The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #90410   Message #1713779
Posted By: Azizi
09-Apr-06 - 11:47 AM
Thread Name: Folklore: Scots-Irish Music-concrete or concoction
Subject: RE: Folklore: Scots-Irish Music-concrete or concoction
Siskin.

Thanks for that information on the Lambeg. It was interesting to learn [quoting from that website whose link you provided] that "The skin of a goat is the only material now used for making the heads of a lambeg drum...The choice of goat is an extremely significant part of the drum making process. Essentially it has to be a 'nanny' or 'she' goat, largely because their skin is of a much finer texture than that of a buck goat. This therefore explains why the lambeg is often considered or classified as a 'female' drum."
-snip-

FYI, various types of African drums are called male or female because of the pitch of sounds those particular drums make. The "djembe" drums from West Africa that have grown in popularity in the USA since the 1990s and other traditional African drums also use goat skins for the drum's head. For instance, here's an excerpt from a website that has photos of different African drums and other African instruments:

"The sakara is a hand-held drum made in Nigeria, West Africa. It comes in a family of four sizes, from tiny(Atele) to large (Iya-Alu). It has goatskin stretched over a rim of red clay and is played with a light stick. These drums are played all over the world in a variety of ways".

Traditional African Instruments

IMO, music makes the whole world kin.