Drums and drumming occupy a conspicuous position in the annals of Sri Lanka over several centuries, our country has been an evolution in the traditions of drums and their usage from the humble Dandu Beraya, which was carved from bamboo, to more complex instruments, Sri Lanka have been innovating and inventing and inventing a myriad of drums to suit various purposes from one generation to the next.
The low country drum is also called the Ruhunu Beraya, Bummadiya or the Goshaka Beraya. It is used in the southern coastal area known as the ‘Pahatha Rata’. The Bummadiya is the main drum used to accompany dance sequences in this religion of Sri Lanka. This cylindrical drum is covered with the stomach lining of cattle and turned out of wood from Kitul, Coconut, Kohombha, Ehela and Milla trees. The drummere plays the instrument by hand whilst tied around the waist. Some players decorate the trunk of their drums with various motifs or fix stainless steel bars around the body.
