Drum makers build 'bedug' at the market

The sound of bedug, large drums used in mosques, marks victory over the long day of fasting for many people during Ramadan. Upon hearing the booming doog-doog sound at dusk, millions of Jakartans simultaneously sip their hot drinks and bite into sweet snacks.

A traditional bedug is a barrel-shaped wooden drum, but nowadays the bedug can also be made from metal container drums. One or both ends of the drum are covered with goat hide or cowhide. The skins are usually from goats or cows slaughtered on the Day of Sacrifice, Idul Adha.

Drummers beat the hide with two wooden sticks, in an accelerating rhythmic pattern.

At a goat market in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, a small industry produces bedug made of goat skins.

The drum makers construct bedug from scratch and sell them at prices ranging from Rp 300,000 (US$32) to Rp 10 million.

-- Photos by J. Adiguna