Typology of the Gangsa: Traditional Musical Instrument of the Kalingas of Northern Philippines

By: Jessie Grace M. Sannadan, Ph.D.

Abstract

As traditional or indigenous knowledge of the Kalingas of Northern Philippines is being

rapidly replaced by those of dominant languages, the researcher deemed it an urgent task to
document important linguistic data before they are completely forgotten. The researcher
examined the gangsa beyond its purely physical form and looked at such aspects as cultural
meaning, symbolism, and mythology seeing the musical instrument more as signifying objects of
music material culture than as sound-producing objects alone. In- depth interviews with the
selected key informants and number checking in which the participants reviewed what the
researchers have written to check for accuracy and completeness was undertaken. Visual
representation through photography was also emphasized. Focused group discussions (FGDs)
were arranged in order to determine whether the typologies revealed were generally used and
observed by the participants. The study concludes that the Kalinga tradition grew up around
gongs. Being touched by one was thought to bring happiness and strength. That association with
strength and power continues into their use in modern ceremonies and sports, evoking a link to
the strong and successful through the ages. It is recommended that Inclusion in school curricula
should be regulated as a means for the  capture and validation, as well as for the
eventual exchange, transfer and dissemination of Kalinga indigenous knowledge in general and
of the gangsa in particular.

Keywords: Kalinga Gongs/ Gangsa Typology

Introduction

One thing common among Southeast Asian countries is the prevalence of the use of gongs
of different sizes and shapes. Gongs are a kind of  idiophone and made of bronze, brass, or iron.
The gong is one of the richest sounding instruments in existence, capable of producing a wealth of
overtones and a long sustain. This richness is a result of the component metals and the processes
used in making and shaping the gongs. Gongs of good quality are made of bronze (75% copper,
20% tin, 5% nickel) and undergo five processing stages: pouring, hammering, smoothing, tuning
and polishing. Depending on which kind of mallet is used (and on the dynamics) the gong sounds
dark, metallic or majestic. The striking points also matter. Each gong has its own extraordinary
radiating sound with a unique diffusion of tones and sound colors. The larger the gong, the more
multilayered the sound (Knighton, 2013).
There are several types of gongs present, but the most common are the flat and bossed
gongs. Brass gongs are of common occurrence in the Philippines
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangsa).
Such instruments as flat gongs, bamboo buzzers, clappers, quill-shaped percussion tubes,
and brass Jew’s harps are often seen in the north. Meanwhile, bossed gongs, ring flutes, log

