Unlike westernized instrumentation, there is no set tuning for kulintang sets throughout the Philippines. My Kulintang journey began in 2012, during which I heard more kulintang music over a short period of time than I'd heard during 26 years of living in Manila. These ethnic groups, including the Maguindanao, Sama-Bajau, Maranao, and Tausug people,use the Agung as a support instrument for the kulintang ensemble, a row of small gongs that functionmelodically. [5] The earliest historical accounts of instruments resembling those of the present day kulintang are in the writings of various European explorers from the 16th century who would have seen such instruments used in passing. The strict rules that normally govern play are often ignored and the performers are usually between people well acquainted with one another, usually close family members. The country of origin is different from where the product sells. This is a motif that resonates with all working folks, and I won't even go into the hundreds of great songs dealing with this from the West's . It is considered taboo to step or cross over the antangan while the kulintang gongs are placed on it. [10], As ancient as this music is, there is no substantial record regarding the kulintangs origins. Agung Percussion instrument Classification Idiophone Hornbostel-Sachs classification 111.241.2 (Sets of gongs) Developed Indonesia The agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically suspended gongs used by the Maguindanao, Maranao, Sama-Bajau and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive instrument in kulintang ensembles. It marks Folkways's first release of an album of Filipino music in sixty years (the previous release was in 1961 by Jos Maceda, the leading . Iligan City: MSU Iligan Institute of Technology, 1984. 121182. [1][2], Though different theories abound as to the exact centuries the kulintang was finally realized, there is a consensus that kulintang music developed from a foreign musical tradition which was borrowed and adapted to the indigenous music tradition already present in the area. Kulintang music doesn't come from just one cultural group. [35] Another example concerns the discrepancy among old and new genres. The groundwork for this Renaissance originated as early as 1978 through the work of one of the early cultural pioneers and activists amongst Filipino Americans, Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo. Asian Music Vol. They are usually played by the elders and are therefore always played first, to give due respect to the older generation. [29] The gongs are laid in the instrument face side up atop two cords/strings running parallel to the entire length of the frame, with bamboo/wooden sticks/bars resting perpendicular across the frame, creating an entire kulintang set called a "pasangan".[30]. [12] The correct tuning is found by ear, with players striking a sequence of gongs, looking for a melodic contour they are familiar with.[35]. [49] Younger generations would rather listen to American music, or bike in the streets with other children than spend time practicing and imitating on the traditional instruments of their parents. [17] They were impressed by the fact that those who were not of Maguindanao or Maranao background, and some who were not even Filipino, were enthusiastic in picking up an alien tradition from a foreign land. This occurs at the discretion of the kulintang player. [5] It is played by striking the bosses of the gongs with two wooden beaters. Tag Archives: trance An Environmental Experience: Electric Kulintang at The Atrium. [33] The Maranao have only three typical genres, Kapromayas (Romayas), Kapagonor (Onor), and Katitik Pandai (Kapaginandang). Both Kalanduyan and Cadar have been impressed that so many people lacking Maguindanaon or Maranao background, and some who are not even Filipino, have become dedicated students and supporters of their cultural heritage. Gongs and Bamboo: A Panorama of Philippine Music Instruments. ", Terada, Yoshitaka. [7] Traditionally the Maguindanao term for the entire ensemble is basalen or palabunibuyan, the latter term meaning an ensemble of loud instruments or music-making or in this case music-making using a kulintang.[8], Kulintang belongs to the larger unit/stratum of knobbed gong-chime culture prevalent in Southeast Asia. This article focuses on the Philippine Kulintang traditions of the Maranao and Maguindanao peoples. together with the kulintang and other gongs. Even the word kulintang is believed to be an altered form of the Sundanese word kolenang.[16] These similarities led theorists to conclude that the kulintang was originally imported to the Philippines during the migration of the kolenang through the Malay Archipelago. The Rio Grande of Mindanao. ", Scholz, Scott. Philippine Muslim Kulintang: Music of Modernization. Vives, E.D.. . ". [26] These differences could sometimes make discussing this repertoire and the modes and styles within it a bit confounding. [3] Molten bronze is poured into the mouth of the hardened mold, cooled to a certain temperature, and then the mold is broken apart, revealing a new gong. Terada, Yoshitaka. [5] Along with the fact that they play important roles in their respectively ensembles, both the kulintang and kolenang show striking homogeneity in tapered rims (as opposed to pronouncedly tapered Javanese bonang and non-tapered Laotian khong vong gongs). [31], The kulintang players ability to improvise within the parameters of a rhythmic mode is essential. Manny Dragon is a martial arts instructor who teaches the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kulintang evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sundanese people in Java Island, Indonesia. Mercurio, Philip Dominguez. Its association