Tabla - Jori and Dhama Traditions

Jori and Dhama Traditions

Next to the contemporary common style of tabla, there exist older styles in which the bayan (called dhama or dhamma) is often made out of wood. Instead of having a thin dry syahi, this style of tabla uses a wet wheat dough on the bass drum's skin, applied shortly before playing. These types of Jori tabla are used by qawwali ensembles (notably Dildar Hussain), as well as in the Sikh tabla gharanas, Punjabi dhrupad, gurbani kirtan, and Afghan traditional music. A reminder that this style of tabla was used all over India not long ago is that many modern brass tuning hammers still have a dough removal spatula on the reverse end.