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drums, xylophones, single-stringed violins, and suspended beams are commonly used in the
south. These musical instruments are used in various rituals, festivities, and other activities.
The occurrence of bossed gongs are found in the Southern Philippines, particularly
in Mindanao--among the Maranao, Maguindanao, and Tausug. The gongs are any of the three
types: agung - a gong with a deep, slightly turned-in rim and either hung on wooden frames or
held in the hand. It is the largest gong in a kulintang ensemble, and provides a lower
beat/rhythm; gandingan – has narrower, very slightly turned-in rims, and bosses are not as
prominent as the agung); and kulintang or kulintangan - a solo instrument existing in large
ensembles, including suspended gongs and drums. A kulintang ensemble, present within
the Maguindanao, Maranao, and Tausuggroups, consists of five pieces of instrumentation and it
differs with each group. For the Maguindanao, the ensemble has kulintang (serves as the main
melody instrument), agung (largest gong), gandingan, dabakan (a kind of drum), and
the babendil (singular gong). The same goes with the Maranao, except for the gandingan which
they do not have an equivalent of (Dioquino).
Flat gongs are mostly found and used in the Northern part of Luzon, particularly among
the Ifugao,  Isneg,  Tinguian,  Kalinga,  Bontoc,  Ibaloy,  Kankana'i, Gadang, and Ilongot. Gongs
are made from brass or bronze, and played by the males as part of peace-pact gatherings,
marriages, prestige ceremonies, feasts, or rituals. The gongs vary in size, averaging about 30
centimeters in diameter with a rim depth of about 5 centimeters.
The Tinguian also have smaller gong-and-drum ensembles: the inila-ud, which is made
up of three gongs (patpat, kebang, and sapul) and a drum (tambul), and the pinala-iyan
ensemble, comprising of four gongs (talugutok, saliksik, pawok, and pattong) and a drum
(tambul).
The sulibaw ensemble of the Ibaloy consists of two gangsa with a pair of iron bars
called palas and two conical drums, the smaller of which is also called a sulibaw (measures 76
cm tall) and the larger one the kimbal (80 cm tall). The gongs, kalsa and pinsak, are struck on a
flat surface. The kalsak has a reiterated rhythm, while the pinsak creates an improvisatory
rhythm. The ensemble is played during the peshit ritual, a peace pact between warring
tribes/groups, honors dead ancestors, or sponsored by the elders for the whole community.
Another is the kulimbet ensemble, made up of two long drums and a gong, which is played
during a curing ceremony.
The Gangsa is a gong used popularly by Cordillera groups of Luzon in the northern part
of the Philippines. Unlike the kettle-shaped gongs used by tribes in the southern Philippines, the
gangsa is flat. Usually made of copper and iron alloy, gangsa gongs are used in traditional folk
dances by tribes such as the Kalinga to summon the gods for good fortune. It is a single hand-
held smooth-surfaced gong with a narrow rim. A set of gangsa, which is played one gong per
musician, consists of gangsa tuned to different notes, depending on regional or local cultural
preferences. The number of gangsa in a set varies with availability, and depends on the tradition
of a particular ethnic group of the Luzon Cordillera: Kalinga, Ifugao, Bontoc, etc.

Literature Review

Material culture is the physical evidence of a culture in the objects and architecture they
make, or have made. The term tends to be relevant only in archeological studies, but it
specifically means all material evidence which can attributed to culture, past or present.  A

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material culture study is an interdisciplinary field telling of relationships between people and
their things: the making, history, preservation, and interpretation of objects. It draws on theory
and practice from the social sciences such as art history, archaeology, anthropology,  history, 
historic preservation, folklore, and museum studies, among others. Anything from buildings and
architectural elements to books, jewelry, toothbrushes, or bubbles can be considered material
culture (Woodward, 2007).
The first anthropologist interested in studying material culture was Lewis Henry Morgan,
in the mid-nineteenth century. He is most known for his research on kinship and social
structures, but he also studied the effect of material culture, specifically technology, on the
evolution of a society. Later in the nineteenth century, Franz Boas bought the fields of
Anthropology and Material Culture Studies closer together. He believed that it was crucial for an
anthropologist to analyze not only the physical properties of material culture, but also its
meanings and uses in its indigenous context, in order to begin to understand a society. At the
same time in France, Émile Durkheim wrote about the importance of material culture in
understanding a society. Durkheim saw material culture as one of the social facts that functions
as a coercive force to maintain solidarity in a society.
These authors, among others, have examined musical instruments beyond their purely
physical form and have tended to look at such aspects as cultural meaning, symbolism,
mythology and iconology, seeing musical instruments more as signifying objects of music
material culture than as sound-producing objects alone.
Like many objects associated with an intangible art, musical instruments transcend their
physical form, serving globally as cultural symbols identifying a time, place, and groups of
people. They take on even greater significance as icons of rituals, as personifications of and
mediators with spirits, as agents in life-cycle events, and as bearers of innovative technology.
Additionally, as sound producers, instruments may provide aural symbols evoking extra-musical
concepts that communicate ideas and feelings which are inexpressible any other way.
These concepts about music and its cultural importance are given shape and form
through the work of musical instrument museums and collections. So important to the human
experience are these objects that they are housed not only in museums of music, but also in
archeology, anthropology, art, technology, and natural history museums, in institutions
specializing in a region or a musical genre, colleges and universities, in music libraries, and
historic homes. Here music as material culture is preserved and interpreted in ways that illustrate
a people’s preferred sound/aesthetics, the status and use and playing technique of the instrument
and what its sound and image signifies. Displaying, describing and preserving musical
instruments helps draw attention to diverse musical traditions across time and space, aids visitors
in making connections between disparate cultures, and helps to preserve our universal musical
heritage (ken.moore@metmuseum.org)
Ethnic music continues to thrive in the Philippines, particularly among indigenous people
who comprise 10 percent of the country’s population and represented by more than 100 language
groups from the mountains of northern Luzon as well as from Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan, and
Mindoro in southern and western Philippines. Such instruments as flat gongs, bamboo buzzers,
clappers, quill-shaped percussion tubes, and brass Jew’s harps are often seen in the north.
Meanwhile, bossed gongs, ring flutes, log drums, xylophones, single-stringed violins, and
suspended beams are commonly used in the south. These musical instruments are used in various
rituals, festivities, and other activities. For instance, the paldong or kaldong, the lip-valley flute
of the Kalinga, is a favorite instrument for serenading (Hila, 1992 and Santos, 1994).

