The Ghumot or Ghumat is a percussion instrument from Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Ghumat is an instrument of earthen vessel having both sides open; on the bigger opening a leather (drum membrane) of monitor lizard is mounted. Generally Ghumat is accompanied by 'Samel', another traditional instrument with wooden drum and goat leather mount.This instrument is still very popular amongst by the Konkani diaspora

Konkani people

Konkani people , form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language....

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Usage

Ghumat forms an integral part of Goan folk,religious and temple music.It serves as an accompaniment to the folk songs.But most importantly it plays a vital role in the muic played in Goa during the Ganesh festival.It also used in most of the Goan temples during the spring season in an orchestra called as Suvari vadan.

External links

• Interview with gumot player Lourenco Fernandes, on the drum for 42 years
• You Tube video - Ghumot player
• You Tube video - Ghumot player, Vence
• Photo of a monitor lizard (whose skin is used in Goa to create the ghumot)
• Photo of ghumotts
• Photo of ghumotts