blowing huge horns during a Buddhist initiation ceremony, taking place outside a Tibetan monastery next to the Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal. – This stupa is presented in detail on the page Religion: Buddhism. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

One of the earliest instruments was the drum – originally probably a hollow tree trunk, beaten with a stick. Drumming is of great attraction to almost everybody, appealing to our deepest instincts. A selection of photographs below shows various types of drumming.

Drumming is a very important part of any Daoist event in Taiwan – temple festivals, parades, theatre performances, even funerals. Daoism is dealt with in detail at Religion: Daoism in Taiwan.

During a Daoist parade in the city of Taichung, celebrating Chinese New Year, this long line of drums is pulled by a car (top), while a small boy is beating a huge drum (bottom). (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

A simple type of drum is the tabla, which is beaten with the fingertips.

This Newar is beating a tabla during the Hindu festival of Bisket Jatra, celebrated in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The tika mark on his forehead, a mixture of mustard oil and red powder, also contains rice kernels, indicating that an important festival is taking place. His hat, called a topi, is typical of the Newar people. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Jain temples in western India are renowned due to their exquisite carvings in white marble. Some of these marvellous temples are presented at Religion: Jainism.

Yet another very simple type of ‘drum’ is the gong, a flat, circular metal disc, beaten with a mallet. This instrument is typical of China, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Blowing through various tubes to produce sounds is another very early type of music. This has evolved into a bewildering array of blowing instruments: flutes, lurs, horns, clarinets, to name but a few.

This Bronze Age carving on a stone slab in Kivik Royal Tomb, Skåne, Sweden, depicts people, blowing on lurs. – Other pictures of Bronze Age rock carvings may be seen on the page Culture: Folk art around the world. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Celebrating the Buddha’s birthday at the Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal, these monks play on flutes, made from human femurs. – You may read about this stupa in depth on the page Religion: Buddhism. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Men, blowing huge, winding horns during a catholic procession in the city of Antigua, Guatemala, honouring Santa Clara of Assisi (1194-1253), one of the first followers of St. Francis. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During a Daoist festival, dedicated to the god of medicine, Bao Shang, these old men in the Daoist Longde Temple (‘Dragon Virtue’), Fenyuan, western Taiwan, play on clarinet-like instruments (top), while women are beating a huge drum (bottom). (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Celebrating the Hindu festival Dassera, or Durga Puja, these men in the city of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India, blow on huge brass horns. – Read more about Hindu festivals at Travel episodes – India 1991: Attending Hindu festivals in Rajasthan. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This priest is blowing a horn during the Orthodox Christian festival Timkat, celebrated in the town of Lalibela, Ethiopia. This festival is described in detail on the page Travel episodes – Ethiopia 1996: Timkat – a Christian festival. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During a Daoist festival, celebrated in the town of Pitou, Taiwan, and dedicated to the Mother Goddess Mazu, these men are blowing on long brass horns. The rise of the Mazu cult in Daoism is described on the page Religion: Daoism in Taiwan. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

A third type of instrument is the string instrument, in which you strike your finger nail, or another hard object, on metal strings, amplifying the produced sound in a gourd, or some other hollow object. Or you may rub something, like cat’s hair, on the strings to produce a sound.

During a Kabuki (Japanese theatre) performance in Huwei, Taiwan, this musician is playing on a shamisen, or sangen (both words mean ‘three strings’), a traditional Japanese string instrument, on which you use a broad plectrum, called a bachi. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

A blind musician and his assistant, of the Shona tribe, perform on the street in Harare, Zimbabwe. While playing a guitar, the man is moving a puppet with his toes, making it ‘dance’ in time with the music. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

The harp is an advanced type of string instrument, played with the fingers.

In Ancient Egypt, the god Bes was defending the good and fighting the evil. This relief in the temple of Hathor, Philae, Aswan, depicts this deity, playing on a harp. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During an annual music festival, orchestras from various local communities in Tirol, Austria, gather in a village, in this case Prägraten, Virgen Valley. Most members are clad in traditional dress. The white feathers in some of the hats are so-called ‘chamois feathers’, symbolizing a tuft of hairs from the back of the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra). In former days, Austrian hunters would often attach such tufts to their Tyrolian hat.

Re-enacting scenes from the American Revolution, near Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain, New York State, volunteers perform as English troops, marching into battle (top), and as a young flutist, marching with revolutionary troops (bottom). (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

According to certain puritanical Christian sects, this mural in Povls Church, Bornholm, Denmark, depicts serious sins, such as playing music, dancing, and playing games. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This man from Zaire is playing on a thumb piano, locally called mbira or kalimba, a musical instrument consisting of a wooden board, fitted with a resonator. On the board, metal tines of uneven length are attached, and you play by holding the instrument in both hands, plucking at the tines with your thumbs. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Klokkestenen (‘The Bell Stone’) is a dolmen from the Stone Age (c. 3000 B.C.), situated on the island of Lyø, Denmark. The small depressions in the stone are made over time by thousands of people, hitting the stone with a small rock, hereby producing a bell-like sound. – Many other types of megalithic structures are presented on the page Culture: Megaliths. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

A wandering musician and his assistant enjoy a break outside the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The musician has only one leg – the artificial one is seen to the right. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During the Daoist Boat Burning Festival, taking place in the village of Jiading, near Kaoshiung, Taiwan, musicians march in front of the boat, prior to the burning. – Read more about this and other Daoist festivals on the page Religion: Daoism in Taiwan. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This sculpture in the Hindu temple Brihadisvara, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, South India, depicts a being, blowing into a bag-pipe. This sculpture is similar to the European gargoyle, acting as support for a drainage pipe for rain water. – Gargoyles are described on the page Nature: Rain. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Almost all cows, grazing on mountain meadows in the Alps, wear bells, creating music when they move around on the meadows, like this one near Säntis, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

(Uploaded September 2017)

(Latest update June 2019)

Kaj Halberg - writer & photographer

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Musicians