If you own a Native American drum or are planning to buy a drum there are some things you should know. Natural hide drums respond to moisture in the air. Hoop drums dry and tighten in dry environments and moisten and loosen in humid areas. That is why natural Indian drums may arrive loose after shipping or when a storm passes through your area. To tighten loose rawhide you want to heat it to dry the rawhide. But with a dry climate you want to condition it.
Hand drums are usually made of rawhide which is stretched animal skin. Just like human skin, the elements an dry it. To condition your rawhide drums we have found that neatsfoot oil is the best oil to use although you can use any oil with varying degrees of success on Native American drums.
Use a soft cloth rag and very little oil. The goal is to work the oil into the hide by rubbing small amounts of oil in circular patterns. Rub the oil into the hide rather than soaking it with a lot of oil. Over conditioning will not hurt the drum but it isn’t necessary and will take a lot longer to dry. Extreme over conditioning will also cause the drum to seem loose. This is a temporary situation and the hide will tighten as it drys. You can’t really hurt it, it just does not take very much oil so work it in sparingly.
Start in the center and work out toward the edges. Any place where the hide is stretched over the hoop is especially important. You also want to apply it more heavily around the lacing and cover connections as this is a high stress area. So, heavier on the back around the lacing. Then let the drum sit for a while to absorb the oil. You will see after a while that it is absorbing. When a drum is new, it seems to drink in the oil so you may want to do more frequently.
After it sits for a while the oil will have been absorbed and it also evaporates. There will still be a film of oil. If you don’t plan to use the drum, this is a good condition to leave it in. You can also take a different soft dry cloth at this point and wipe off remaining oil. It won’t be completely dry yet but it will be well conditioned.
How often you condition the rawhide depends on your area. Tarahumara drums use all natural goat skin rawhide and should be conditioned regularly. The dryness is what you are preventing. In the winter in areas where homes are heated the air can become very dry so that would be a time to check it more often. Air conditioning in the summer can also dry rawhide.
The most critical time to condition seems to be when the seasons change abruptly. We have found that Winter to Spring is the more difficult season for rawhide drums. If you can condition the rawhide prior to that seasonal change you will be in the best position possible to preserve your Native American drums.
