A Drum Made From What It Contemplates

Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism uses a damaru of its own, structurally the same twisting hourglass drum found in Shaivism but adapted to a different ritual vocabulary and, in some tantric practices, a different material history. Ritual damarus used in certain deity cycles were historically constructed from two human skull caps joined at their crowns, chosen deliberately: tantric Buddhist practice treats the confrontation with death and impermanence as a tool for realization rather than something to be hidden from ritual life, and instruments built from human remains, obtained according to strict traditional protocols rather than taken casually, are part of a wider set of tantric implements that make the same point in different forms.

In practice, the damaru is paired with a hand bell, the drum sounding the active, skillful means side of a rite and the bell its wisdom side, and the two are held together and played in sequence during many Vajrayana ceremonies. Precious metal and wood damarus are also common and are used interchangeably with skull damarus depending on a practitioner's initiation and the specific practice being performed, so the skull form is a recognized variant within the tradition rather than a universal requirement.