Karatalas or Bronze Hand Cymbals

Dublin Core

Title

Karatalas or Bronze Hand Cymbals

Subject

Musical Instrument

Description

Karatalas or hand cymbals are a pair of crash cymbals that produce a high pitched percussion sound. Karatalas, in religious contexts, accompany Hindus when performing devotional music. Hare Krishna Hindus commonly use Karatalas because of Krishna's association with music. However, Karatalas are ubiquitous to all Hindu devotional music. 

Check out the High Library for more information. 

Check out sacred texts that relate to the artifact. 

Sources:
Vimalakānta Rôya Caudhurī, The Dictionary of Hindustani Classical Music (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 2017). 

Contributor

Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA)
Dr. William V. Puffenberger

Rights

Elizabethtown College retains all intellectual property rights to this image including, but not limited to, digital rights and any derivative works. For permission for reproduction, please contact the College’s Administrative Assistant for Humanities.

Format

Small cylindrical bronze cymbals with an orange rope connecting them together.
The diameter of each cymbal: 3 in (7.6 cm)
Length from cymbal to cymbal (including the rope): 27 in (68.6 cm)

Type

Physical Object

Identifier

Puffenberger #99

Coverage

India