Ekkarat
The Drum Making Village
When hearing drumbeats, we are automatically aroused because
they are tokens of joy and excitement. In many kinds of gathering,
a drum with the optimum sound, no matter what kind it is,
is a must.
Making
a drum with a deep and resonant drumbeat requires a lot of
skills and practice. However, I'm not going to tell you how
to make a drum but to introduce to you the story of a village
where the highest quality drums in Thailand have been produced
sine 1927. A prestigious 4-star OTOP Award that the village
recently received is a guarantee.
While visiting the place recently, I was told that the village's
reputation reached Japan and a group of Japanese people came
here to order drums. They hit all drums produced in the village
to find the particular drumbeat they wanted and told the drum
makers to make drums with such a beat. That was an interesting
anecdote, I think.
The village I'm talking about is called Ekkarat. It is situated
in Pa Mok County, Ang Thong Province (105 km from Bangkok).
In the Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767) it served as an important
garrison town of the country.
Background of
Drum Making
It will give you a clearer understanding to know
that Ekkarat Village is located in the central basin, which
is rich in arts and culture such as li-ke*, traditional music
and folk songs. Therefore, the people living here have been
familiar with traditional musical instruments since ancient
times.
Seventy-nine years ago, a Thai musician named Phoem Phupradit,
who was an expert in mechanism and who owned a Thai traditional
band, made a drum to be used in his band. The drum produced
an impressive sound and was admired by other bands. The reputation
of the high-quality drum spread far and wide, encouraging
an increasing demand of drums.
At this point, Old Phoem decided to teach seven followers
the art of drum making. After his death, the band ceased to
exist but the drum making has been carried on up to the present
time.
Interesting aspects of drum making
Teachers are treated with high respects and are held in prestige
position in Thai society, so a ceremony to pay respect to
past drum making masters is annually arranged for blessing
in their career.
A drum maker in the village told me that the woods used to
make a drum can be either hard or soft depending on the types
of drums. But nowadays hard woods like rosewood are hard to
find. Therefore, soft woods like jack wood and rain tree wood
are used.
The hide used is mainly rawhide of cows or buffalos and sometimes
of goats, depending on the types of drums.
The types of drums produced here are shown below:
1. Klong (drum) That (pronounced like the English word tut)
2. Japanese drum
3. Klong Yao (long drum)
4. Klong Rammana
5. Klong Ramwong
6. Klong Cham-pe
7. Klong Taphon
8. Thon
9. Klong Khaek
Being there and seeing hundreds of drums, you may want to
buy one even though you don't know what to do with it. So,
let me suggest that you buy a colourful lovely little drum
made as a souvenir.
How to get there
Take the road in Ang Thong town passing Amphoe Pa Mok Municipality
Office, which runs parallel to the irrigation canal. Drive
for 17 km and you will reach the village.
For more information, please contact TAT
Central Office Region 6 on
tel:+66 (0) 3524 6076-7
*Li-ke is a kind of Thai dance drama. It commonly presents
court-derived stories embellished with local references and
anecdotes.
