> [!NOTE]+ Meta > Author:: Gary Wornell > Reference:: Wornell, G. (2023, June 4). _Chod Damaru: Summoning the energy of a Tantric princess_. Garland Magazine. https://garlandmag.com/article/chod-damaru/ > Date:: 2023 > Tags:: #warp #Nepal #musicalInstruments > WeftLinks:: [[Spiritual value of craft]] > Claim:: [[Claim - Craft plays an important role in worship]] > [!SUMMARY] Summary > Gary Wornell discovers a busy workshop making Tibetan drums in downtown Kathmandu. The drum makers are everywhere, and each ethnic group has its own percussion instruments. Purna Lama's workshop, KB Handicrafts, is run by father and son, and Tibetan drum making is a sacred tradition, following strict rules of materials, construction, and decoration. The Chod Damaru is considered to be the dwelling place of the divine feminine, Dakini, a Tantric princess and muse for spiritual practice, and during Wornell's recent visit, a monk had come to buy a Damaru. ### Highlights >The Madal, a native Nepali drum used as a timekeeper in traditional folk music looks like those I had seen in Tanzania. It is shaped from a hollowed-out log with skins on both ends tuned with leather straps and metal rings along the length of a red and black painted body. >During my recent visit, a monk had come to buy a Damaru. He inspected the construction and listened to the sound as he talked with Purna, rattling it back and forth in a gentle rhythm. He picked up several, closing his eyes while he listened to the sounds, finally settling on one of them. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t tell the difference between them. >In the last five decades, Tibetan Buddhist monasteries have sprung up around this World Heritage site so there are now more than 50 tucked away down a rabbit warren of narrow winding streets in this small northeastern corner of the city, and they continue to grow in number.