The traditional drum makers (Pung Shaba) of Manipur particularly the Meitei adopt a unique style of stripping method for obtaining binding elements for making drum. Scraped and dyed leather cut into a circular form is used for preparing binding strips. These strips are used for tying the membranes that are generally fixed along the sides of the hollow body. A simple pinching tool (Punghut) is allow to stand firmly on ground and two desirable sizes of bamboo splits are placed crosswise across this Punghut. The leather is prepared with a small circular hole with the help of chisel. It is then placed in between the two splits. The teeth of chisel is pressed on the edge of the upper split of bamboo and allowed to rotate by pulling the strip through the vertical stand of Punghut which serves as a kind of axle between the two splits. This continuous pull allows the strip to cut or stripped unformly.
Mirrors the Traditional Past