Daf

The daf is the national musical instrument of Pakistan and is also depicted on the reverse and obverse of the Azerbaijani 1 qəpik coin and 1 manat banknote respectively, since 2006.

It traditionally has a round wooden frame (although in the modern era it may also be made of metal), jingles, and a thin, translucent head made of fish- or goat-skin (or, more recently, a synthetic material).

The sound is produced by hitting the membrane with either hand – the left hand, which also holds the daf, strikes the edges, and the right hand strikes the center. The right-hand fingers are fastened about their neighbours and suddenly released, like the action of finger-snapping, to produce loud, rapid, sharp sounds.

History

The Pahlavi (Middle Persian) name of the daf is dap (دپ); the frame drum used in traditional Uyghur music has the similar name dāp (داپ).

Some pictures of daf have been found in paintings that date before the Common Era. The presence of the Iranian daf in the 6th–5th century BCE Behistun Inscription suggests that it existed before the rise of Islam and Sufism.

Iranian music has always been a spiritual tool.

It shows that daf played an important role in Mazdean Iran emerging as an important element during the Sassanian period, during the Kâvusakân dynasty.

Also, there is a kind of square frame drum in the stonecutting of Taq-e Bostan (another famous monument located 5km northeast of Kermanshah city). These frame drums were played in the ancient Middle East, Greece, and Rome and reached medieval Europe through Islamic culture.

Nowruz (the first day of the Iranian New Year and the national festival of the Iranian people) and other festive occasions have been accompanied by daf in the Sassanid periods (224 AD–651 AD). In this period, the daf was played in order to accompany Iranian classical music.

Dafs were likely used in the court to be played in the modes and melodies of traditional music. This traditional or classical music was created by Barbod the Great and was named the khosravani after the mythical king Khosrow II.

Recent research reveals that these modes were used in the recitation of Mazdean (Zoroastrian) prayers. The modes were passed down from master to student and are today known as the radif and dastgāh system.

Many of the melodies were lost, but most of those that remain date to the Sassanid period. Dafs can be played to produce highly complex and intense rhythms, causing one to go under a trance and reach an ecstatic and spiritually-high state. For this reason, they have always been connected with religion in Iran.

An engraved bronze cup from Lorestan at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, portrays a double ney (end-blown reed pipes), chang (harp), and a daf in a shrine or court processional, as similarly documented in Egypt, Elam, and the Persian province of Babylonia, where music was arranged for performance by large orchestral ensembles.

The Arabs introduced the daf and other Middle Eastern musical instruments to Spain, and the Spanish adapted and promoted the daf and other musical instruments (such as the guitar) in medieval Europe. In the 15th century, the daf was only used in Sufi ceremonies; the Ottomans reintroduced it to Europe in the 17th century.

The daf still functions as an important part of Iranian music (both traditional and classical) as it did in ancient times. It successfully encourages many young Iranians to take up learning this ancient instrument.

Daf, and its smaller version called dafli, is also used across India. It is believed to have arrived along with other Persian influences in the medieval era, and is a popular folk instrument. In southern India, its use became mainstream, especially in protests, during the early half of the 20th century. Since the 1950s, it has also been used prominently in Bollywood.

In Islam

In Islam, the daf holds special importance in conservative Sunni communities as it is the only musical instrument whose use is permitted, specifically by women during celebrations and men in battle.

It also holds special importance in Islamic Sufi music.