The Udu

And if you’re wanting to do an activity whilst you’re visiting the museum, there’s an accompanying quiz for each minstrument and web links to explore.

 

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The  Udo

This is the udu – a musical clay pot. How do you do, udu?

Udu pots originally came from Nigeria, Africa, but today they are made all over the world. The musical clay pot is popular in India, where it’s called a Ghatam.

In the Igbo language of Nigeria the word Udu means a vessel, but I think it’s also like the sound the instrument makes – ooo doo!

This udu is made of clay and has tiny grains of iron embedded in the clay to help improve the sound of the drum. You play it by covering the holes in the side or the top. If you bounce your hand over the hole, you make the ‘oooo’, if you place your hand you make a ‘doooo’.

Udu clay pots are a wonderful example of how something from the home becomes a musical instrument. Before they were made with a hole in the side, udu vessels would be placed under ground to store water or milk in order to keep the contents cool. They could be described as the world’s oldest refrigerator!

The udu is a quieter drum that’s nice to play on your own or with other softer sounding instruments. Some players put water inside the drum, which changes the pitch.

 

 

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