Instruments For Sale: Udus

Udu drums (pronounced "oo-doo") are traditional instruments that originated in Nigeria. Sometimes they are used by women in ritual performances. Some believe the haunting sounds to be voices of ancestors. One of their traditional names is "udu" (pronounced "oo-doo"). Udus have a side hole which creates a deep reverberating note when struck with the flat palm of the hand. The clay body of the vessel produces a high pinging sound when struck with the fingers. The combination of these two techniques sometimes sounds similar to the Indian tabla or African talking drum.

These udus are made in the traditional style, completely hand-built from long coils of clay which is then paddled and scraped into shape. They are not thrown on a potter's wheel or made from molds, as most commercial udus are. The gradual and tedious process of forming an udu this way takes approximately a month. The instruments with original organic designs and colors have been fired in a pit filled with wood, which produces these unique effects.

The following udus are for sale. Click on a picture to see a larger photo. Click on the "Hear it!" speaker icon for a sound sample. Most of these sound samples are in MP3 format, which can be played with free software such as the RealPlayer (player available here) or Quicktime (player available here). (Note: if you are using the small internal speaker in your computer, you probably will not hear the low bass notes of the udus.)

Click on a picture to see a larger photo.

Sorry, all udus are currently sold. The recently sold ones shown below are an indicator of style and price.

	Udu #106 Just Sold! 14" tall. Earth-tone terra-cotta finish. $250	Hear it!
	Udu #107 Just Sold! 12" tall. Earth-tone terra-cotta finish. $200	Hear it!

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