Skin to Fibre: Material Transformation and its Impact on Performance Practice in South Indian Percussion Instruments

Abstract

This paper investigates the shift from traditional animal skins and wood to synthetic alternatives in South Indian percussion instruments. Drawing from practitioner’s insights from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the study analyzes how scarcity of traditional materials – due to competing industrial demand, conservation laws, and religious-political tensions- force artisans and performers to experiment with new materials. The research also highlights the intersectional nature of sonic identity, ritual purity, performance aesthetics, caste identity, and artisanal livelihood. While Tapetta Gullu performers have embraced louder materials to maintain spectator appeal, others like traditional Chenda performance in Kerala resist such changes, citing sonic inferiority and ritual contamination. Finally, this paper argues that the percussion instruments are not just for music and entertainment, rather they embody and reflect the surrounding social relations, and that their transformation reveals complex connections between cultural authenticity, religious practice, and the survival of marginalized artisanal communities in contemporary India.