Lakpura Thammettama

The Sri Lankan Thammettama consists of two main drums – with the right side producing high pitched sounds while the left producing low ones. Not many of you are familiar with the components that make up the Thammettama which includes – the body of the Thammettama, mandama, handabeya, warapati, kapum-hama, weniwara-keralla and kadippu. The Thammettama drums are played using two circular bound sticks {kadippu} which are made of Kaduru wood while the drums are usually made from the wood of the Jak, Ehela or Kohomba trees. The Lakpura Thammettama consists of a pair of kadippu as well.

The Thammettama is a traditional drum that has been used for many years while they are played in various processions, religions and cultural festivals and in Buddhist temple services that require drum beats. It’s generally not played with equal pressure to get that unique sound while musicians out there would know that there are special rhythms played on the Thammettama such as to invite Buddhist monks for pirith or alms giving ceremonies and also invite devotees to the temple for special functions.