with the indigenous cultures that inhabited these islands prior to the influences of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or the West make kulintang the most developed tradition of Southeast Asian archaic gong-ensembles. The Sachs-Hornbostel system (or H-S System) is a comprehensive, global method of classifying acoustic musical instruments. The kulintang repertoire has no fixed labels because the music itself is not considered a fixed entity. For the musicians, the emphasis is on the excitement and pleasure of playing the music without much regard to what the piece was referred to as. Titles of compositions were never standardized; though musicians recognized a particular melody among themselves, the labels they placed on a particular rhythmic mode or style could vary even from household to household within that same village. Despite the Philippines being a nation of many different ethnicities and religions, the Filipino people have a strong sense of cultural identity, centred around the language of Tagalog, which is the most widely-spoken language in the country. It is also based upon the pentatonic scale. Marawi City: University Research Center, Mindanao State University, 1980. It is played by striking the bosses of the gongs with two wooden beaters. [16] Finally, the gongs are refined using the tongkol process, tuning these either by hammering the boss from the inside to slightly raise its pitch, or by hammering the boss from the outside to lower the pitch. Kulintang music is also played at state functions, and to accompany healing ceremonies, rituals (pagipat), and animistic religious ceremonies. [17] It is also prohibited during the mourning period of the death of an important person, during funerals, and during the peak times of the planting and harvest season. It is considered one of the region's three major gong ensembles, alongside the gamelan of western Indonesia and piphat of Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos, which use gongs and not wind or string instruments to carry the melodic part of the ensemble. Kulintang repertory lacked an indigenous notation system. Today, the existence of kulintang music is threatened by the influence of globalization, and the introduction of Western and foreign ideals into the region. Cagayan de Oro: Xavier University, 1995. Ethnomusicology 26(1982): Matusky, Patricia. [4], The instrument called the kulintang (or its other derivative terms) consists of a row/set of 5 to 9 graduated pot gongs, laid horizontally upon a frame and arranged in order of pitch, with the lowest gong on the players left. Benitez, Kristina. Kulintang is a modern term for an instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. Technically, kulintang is the Maguindanao, Ternate and Timor term for theidiophone of metal gong kettles which are laid horizontally upon a rack to create an entire kulintang set. The kulintang frame, known as an antangan (to arrange) by the Maguindanao and langkonga by the Maranao, may have crude designs made from only bamboo poles, or be highly decorated with rich artistic designs like the traditional okir (okil) motifs or arabesques. The surname Kulintang is mostly found in Asia, where 100 percent of Kulintang are found; 99 percent are found in Southeast Asia and 97 percent are found in Fil-Southeast Asia. The Maguindanaon is known for his mastery of the indigenous kutyapi instrument. "The Supportive Instruments of the Maguindanaon Kulintang Music. Kulintang is believed to have evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sunda. Cadar, Usopay H.. "The Role of Kolintang Music in Maranao Society. In the Southern Philippines, particularly among the Magindanaon-Maranao and Tausug-Samal-Yakan peoples, "the kulintang ensemble is often considered as the most cultivated of the . Kiefer, Thomas M.. Music from the Tausug of Sulu: Moslem of the Southern Philippines. Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 09:31, 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2281450, "A Comparison of Music of the Philippines and Sulawesi", "Silat martial ritual initiation in Brunei Darussalam", "Music of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines", "Performing Ethnomusicology: Teaching and Representation in World Music Ensembles", "Traditional Music of the Southern Philippines", Music of Indonesia series, presented by Smithsonian Folkways and the Society of Indonesian Performing Arts, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kulintang&oldid=1140275930. Though this practice has died out among the Maranao because of Islam, some areas in Mindanao, Sabah and Malaku still practice this ancient tradition. Kulintang and Gamelan are both ancient instrumental forms of music composed of a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. [21] Great variation exists between each set due to differences in the form, size and shape, and metal alloy used, giving each kulintang set a unique pitch level, intervals and timbre. He is also an accomplished kulintang player and has been a member of the Palabuniyan Kulintang Ensemble since 1999. [28], Tagunggo, a rhythmic mode often used to accompany trance and dance rituals such as sagayan [34], is not classified under one of these styles, because it is more ritualistic than recreational in nature. Everywhere you look around there's always a reminder of how art thrives amidst its episodes of struggles. is that "gamelan" is a genre of music of Indonesian origin typically featuring metallophones, xylophones, drums, gongs and a bamboo flute and "kulintang" is an ancient form of instrumental music of Southeast Asia, played on a row of small, horizontally-laid melodic gongs accompanied by larger suspended gongs and drums. 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