Prda
Nina Knežević
Zagreb, 2013
wooden stick, ceramic, animal bladder
insertion, tying
height = 57,5 cm
Et 49878
The Collection of Musical Instruments
Prda, a clay pot drum with a bass sound, consists of an earthen pot and a handle (stick) which is inserted into processed pig’s bladder. The bladder is drawn over the pot’s neck and fastened with lint thread. Once fastened, the bladder covers the opening of the pot.
Prda was used for making noise during the Carnival. “Maškuri” (people in masks during the Carnival) walked around the village and played the prda. “Maškur” had to wet the cornstalk with his saliva and he had to move the cornstalk up and down.
Horizontal circles are drawn on the earthen clay, and there is an X sign among the circles. In Pokuplje, the Kupa river basin, motifs of this kind were drawn on earthen pots to act as protection from witches (“coprnjice”), and to prevent milk from curdling.
