For the ultimate singing bowl experience, play a jambati.
Jambati are large singing bowls, usually over 8 inches diameter, but occasionally found in smaller sizes. Some very small bowls share the same shape, but the term jambati generally refers to a large bowl.
The most common size for jambati is 10.25-10.5 inches in diameter and weighs about 4 pounds.
The largest antique jambati are commonly around 12" diamter with a very few pieces being larger. I have seen a few very large 30 inch jambati but I was not able to verify their authenticity as real antiques.
As you might expect, the larger size produces a louder tone. Usually ringing about 30 seconds, the best sounding examples in the Singing Bowl Museum collection ring for over 2 minutes.
The range of tones for jambati is extremely wide. They play over 3 octaves from very deep rumbling tones to clear high pitches. Like other bowls, the pitch is determined by the thickness of the bowl and tension formed at the rim. The heavier the rim and thicker the body, the higher the tone. The lighter the rim and thinner the body, the deeper the tone.
Jambati have a wonderful effect on any environment. Since the vibrations really fill the room, they are excellent at clearing out stray vibrations and filling the room with their wonderful feeling energy. Many groups use jambati however I often recommend to get a higher pitch for a large room. The low tones are actually less audible in a large room with many people. A mid or high pitched jambati will usually ring longer and stronger, plus the tones are more audible.
The low tones are still most peoples favorites and with good reason. They are very calming and have a mystical quality. Very low tones often fade more quickly because the thinner metal comes to rest faster.
Jambati work very well together in a set and form the basis of many professional sets. Since they cover a wide range of tones, you can arrange them from low to high and play several together.
Jambati can feel heavy. They are more difficult to hold for a long time compared to smaller sizes. They have the strongest vibration that you really feel as well as hear.
Since the fundamental tone is in the low range of our hearing, some jambati have 4 audible tones rather than 3. The fourth harmonic is just within our hearing range. While all bowls produce several vibrations, we can usually hear only 3.
Like other antique singing bowls, the jambati went through an early period, late period and now a modern period. The early jambati had outward folded rims just like their smaller counterparts. The metal was folded in a complex way that forms a clean shelf on top and folds outward around the top. The fold is blended into the side, hidden in plain sight. After several centuries, the folds begin to separate. These early jambati are distincly different in form and sound.
Later jambati were made in much larger numbers. They had inward folded rims forming a bead of metal around the inside edge. The best examples have a clean diagonal line around the inside.
Some later jambati were made with no lip. These have the deepest tones of all, since the shaped rim raises the pitch.
Almost all jambati are engraved around the rim with simple lines. The earlier bowls were cut with deeper and heavier lines. The latest bowls and modern bowls are incised with much thinner and less straight lines.
Many jambati are inscribed, some with beautifully scrolled writing. As with other bowls, the inscriptions are not original to the bowl but are always applied after manufacturing.
A jambati is a wonderful singing bowl to have in any environment. Every collector should have at least 1, if not several. They are really the ultimate singing bowls.
I hope this article gives you more insight into the large jambati singing bowls. Please leave your comments and questions below.
Listen to the jambati here:
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