Daf

A daf is a large-sized frame drum with jingles used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran.

Introduction

Frame drums are one of the most ancient types of musical instruments. They have a simple structure with strong spiritual and entertaining effects. Frame drums are usually round made of wood with animal skin and sometimes metal rings or plates incorporated into the drum to provide jingle. They have different sizes; the larger drums are played mainly by men in spiritual rituals and medium size drums are played mainly by women.

Frame drums originated in the ancient Middle East, India, and Rome, and reached medieval Europe through Islamic culture. The similarity of the names of frame drums in these regions shows the common history of these drums. Daf is one of the most ancient frame drums in Asia and North Africa. In Iran, Sufis use Daf during their Zikr (spiritual chanting) rituals; in recent years Iranian musicians have successfully integrated it into popular Persian music.

History

The Pahlavi (Persian ancient language) name of Daf is dap. The word daf is therefore the arabicized form of the word dap. Some pictures of dap have been found in the paintings to be painted before the birth of Christ. The presence of Persian dap in the reliefs of Bisotun is enlightening. The monuments of Bisotun are situated 25 kilometers from Kermanshah city. Also there is a kind of square frame drum in the stonecutting of Tagh-e-Bostan (another famous monument located 5 kilometers northeast from Kermanshah city). It is said that Norouz (the first day of the Persian New Year and the national festival of Persia) and other festive occasions have been accompanied by dap in Sassanid periods (224 A.D. - 651 A.D.). In this period dap was played in order to accompany khosravani (royal) songs.

The presence of the word daf in the poems of many Persian poets shows the importance of this instrument. For example Hafez applied the word daf in his works many times. His most famous verse that includes the word daf is (translated):

I, who nights, with the daf and the chang, have dashed down the path of piety,

I, suddenly, bring my head to the path! What a tale this is!

The Moors introduced Daf and other Middle Eastern musical instruments to Spain, and the Spanish adapted and promoted Daf and other musical instruments (such as the guitar) in medieval Europe. In the 15th century, daf was only used in Sufi ceremonies; the Ottomans reintroduced it to Europe in 17th century.

The art of daf playing in Iran has reached us by the effort of Iranian Sufis; especially in 20th century by the late Sayyed Baha-al-Din Shams Ghorayshi (1872-1947), Ostad Haj Khalifeh Karim Safvati (1919-…), Ostad Haj Khalifeh Mirza Agha Ghosi (1928-…), Mohi-al-Din Bolbolani (1929-…), Sayyed Mohammad Shams Ghorayshi (1930-…) and Masha-Allah Bakhtiyari (1940-…).

It is fortunate that daf has been integrated into popular Persian art music successfully encouraging many young Persians to take up learning this ancient instrument.

The structure of a Daf

Daf has six parts: 1. Frame 2. Skin 3. Pin 4. Hook 5. Ring 6. Leather Band.

1. The frame is wooden. The diameter of the frame is 48-53 centimeters. The width of the frame is 5-7 centimeters.
2. The skin is glued to the frame. The most popular is goatskin.
3. The pins are applied in behind the frame in order to keep the skin on the frame tightly bound.
4. Hooks are applied in order to hang the rings in the inner part of the frame.
5. Rings are the jingles of the daf.
6. A leather band is applied in order to help the player for long duration performances.

Information provided by Drum DoJo (http://www.drumdojo.com/world/persia/daf.htm)

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DAF - Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - is a German synth band

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