View source for Dhak instrument

{{Short description|Musical instrument from the Indian subcontinent}}
{{Other uses|Dhak (disambiguation){{!}}Dhak}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Dhak at Dhakeshwari Temple.jpg|thumb|Dhak at [[Dhakeshwari Temple]]]]
{{Listen
 | filename    = Durga Puja Dhak Dhol.ogg
 | title       = Durga Puja Dhak Sample Sound
 | description = A 1:38 minute sample of Dhak playing during Durga Puja.
 | format      = [[Ogg]]
 | pos = right
}}
{{Culture of Bengal}}
The '''dhak''' is a huge [[membranophone]] instrument from [[Bengal]] and [[Assam]].<ref name="Barthakur">{{cite book |last1=Barthakur |first1=Dilip Ranjan |title=The Music and Musical Instruments of North Eastern India |date=2003 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-881-5 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oP4vH-4oSEcC&dq=dhak+instrument&pg=PA97}}</ref> The shapes differ from the almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound.<ref name="instrument">{{cite web | url = http://www.beatofindia.com/mainpages/instruments.htm| title = Instruments| access-date = 13 January 2008 | work =Percussions | publisher = beatofindia.com }}</ref>

It is of medieval origin,<ref name="Kuppuswamy">{{cite book |last1=Kuppuswamy |first1=Gowri |last2=Hariharan |first2=Muthuswamy |title=Indian Music: A Perspective |date=1980 |publisher=Sundeep Prakashan |isbn=978-0-8364-0629-0 |page=152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3oHAQAAMAAJ&q=dhak+instrument+origin}}</ref> and is used in Hindu religious festivals of the region, especially of [[Sakta]] and [[Shaiva]] traditions, including [[Durga Puja]], [[Kali Puja]] and [[Charak Puja]].<ref name="Barthakur"/><ref name="Folklore">{{cite book |title=Folk-lore |date=1975 |publisher=Indian Publications |pages=429, 430 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMvjAAAAMAAJ&q=dhak+instrument+origin}}</ref>

The drum beats, mostly played by the [[Bengali Hindu]] community, along with the ''[[arati]]'' (invocation dance) forms an integral part of [[Durga Puja]] unique to [[Bengal]].<ref name="Kuppuswamy"/><ref name="Folklore"/><ref name="Durga">{{cite web | url = http://www.durga-puja.org/tradition.html | title = Traditions of Durga Puja| access-date = 13 January 2008 | publisher = Society for confluence of festivals in India }}</ref> The [[Tea-garden community|tea-tribes]] of Assam play ''dhak'' along with ''[[Nagara (drum)|nagara]]''.<ref name="Barthakur"/>

''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'' wrote, "Durga Puja does not assume the festive aura without the maddening beats of the dhak, the large drum that people hang around their necks and play with two thin sticks to infuse the frenzied rhythm into listeners. Those enchanting beats are enough to conjure up the sights and smells of Durga Puja."<ref name="Statesman2">{{cite news |last=Bhattachatya |first=Kajari |date=26 September 2006 |title=Beats of changing time |newspaper=The Statesman |location=Kolkata}}</ref>

It is also played in Islamic festivals like [[Muharram]] in Bengal.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dutta |first1=Koushik |date=2 October 2017 |title=In this Bengal village Hindu dhakis beat drums for Muharram procession |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/in-this-bengal-village-hindu-dhakis-beat-drums-for-muharram-procession/story-OS1JP2lMDV049JTX7NrzoN.html |work=Hindustan Times |access-date=22 September 2024}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:বীরভূম জেলার মনসা পূজায় ঢাকিরা.jpg|Bengali drummers during Manasa Puja in [[Birbhum]], [[West Bengal]]
File:BD Dhaki.JPG|Bengal drummer and a dhaki
File:Dhak 2010 Arnab Dutta.JPG|A ''dhaki'' with his magnificent dhak at a South Kolkata Durga Puja pandal, 2010.
File:Dhaki Bazaar - Sealdah Railway Station - Kolkata 2011-10-03 030246.JPG|Dhak players, [[Sealdah]], [[Kolkata]]
File:Pohela boishakh rally.jpg|[[Pohela Boishakh]] procession from [[Dhaka University]], [[Dhaka]], [[Bangladesh]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Dholak]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Indian musical instruments}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhak (Instrument)}}
[[Category:Membranophones]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi musical instruments]]
[[Category:Indian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Music of West Bengal]]


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