Octagonal Bull Rawhide Frame Drum – Your Protector, Friend, and Primary Guide to Other Worlds

Before you stands an octagonal frame drum, entirely handcrafted by us and our business partner and close friend Stanislav (https://stanidrum.de/). The frame drum is made from spruce and bull rawhide with a natural scar texture.

The sound of an octagonal bull rawhide frame drum delivers a unique sensation of inner relaxation, liberating you from the weight of thoughts.

Strikes to the center of the drum produce a warm, enveloping tone, reminiscent of immersing yourself in hot springs atop a mountain. Strikes closer to the edge yield a light, “airy,” yet dense sound.

Each drum is unique not only in sound but also in appearance: for the drumhead, we use bull rawhide with a natural scar texture that, by its very nature, cannot be replicated or forged!

The Shamanic Octagonal Bull Rawhide Frame Drum is Your Choice If:

• You carry physical and psychological tension within;
• You’ve accumulated inner fatigue that you can’t seem to shake;
• You seek your own path and wish to hear thoughts, feelings, and desires arising from within—not from the external world;
• You value an object’s uniqueness, with a one-of-a-kind texture crafted by nature itself.

Specifications

Frame: Spruce

Membrane: Bull rawhide with natural scar texture (a favorite material for drumheads)

Diameter:

• 50 cm
• 55 cm
• 65 cm

Sound:

• Center: Warm, bright, dense, enveloping
• Edge: Light, airy, compact

Drum Shape

The form for the frame drum was not chosen arbitrarily: first of all, it is about practicality: during prolonged rituals, the shaman can adjust their grip on the drum’s edges.

Apart from this, it positively affects acoustic properties: the angles create sharper sound projections, crucial for trance rituals.

Moreover, the number 8 holds sacred meaning across cultures and practices, including shamanism. For example: Mongolian shamans recognize eight cardinal directions (north, south, west, east, and intermediates). In Buddhism, the Noble Eightfold Path leads to nirvana and liberation from samsara.

The octagon merges the circle (sky) and square (earth), symbolizing the bridge between worlds.

Materials and Symbolism

Bull Rawhide with Natural Scar Texture

We use bull rawhide with natural scars for the octagonal frame drums. Its density, smoothness, and fine porosity grant the membrane durability and the sound richness and “warmth.”

Bull rawhide remains a sacred choice for drummakers due to its symbolic properties:

• Strength & Resilience: The bull embodies power, vitality, and the ability to overcome obstacles. By using its hide, the craftsman transfers these qualities (endurance, determination, protection) to the drum.
• Earth & Fertility: Associated with masculine energy, ancestral connections, and natural cycles.

Spruce

The drum’s spruce frame offers:

• Lightweight acoustics: Bright, resonant tones with clear highs.
• Flexibility: Essential for stretching the hide.
• Long sustain: A vibrating aftertone vital for trance and meditation rhythms.

In folklore, spruce symbolizes:

• Celestial Connection: A “world tree” linking earth and the upper realms.
• Purification: Protection from malevolent spirits.
• Harmony: Balances the bullhide’s earthy power with spiritual lightness.