Dum Dum Music Drum

September 18, 2007

I just realized that I have failed to post an entry that I wrote last week! I am currently on Waya Island; and will be returning to Nadi this Friday. There is minimal connection to the outside world on Waya, so my apologies for being out of touch…

After spending the past month in Suva, Kadavu, Savusavu, Labasa and Lautoka, I now have returned to where I started: Nadi, the international hub of Fiji, is the third-largest city of the Fiji Islands. The city is quite small, with only one main street (called, yup you guessed it, Main Street).

The music scene in Nadi is similar to that of Suva: both cities have the same music/record shops, Sharma, South Pacific Recording and Procera. Truth be told, Nadi does not offer much of interest in regards to the indigenous Fijian music. Yet, like so many other of my experiences here in Fiji, it has been very interesting learning about the Indo-Fijian music community in Nadi.

The largest Hindu temple in the South Pacific is in Nadi. The color scheme of the temple truly is extraordinary: vibrant reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, purples, and blues fill the exterior and interior of the temple. Even in my time in India, I had never seen a temple with such a flamboyant ensemble of colors. There are countless statues integrated into the temple’s façade. Surely, this simple description does not do it justice; therefore, I will post photos as soon as possible.

For about two hours, I spoke with Reddi, the grounds manager of the temple. He told me that the temple was built in 1994; and is modeled after of a temple in South India – Reddi asserted that the one in India is “twenty times larger.” It is a Shaivite temple; thus there are many statues of Lord Shiva. Reddi did say that the temple actually is for “Lord Shiva’s son, Sri Subra Manyan.” When I confessed that I was not familiar with that deity, he then said, “It is just one of the 108 names of Lord Shiva.”

Knowing that South Indian temples tend to be much more colorful than those of the North, I asked if the colors signified anything specific, and Reddi told me that, “The colors are [represent] the seven stages of Enlightenment.”

There were paintings all along the ceiling of the temple. While all of the art work was very similar to temple art in India, there was one painting that demonstrated the Fijian influence: it depicted Lord Shiva blowing on a conch, while standing next to Sarasvati, the Goddess of Music. I might be wrong, but I would think that the idea of a conch shell trumpet is result of the Fijian influence on Hinduism.

I inquired about whether the temple commissioned any musicians, and Reddi said no. At this point in my research, this answer does not surprise me. Before I began my research, however, I would have assumed that the largest Hindu temple in Fiji would employ musicians. When I asked what does the temple do for music for major holidays and festivals, Reddi informed that sometimes musicians are flown in from India. He said that only happens during very special occasion; but I was still amazed to hear that. Reddi said that last year, twenty-one musicians from India to perform at the twelfth anniversary of the temple’s opening.

After we began our conversation on the music of Hinduism, Reddi then showed me one of the stranger things I have encountered here in Fiji. On the right-hand side of the main entrance of the temple, there is an old-fashioned drum machine. (I will post a picture as soon as possible). An inscription above the machine reads, “Dum Dum Music Drum.” There is one medium-sized, bowl-shaped drum, made of copper shell, with an animal hide drumhead. It is probably about 14” in diameter. There are two large wooden sticks – although it’s almost fair to call them “mallets” and not “sticks.” Above the sticks, there are two brass bells. The bells and sticks are powered by a blue-colored belt motor; the machine itself is painted a faded orange.

Reddi plugged in the Dum Dum Music Drum, and it was very loud and played a very fast rhythm. It was a strange contraption indeed; and oddly enough, reconfirmed much of research on the music of Hindu Indo-Fijians. To clarify, it seems that if there were plethora of Hindu drummers in Fiji, such a machine would not be necessary. The lack of formal training of percussion instruments of Hindustani music has required Hindu Indo-Fijians to develop innovative ways to fill that void. All that being said, it was really neat to see such a peculiar invention.