The pandeiro

Denomination

The etymology of pandeiro (pandero in spanish) seems to be in the latin root pand-, which means curved, rounded, so that it's the original denomination of a curved typology of drums. Pand- was already present in the Greek language and perhaps was part of the indoeuropean linguistic trunk but this denomination was born in Spain, surely during the late roman period since. Two facts justify this idea: during the empire the round instrument was called Tympanum and only in the Iberian Peninsula are used percussion names with this root, being panderete the first literary appointment that we know, from El libro del buen amor, XIV century. From the Spanish it would later derive in the arabicized form bendir, similar Moroccan instrument.

The explanation of why the denomination of a round instrument passed to a square instrument, has sense only in Galicia and other peninsular zones where also it is played, because in the rest of the peninsula pandeiro (pandero in Spanish) is a round instrument. Therefore, the experts says "pandeiro cuadrado" or "pandeiro redondo" according to the case. The previous denomination was adufe that, peculiarly, also denominated square and round instruments but dragged an identification with the morisca culture reason why it was rejected for pandeiro since 1.492.

In the zones where the rounded and square forms were co-existing, new denominations arose, this is why in Galicia it is not necessary to specify square or rounded: pandeiro means without any doubt a square instrument, pandeira a big rounded one and pandeireta a small rounded one.

We want to remember that it is necessary to take into account the relativity of denominations ralated to traditional instruments, since in the very rich galician tradition, there will always be exceptions and nouances.

History

We are seen that the square and round kinds have had the same denomination frequently throughout history, being difficult to select what corresponds to one or to another one in the textual references, without iconographies with which they are possible to be contrasted but there are sources that assure that the square instruments were played sinde 4,000 years ago in determined civilizacións or cultures of the Eastern shore of the mediterraneo and the middle east like Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia and Greece. Also a presence in Rome is attributed to him, perhaps because it was the metropolis of a vast empire that during certain stage almost included the totality of the mentioned cultures.

It's usualy considered that the pandeiro arrived in Spain with the arabian invasion with its proper denomination adufe. With this name it was known during the medioeval age in Galicia. Actually it is the way it is called in the portuguese regions of Guarda and Bajo Alentejo. Adufe comes from the arabian word duff and, also related to this same root, other denominations exist around the word, like the arabic daff, the turkish deff and the hebrew toph.

The pandeiro in Galicia

Because of its square form the pandeiro is the most caracteristic instrument of Galicia. It is played in Galicia, but an extense search through time and space highlights that its use has been magnified, since it has been impossible to find traces of it for example in the large province of A Coruña. Its zone is historically situated in the oriental and southern parts of the territory, which include part of the province of Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra.

Actually the pandeiro is still in use only in a few places, irregularly distributed in the above mentioned region. This places are in adjacent parts of the provinces of León, Zamora and Portugal, which is very meaningful since they are centers rich of pandero tradition, which influence contributed to its preservation in Galicia. The shortage of places and informers make the galician pandeiro one of the instruments with a high probability to disappera shortly.

The historical iconography of the pandeiro in Galicia is very poor. The most remarkable is the one we find in a tympanum of the San Miguel do Monte chapel, in Chantada (Lugo), of the XII century. It is one of the first representations of the pandeiro in Europe, which makes it especially important. We can surely find a considerable number of representation in the rest of the peninsula but with a higher concentration in the north-west quadrant, which confirma that it has been during the medioeval christian kingdoms when the use to play it took place.

- Quireza

Nowadays one of the galician localities with a pandeiro tradition is Quireza, main town parish with the same name, in Cerdedo (Pontevedra). One of the players we can find there is Emérita Monteagudo, born in 1917, who started playing pandeiro very young, learning it from the older members of her family, specially from some aunts and grandparents, who actually were pandeiro makers. The tipical genres were muiñeira and jota. It is interesting to note that the pandeiro was usually played rounded by pandeiretas, which is quite frequent in the galician lands.

