Dhantal: Fiji musical instrument
A dhantal is a long steel rod that was adapted from the axle used to connect the yokes of the bullocks, which transported the cane-filled ...
https://worldhitz4u.blogspot.com/2013/12/dhantal-fiji-musical-instrument.html
A dhantal is a long steel rod that
was adapted from the axle used to connect the yokes of the bullocks, which
transported the cane-filled carts on the estates in Trinidad and Tobago. The
metal horse shoe that was used on the horses and mules of the estate was used
to strike the dhantal. In this way, the dhantal became a new musical instrument
for providing rhythm. In the contemporary usage, the horse shoe has been
replaced by a U-shaped piece of metal that fits more easily in one hand of the
player. The remaining hand of the player is used to mute the rod for different
percussive effects and to accentuate the rhythms performed.
source: commons.wikimedia.org
The crucial rhythm of the musical
instrument is an eighth-note, two-sixteenth note ostinato that can be counted
in the rhythmic solfege like One and-tah, two and-tah, three and-tah, four
and-tah, etc.
The musical instrument is used in the
religious singing of Fiji. This percussion musical instrument together with the
dholak, harmonium, the kartal and the jhanj forms the basis of musical
instrument of a Ramayan Mandali. The musical instrument is performed by
striking the metal horse shoe to the steel rod. The tone quality of the musical
instrument is sharply metallic and provides a clearly defined tal to assist the
ensemble stay in rhythmic synchronization.
It is not clear if the dhantal was
traditionally a musical instrument brought by the Indian indentured worker
immigrants to Fiji. The musical instrument is well-known in Trinidad also, particularly
among the Indian community. The Fijian version of the musical instrument is
analogous to the Trinidad version of the musical instrument. The dhantal may be
related to the early indentured-worker instrument that is known as the dandatal
that was a wooden stick and had rectangular shaped striker.
The musical instrument is widely used
in Guyana that has a most East Indian Hindu population. The musical instrument
can be found in the state of Bihar in India. The fact that the instrument is
also found in Fiji, Guyana, Surinam and Trinidad where big concentrations of
Indian indentured laborers settled would opine that it was most likely produced
in India and easily remade in these other countries with the materials that
were available to them.
