What is the Zhuang musical instrument "Bee Drum" like?

Bee drum is a kind of thin waist drum circulating in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Named after the shape of the drum is like a bee's waist, it is also called "horizontal drum" because it hits the chest horizontally. Its style and playing method are similar to those of Korean long drums, and they are of the same origin.

Bee drum was not only called "war drum" in ancient times, but also called "beating drum" and "regular drum". It was popular in the Northern Wei Dynasty for a period of time, so it was also called "Wei drum". It has a history of 1000 years.

Structure of bee drum

There are two kinds of bee drums, ceramic and wood, which are shaped like a bee waist and can emit two timbres.

The body of the bee drum is mostly made of pottery, with a wide head and a thin waist, with a total length of 62 ~ 64 cm. One end of the drum cavity is spherical, and the drum surface is small, with a diameter of only 8 ~ 9 cm; The other end of the drum cavity is trumpet-shaped, with a large drum surface and a diameter of 16 ~ 19 cm. The middle joint is thin and solid, shaped like a bee waist.

The two ends of the drum are wrapped in cowhide or sheepskin, and the drum skin is attached to a circular iron ring. Put several iron hooks around the iron ring and tie them tightly with ropes. The tension of the drum head can be adjusted.

It has been a long time to make bee barrels with ceramics. Up to now, the bee drums in Hechi and Wuming areas of Guangxi still maintain the tradition of burning pottery drums. There is also a wooden bee drum in Jingxi County, Guangxi, and the drum skin is directly fixed at both ends of the drum with a drum needle without a rope. The body is painted red with yellow diamond patterns at both ends.

When playing the bee drum, hang the drum horizontally on your chest and beat it, and the spherical end of the drum will make a high-pitched sound of "da da"; The end of the horn bulges and makes a "squeaky" bass. Ceramic bee drum timbre is clear and bright; Wooden bee drum is soft and beautiful.

Playing method can be beat with both hands, or beat with bamboo round head drum arrow with right hand and beat with left hand.

On holidays, weddings and funerals, praying for a bumper harvest or killing pigs to make wine, the Zhuang people all play drums and sing. In addition, bee drums are also very popular among Yao and Maonan ethnic groups.