dhol damau

Dhol damau or dhol damaun is the term used to collectively refer to two folk instruments of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the dhol and damau, which are almost always played together on special occasions; though they may be played separately.Andrew Alter: Controlling Time in Epic Performances: An Examination of Mahābhārata Performance in the Central Himalayas and Indonesia. Ethnomusicology Forum, Vol. 20, No. 1 ( 20th Celebratory Edition ) April 2011, pp. 57-78 The two instruments play a vital role in the lives of villagers, who often live in remote valleys of the region, and every important event is accompanied by their playing, which is considered auspicious.[https://books.google.com/books?id=pkkJAQAAMAAJ Asian Music, Volume 29. Society for Asian Music, 1998] Quote: "They provide auspicious music at ritual occasions...Auji caste members are the primary musicians who play the most commonly found pair of drums called the dhol-damau."{{cite book |last=Alter |first=Andrew |author-link= |date=2014 |title=Mountainous Sound Spaces: Listening to History and Music in the Uttarakhand Himalayas |url= |location= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page= |isbn= 9789384463069}}

They are played according to the ancient oral treatise of Dhol Sagar that lists specific rhythmic patterns for every occasion, from celebrating birth and christening to religious ceremonies, folk dramas like Pandav Lila, and death rituals.{{cite journal |last1=Alter |first1=Andrew |title=Dhol Sagar: Aspects of Drum Knowledge amongst Musicians in Garhwal, North India |journal=European Bulletin of Himalayan Research |date=2003 |volume=24 |pages=63–76}} Traditionally, they have been played by specific caste groups like auji, bajgi, das or dholi .