111.142 Cymbals

Gayan-bayan tal. Pair of cymbals. Made of bronze, with a white pattern. Made in Hotebari, Kamrup District, Assam.

The jute strings attached to each cymbal are wrapped around the index fingers of each hand, and the cymbals are clashed together. One of the places in which the cymbals are played is in the satras, the monasteries of Assam that are dedicated to the god Vishnu. The cymbals are used to keep the beat and lead the music for the ritual gayan-bayan dance held in the namghar, the prayer hall. The dance is also accompanied by the khol barrel drums.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk