The udukkai is a small two-headed hourglass drum, traditionally found in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
To vary the tension of the membrane and therefore the pitch of the sound, the udukkai player pulls and releases the cotton rope that goes across the body of the instrument.
Murugan Udukkai Song
Village performers are used to play it to support the recitation of prayers and the singing of folk songs and poems addressed to the healing goddess Mariyamman as well as to Murugan and Ayyappa.
In the light of its small size, the udukkai is easy to transport and is frequently associated with those kinds of musicians that have the task of providing a sonic background to a traveling ritual such as a procession.
Even though it is born as a folk drum built within villages for devotional purposes, the udukkai can be easily bought online nowadays and this growing demand shows that there is a market that goes far beyond the borders of South Indian village temple ceremonies.
In Kerala, the udukkai is employed as a percussive accompaniment to the devotional singing that marks the propitiation rituals devoted to the god Ayyappa.
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