Thayambaka, of which Western audiences are strangely ignorant, has a special place in Hindu En aquests textos sempre tradueixo la paraula "hind£" per "Hindu", que es refereix a la religi¢. Existeix, pero, el costum period¡stic en catal… de fer servir "hind£" com sinonim de "indi". musical expression. It is a ritual both sacred and secular, both popular and classical.

In general, percussion instruments have a purely accompanimental role, as in concerts of Indian classical music, where there is a prescribed place for a percussion solo. The unique character of thayambaka is that it is freed from the confines of an accompaniment, being the only musical form designed exclusively for solo concerts. It is an impressive spectacle, due to the music's wide range of expression, its popularity with audiences, and the intelligence and virtuosity required in performance.

Traditionally, Thayambaka is percussion music used in the temple during worship of the divinity. Its origins date from time immemorial: there has never been a period without thayambaka music.

The popular character of the music is due to the number of performers required, the special nature of the sound, the volume and the sharp, "devilish" rhythm.

The function of Thayambaka was to cast devils out of the temple. The timbres of the chords played on the cymbals, in combination with the harmonic movement of the drums, create vibrations which act on the listener's nerve centres to create an experience of extraordinary intensity. The main instrument is the chenda, accompanied by the elethalam.

The concert begins with the ritual of the afternoon offering, played on the left side of the chenda. The principal musician alone directs the concert and performs the variations, and the accompanists, with an equal number of chendas and cymbals, follow the rhythm and tempo so established.

There is an instrumental group of five different instruments ÄÄ maddalam, timila and edakka (percussion), and komba and sangue (wind instruments).

The other form of Hindu1 musical expression, panchavadyam, accompanies the temple rituals while the idol is being carried in procession. The main instrument is the maddalam, followed by four or five timilas with cymbals, and one each of edakka, komba and sangue.

The most important part of the panchavadyam is the dialogue established by the maddalam and timila with the other instruments. The cymbals add depth to the temple and the concerts usually end with a timila variation called varave.

Both the thayambaka and the panchavadyam are performed by men wearing the traditional mundou Kerala costume. The performers cannot cover the upper part of their body during the time they are in the temple.