Online Reference For Body, Mind & Spirit

Term: Damaru

DEFINITION:
A small, double drum that looks a bit like an hourglass with the drumheads on both ends. Usually there would be a stick that was perpendicular to the drums that would allow the user to spin the drum back and forth. A string with a weight at the end would hit the drumhead as the drum was moved. Damarus are used in some Indian and Tibetan rituals. It is believed that anciently the drums may have been the tops of human skulls and the drumheads made of human skin.