Philippines – Southern Palawan
Pala’wan Indigenous People

Wood, rattan, beeswax
ca. 1930s-1950s
Length: 56.5 in
Chordophones – Lutes

According to German ethnomusicologist Hans Brandeis, this is a ‘Kusiyapi’ (‘Kudlongan’) of the Pala’wan people of Palawan Island.   It has a sickle-shaped head extension with small nut and saddle cutouts.  The neck is long and narrow, with two strings that run from the end of the neck to the base of the resonating chamber.  One string serves as a drone, while the other string is tuned an octave higher than the drone and played with a ‘kabit,’ made of rattan, a material that is similar but stronger than bamboo. They are four to six feet long carved from Jackfruit wood, with nine frets made of hardened beeswax.

Palawan is the third largest island in the Philippines. 

Reference: For more information on the different types of Boat Lutes in the Philippines please check out publications by Dr. Hans Brandeis. For free viewing and downloading: https://fu-berlin.academia.edu/HansBrandeis. There is also an advocacy page dedicated to these instruments: https://www.facebook.com/boatlutesphilippines/ – Special Thanks to Hans Brandeis.