The thattai (Tamil: தட்டை) is an Indian percussion instrument, a type of clapper belonging to the idiophone instruments family.
The thattai consists of a cane tube, in which the end has three reeds (two of them free) that produce a percussive sound when the shaft is shaken with one hand. The thattai is used as a toy or as rhythmic accompaniment instrument.
Nepal
In Nepal, the instrument is called patpate (पटपटे), from the "pat pat" sound it makes when swinging it.[1] There it is made of a split banana stalk, or the leaves.[1] The edges of the leaves are cut away to leave the stiff middle stalk-section.[1] The 20 cm long stalk is split into three sections (each about 12 cm long), leaving a handle about 8 cm long.[1] The instrument or toy is about 5 cm wide.[1]
References
- Archaeology of Indian Musical Instruments. Sandeep Prakashan, 2004, ISBN 8175740116