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Athavil (Tamil:தவில்) ortavil is a barrel-shapedpercussion instrument fromTamil Nadu. It is also widely used in otherSouth Indian states (Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka,Kerala,Telangana) as well as in the North and East ofSri Lanka (in the Tamil majority area calledTamil Eelam). It is used in temple,folk andCarnatic music, often accompanying thenadaswaram. Thethavil and thenadaswaram are essential components of traditional festivals and ceremonies in South India.
In folk music contexts, a pair of wider, slimmer sticks are sometimes used. In TamilFilmi songs, thavils are mostly used. Notable movies: "Thillaanaa Mohanambal", "Paruthiveeran", "Karagattakaran", "Sarvam Thaala Mayam".
Thavil is a traditional musical instrument of the ancient city ofThanjavur in Tamil Nadu. It is an integral part of the Carnatic music in Thanjavur. It is mostly made in Thanjavur andValayapatti.
Thethavil consists of a cylindrical shell hollowed out of a solid block ofjackfruit wood. Layers of animal skin,water buffalo on the bigger opening (high sound) and goat on the smaller opening (low sound), are stretched across the sides of the shell usinghemp hoops attached to the shell. The right face of the instrument has a larger diameter than the left side, and the right drum head is stretched very tightly, while the left drum head is kept loose to allow pitch bending. The larger face is higher in pitch than the smaller face.
The modern Thavil has a corpus that is bordered by a steel ring coated in plastic on which the two skins are fixed by metal straps. Both skins can be separately tuned.[1]
The instrument is either played while sitting, or hung by a cloth strap (callednadai) from the shoulder of the player. The right head is played with the right hand, wrist and fingers. The player usually wears thumb caps on all the fingers of the right hand, made of hardened glue frommaida flour. The left head is played with a short, thick stick made from the wood of theportia tree. It is not uncommon for left-handed players to use the opposite hands, and some nadaswaram groups feature both a right- and a left-handed thavil player.[citation needed]
Some master thavil players:[2]
