Skull drum

Skull drum

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The skull drum is a typical object of the Himalayan Tantric tradition and was used in a ritual of transcending the limitations of the self called chöd. Traditionally, such drums were made from the two decapitated skulls of a deceased young man and young woman. The juxtaposition of the fused male and female skulls symbolises sexual union and the Tantric emphasis on the unity of the two, symbolically also the unity of method and wisdom.

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