Siberian shamans even have their personal trees. These trees are believed to be the incarnations of the Eternal Tree. The tree for making the drum frame is chosen according to the spiritual substances. The trees are noticed intuitively with eyes closed. Altai shamans receive information about the location of the necessary tree from the spirits. In Yakutia, shamans prefer to choose the tree marked by the thunder.
A shaman’s drum is usually round, circular, egg-shaped or having some exotic shape. You can often buy shamanic drums with an octangular shape. But such exotic shapes have irregular leather straining. A round shape seems to be more perfect. Nowadays you can easily but a shamanic tambourine having an oval or a round shape in most musical stores.
If we look at the history, the earliest native drums were either egg-shaped or oval, as these shapes appeared as results of technology defects: when frames began to bend, the wood changed its form irregularly, so the circle turned into an oval or an egg shape.
Before you buy a shamanic drum, you need to understand which drum should be in you hands, so you can better make your further choice. Some egg-shaped drums have additional sound zones, but not all of them. Of course, practically everyone can buy a hand drum, you should choose your role first. It can bee the need and the professional interest, a native drum can also be good for meditation but it is more and more often used as a part of a domestic collection.