- O Canizo

Another place where the pandeiro tradition is still alive is A Gudiña, in Ourense. There in O Canizo, Concha Luís, born in 1920, plays the pandeiro. She learned from her mother, who had been recorded by Lomax in 1950. In those years the pandeiro was alredy somehow forgotten and actually they had to go looking for a pandeiro because there wasn't one in O Canizo. This makes Concha peculiar, because she is the very last person in that zone who can contribute about the instrument. The tipical genres are again muiñeira and jota, besides some others with a more local character, like the one she calls as pombiñas. Concha still has special qualities to inform many different playing styles and she also knows, besides those she plays on the pandeiro, many interesting melodies, that is why she is a very valuable informant.

- Cortellas

The most recognized galician pandeiro player is Maruja Grande, born in 1930 in the Cortellas district in Soutomaior (Pontevedra), where she still lives. Maruja also started learning at an early age from some wemen living in a house near to her one, from where the pandeiro she is currently playing comes from and which is more or less 100 year old. As usual in all the pandeiro zones, the genres are the muiñeira (ribeirana in Soutomaior), the jota and the agarrados (pasodoble, vals, etc.).

The instrument, like in the rest of the peninsula, consists of a square frame surrounded by a animal skin, sewed on the three open sides. This means that it is actually a unique patch which covers the two sides. An interesting detail are the inner strings which take different denominations (guitarras, guitas) and which vibrate due to the contact with the skin when the drum is played. And of course we have to mention the bells (axóuxeres, arxóuselas; arouxos en Soutomaior) it has inside. We also have to remark the "dress" which covers the seam of the skin and the different bevelling of the edges of the frame, which can vary from crude bavellings to a semi-cylindric profile depending on the zones.

The pandeiro in the Iberian peninsula

In the rest of Spain and Portugal the pandeiro also has a certain presence. There are many places but those we know better are Cangas de Narcea (Asturias), Laciana (León), Peñaparda (Salamanca), Berzocana (Cáceres) and Monsanto (Castelo Branco, Portugal).

- Cangas de Narcea

In Cangas de Narcea there are several towns where we can find pandeiro players. One of them is Trasmonte de Arriba, where Concepción Rodríguez is an amazing specialist. The most remarkable genres are the son d'arriba (sort of jota tipical of that mountainous zone of Asturias), the traditional jota and the agarrados (like almost always the pasodoble and the vals). We have note that the pandeiro is also used to accompany some songs during processions. Concha already recorded two LPs, one alone and the second with some musicians of the zone (both with Tecnosaga, with the intercession of Chema Fraile). The asturian traditionalist musicians tend to say panderu, surelly trying to rescue the denomination of that zone even if Concha says pandero.

- Laciana

Laciana, or Chaciana, in the local dialect called pachuezo , is a comarca of León with capital in Villablino. That is where we met the pandeiro player Santiago García, whos familiy history is stricted related to the pandeiro and who is also a pandeiro maker. The pandeiro of Laciana has a certain affinity with the one of Congas due to the fact they one next to the other and share the same astur-leonés trunk. The affinity can be find in many cultural characteristics, one being the speech and one, of course, music. Among the genres we can find for example the son d'arriba that they use to call jota montañesa. It is interesting to note the ancient tradition of the singers of this zone, to sing songs during the weddings playing the pandero, which has affinities with the wedding songs in Ancares (León) and Donís (Lugo). The denomination that traditionalist musicians like Santiago use is panderu, even if around Villabino they use to say pandero.

- Peñaparda

Peñaparda is a locality of Salamanca very near to Portugal. Anyway the pandeiro they use to play is not similar to the one played in that land. The way they play it hitting the drum with a stick in one hand and with the fingers of the other hand, which is quite peculiar and surely has a historical derivation. The playing tradition is very important in Peñaparda where we can find many good players and an organization dedicated to it which organises an annual Fiesta del pandero cuadrado. The genres they play are those tipical of Salamanca, among which we can find the charro, the jota, the fandango and the agechado. In 2002 in Peñaparda they recordeed the compilation of pandeiro, gaita and tambor (flute and drum) themes, which has to be added to previous editions of this prestigious tradition. The modern denomination is pandero cuadrado (aquare pandero) maybe for the exact nature of instrument to be understood abroad, while people of that zone simply say pandero.

