Sumatra

Sumatrans

Wood, bronze, fiber rope
Early-Mid 20th century
Height: 10 in, Width: 45 in, Depth: 10 in
Idiophones – Struck Idiophones – Gongs

The kulintang is known as a gong chime found in the Philippines, Indonesia, and other part of South East Asia.  The number of gongs varies across the regions from 5 to 12, with this kulintang set of 6 graduated pot gongs being most common in Sumatra, the largest island within Indonesian territory.  The gongs are horizontally arranged in order of pitch with the lowest gong found on the players’ left.  They are laid in a wooden frame face (boss) side up, on top of two cords running parallel to the entire length of the frame.  There are bamboo/wooden sticks/bars resting perpendicular across the frame between each gong and the kulintang is played by striking the bosses of the gongs with two soft wooden mallets. The tuning of the kulintang is not standardized, thus varies from region to region.

Sometimes the term kulintang is also used to identify an ensemble that includes the kulintang, which functions melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums, or the term may be used in identifying an instrumental form of music composed for the kulintang.