Please choose your versionCopy/paste the script belowIn his workshop in the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk in Iraq, artisan Abdel Rahman makes traditional tambourines called "daf".Consisting of a piece of leather fixed around a circular frame, this traditional tambourine is very little made by hand.Since 1993, Abdel Rahman has not ceased his activity in the tambourine wholesale business."Turbine making is an old traditional craft in Iraq and Kirkuk. Yet, no one does it anymore. Today, the profession has become commercial and the parts used (in making tambourines) are made by hand. machine, it is no longer done by hand."said Abdel Rahman, an Iraqi craftsman.The Iraqi craftsman sells his tambourines to customers from different parts of the country, including the capital Baghdad, Samarra and Suleimaniyah in the Kurdish north."There are two types of tambourines, leather and wax. Their sounds differ, leather tambourines sound better and more sophisticated than wax ones."explained Ali Akbar, tambourine player in a Sufi group.In another neighborhood of this northern Iraqi city, a traditional Sufi band uses Abdel Rahman's well-crafted instruments to create rhythmic and distinct tunes and melodies."As Sufis, we use the 'daf' at our events, such as the Prophet's birthday, and at some of our dedicated Sufi councils. The 'daf' has its own 'Maqam' (an Arabic system of modes melodic), just like the old Iraqi "Maqams", which we use to play the "daf".said Ali Akbar, tambourine player in a Sufi group.From the stringing systems to the tension of the skins, the craftsmanship of the "daf" plays a major role in the sound quality of the ancestral instrument.