- Berzocana

In Berzocana (Cáceres) exists a type of pandeiro which will have to gain a better representation in the spanish context. In Berzocana (Cáceres) exists a kind of pandeiro which had to have a more important representation in the context of the spanish tradition of the pandeiro. It's a pandeiro used in religious ceremonies, identical to the disappeared one of Urgel and La Noguera, which characteristics are a profuse ornamentation, a bigger size then the one usually played for dance and the fact it is used only in precessions. Concretely it is played in the procession which takes place in August to honor the saints San Fulgencio and Santa Florentina, brothers of San Isidoro from Sevilla. The denomination there, is pandero.

- Monsanto

Monsanto (Castelo Branco) is one of the places in Portugal where they play the pandeiro, which is called adufe, like in te region between Guarda and Bajo Alentejo. The use of the pandeiro in Portugal is shared among dance and religious acts, like in Spain, maybe with just a better balanced distribution, since in almost all the places where it is played, there is a percentage of pieces of both the above uses. Even if the use of the adufe survives thanks to folkloristic groups (folkloristic ranchos) with some differences but very similar to the spanish groups, there is a clear affinity to the way it was played formerly and we can find ranchos of different quality. One of the best is surely the group Adufeiras de Monsanto, which is directed by Amelia Fonseca, who learned from her mother. The technique in all the Castelo Blanco province, differs from the galician one in that the right hand is also used to hold the drum and the thumb finger never looses contact with the frame, but the hand is slightly moved to mark with strokes on the skin, the music's accents.

Playing technique

The playing technique of the pandeiro is very similar to the vello xieto used to play the pandeira. The left hand holds the instrument and the fingers are used to produce soft strokes, while the right hand is the leading one, htting the center of the drum or the edge.

We include here, just as a resume, three techniques which clearly illustrate the set of different style we can fins in the peninsula. The way each stroke is played is strictly related to the genres, that's why it's usual to find in each genre peculiarities in the hands position, where the drum is hitten, etc.

- Soutomaior, one of the styles to play the jota

The lower corner of the pandeiro is put on the abdomen and the drum is hold with the left hand which hits the skin with all the fingers. The right hand is the leading one hitting in the upper part but marking the accents hitting the center.

- Porto de Sanabria, one of the styles to play the muiñeira

The lower part of the pandeiro is put on the chest and it's only hold using the left hand which always maintains the index finger pressing the skin and plays using the three other fingers. The right hand is the leading one marking a quadruplet above and making the tipical tátara of the muiñeira down.

- Monsanto, Castelo Branco (Portugal), every genres

The pandeiro is mainly hold with the left hand, which index finger constantly presses the skin and playing with the three other fingers. The thumb fonger of the right hand helps holding the drum and never leaves the frame. The most frequent strokes are generated hitting the drum very close to the edge, and the accents towards to the center which produces a deeper sound.

- Galician folkloristic groups style

There´s a playing style, in which the pandeiro is located on the chest, very common inside and outside Galicia spread by an artificial way. This playing style has no correspondence with the one used by women in the rural tradition. It probably comes from the Galician folkloristics groups (we can denomine Coros y Danzas in Spanish) of the urban tradition in which it looks like the pandeiro has never been played correctly. Emérita use to say "eso non é tocar nin é nada" (that's not playing nor anything else). Unfortunately in some sources you can read pandeiro de peito to refer to the pandeiro played in Galicia, which highlights not only a poor knowledge of the instrument and its tradition, but also the lack of studies in the field.

Related things

Moliñeira de Tucende (1,62 Mb)
On Spanish, Galician and Portuguese frame drums, with Peyman Nasehpour

Many thanks to Gianluca Baldo for the traslation to English

Juanjo Fernández Lugo, (12/10/02)

(updated 18/6/06)

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