Frame drum; dah

Dah (Monpa) rnga (Tibetan), double membrane frame drum with wooden handle. The circular frame is formed from a thin plank of wood that is cut to size and made smooth with a plane. It is soaked in water to make it pliable and bent using hot sand to form a shallow cylinder. The wood used is possibly Garuga gamblei King, of the Burseraceae family. The overlapping ends of the shell are stitched together with vegetable fibre, and the shell is then painted red. Two goat skins, rah pep, are glued to the shell, one is painted red in the middle and top centre. The long handle is carved from 'nawangshen' wood with patterns of stylised lotus petals. It is fixed through a hole in the shell with wooden dowels. The instrument is struck with a dahkjupha, sickle-shaped drum stick (2005.159.2).