Paired membranophones of southern and southeast asia: varieties, functionality, semantics

The article is devoted to the comparative characteristics of paired membranophones in the musical traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Particular attention is paid to the representation of the binary opposition “masculine-feminine”, which can be traced in the art of the two macro-regions. The article describes Indian tabla and nagara drums, examines their genesis and etymology of names and references to these instruments in the ancient treatise tradition. The most important membranophones of the Southeast Asian region are the Cambodian skor thom, the Thai clong hak, the Vietnamese trong nha and the Indonesian kendang. The example of paired drums reveals intercultural connections in the musical instrumentation of the two regions-civilizations.