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Conceptual Framework

When trying to understand identities, historians tend to shy away from music and its
expressions because they feel you need to have a special background in order to deal with it but
this leaves out a big part of who we are. Webster's Dictionary defines culture as, on the one hand,
the "enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training." This
definition refers to those whose primary interest is a culture's art, literature, music or philosophy.
On the other hand, Webster's also points out that the same term may denote "the
integrated pattern of knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon...learning and
transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations," which may also be described as "the
customary beliefs, social forms, and materials traits of a racial, religious or social group." These
definitions allude to the fact that those studying a particular society typically view all of that
society's products as important for understanding it.
In the same manner, the study of traditional musical instrument in relation to
sustainability studies is a new, urgent and exciting area of research which necessitates an
interdisciplinary approach. Core to this current project are questions about the relationship
between material culture studies and cultural identity ‘concerned as they are with the material
conditions of social and cultural life’ (Ingold, 2012).   Moreover, the social and cultural
significance of traditional musical instruments is often underestimated. This study is clearly
concerned with the development and improvement of the material conditions of social and
cultural life by providing a typology of the Kalinga gangsa.

Objectives:
1. To name the six pieces of gongs comprising a set of Kalinga gongs
2. To describe how the Kalinga gongs are played
3. To determine the uses of the gongs among the Kalingas

Importance of the Study:

This study will be a valuable means of guarantying the transmission of the tangible
heritage of the Kalingas for the next generations. The knowledge and recognition of the terms
and descriptions of the gangsa will provide a sense of meaningful shared identity that will
further strengthen their peaceful co-existence as embodied in the pagta, the indigenous laws of
the Kalingas. This study will form part of the growing number of written sources on Kalinga
Culture. Hence it will keep Kalinga culture safe from the danger of oblivion.
The curriculum planners will use the results as guide in the preparation of instructional
materials for basic education and the humanities in the tertiary level.
Finally, the Kalinga gangsa will no longer be just a part of music culture but will become
a part of a wider context where they can contribute directly to cultural analysis.

Methodology

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 A Methodological Triangulation was employed in this study by asking questions from
key informants, causal and informal conversations with other Kalingas, collecting and analyzing
field notes of what terms are associated with the gangsa and how the gangsa is played. In-
depth interviews with the selected key informants and number checking in which the participants
reviewed what the researchers have written to check for accuracy and completeness was
undertaken. Visual representation through photography was also emphasized. Focused group
discussions (FGDs) were arranged in order to determine whether the typologies revealed were
generally used and observed by the participants.

Presentation of Findings

1. The Gangsa. Gangsa is the collective name for a set of brass gongs. Six (6) gongs
normally comprise a gangsa ensemble but some families own a set of seven gongs.
According to Angelito Camaddo of the Dallac sub-tribe, the sizes of the gongs also
determine their positions. The basic musical element of drone and melody may be applied to
this structure, with the first four gongs providing the melody and the last two gongs the
drone.
1.1. Balbal/Farfar – The balbal is the leader of the gongs. It occupies the lead position in
a row of gongs. The holder of the balbal controls the direction and position of the gong
players and dancers as well as the duration of the gong music during a pattong.
1.2. Salbat/Sorwat – The second gong is called the salbat. Salbat or literally translated as
‘answer’ provides a contrasting sound to the gong music. It occupies a second position in
a gong ensemble.
1.3. Katlo – Katlo is the third gong. Its main function is to provide volume to the gong
music.
1.4. Kapat – Kapat is the fourth gong and has the same function as the third gong.
1.5. Sengseng/pokpok . The fifth gong, pok-pok, has a repeated two-tone drone
1.6. Opop. The sixth gong plays a pattern of freer rhythmic tunes.

2. Playing the Gangsa

The Kalinga people play the gangsa in two ways. One way is called tuppaya and the
other is called palok or pattong.
2.1. Tupayya. In this style, the musicians play the surface of the gangsa with their bare
hands while in a sitting position, with a single gangsa resting on the lap of each musician. The
gongs are secured to the player's loincloth or belt and laid across the lap (which acts as
resonator). The gongs are then struck by the left palm at the center to create ringing sounds,
struck similarly by the palm, then slapped strongly by a hand that then slides to the gong's outer
edge. The tupayya is the music for the Kalinga courtship dance.
2.2. Paluk or Pattong . In the paluk style, a gangsa is suspended from the musician's left
hand and played with a padded stick held in the musician's right hand. In the paluk style of
playing, the players are standing, or they keep in step with the dancers while bending forward
slightly. The gong is struck right in the center, since it is here that the greatest volume and purest
tones are produced.

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 During festive occasions more than one set of gongs may be played during a pattong
simultaneously. When this happens, the gong players spend some time to achieve rhythm and
melody since every set of gongs has a unique sound quality. The sound quality of a gong is
determined by the quality of the brass material.
3. Uses of the Gangsa
3.1. Symbolizes wealth
Kalinga society may be stratified into lawa or kapus (poor) and the baknang (wealthy).
Among the signs of prestige and wealth are possessions of several rice fields, working animals,
heirlooms like china plates (panay) and jars (gusi), agate head/necklaces (bongol), gold earrings
(lubay) and gongs (gangsa).
3.2. Symbolizes Bravery. In the olden times, Kalinga warriors play the gong before
proceeding to a kayaw or headhunting mission. Playing the gong prepares the warriors to the
mission ahead. A successful kayaw is followed by merrymaking which means the playing of the
gong.

3.3. Promotes Healing

Gongs are used in religious rituals to promote healing and to exorcise evil spirits.
Any healing ritual uses gong music to entertain the spirit healers. It is believed that the spirit
healers are most happy when the sound of the gong is melodiously steady (Doctor, 2012). It is
believed that keeping the spirit healers happy speeds up the healing process.
3.4. Celebrates Life
The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Archaeologists have
unearthed gongs built almost four thousand years ago. No wonder when we hear a gong we feel
like our soul is being touched and we feel our body move and sway to the rhythm of the gong
music. It invites celebration, of surrender to the beat of ancient music. To the Kalingas, gongs
have still remained an essential element to accompany life's events like weddings, child-rearing
rituals, anniversaries and even death of an elderly. With its well known rhythms so melodious
and mesmerizing, the gong has developed as a form of language symbolizing the arrival of
happiness in a Kalinga society.

4. The Super Gangsa

There is a story about a set of gongs that became the ultimate symbol of a prestige and
wealth. Apparently, ownership of this gong distinguishes a Kalinga family above the rest. This
set of gongs was so expensive that since it was brought to Kalinga by Chinese traders, no one
family owned the set as a whole. Efforts to find these gangsa set brought this researcher to Bulo,
Tabuk City where two pieces are found. The owners of these gongs are from the Sumadel sub-
tribe. The gongs are named KICHU-IR and MALYANG. Another piece is in Mangali, Tanudan.
Efforts are being made to find the other three.

Conclusions
To conclude, gongs have been around for a long time and they are more popular today
than ever before. This clearly shows the greatness of this Kalinga instrument. A gong is a skilled
work of art that proves its quality across many lifetimes. It is an essential part of various
occasions and events. It is an instrument of change and great power. Kalingas need to value it
and respect it.

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 With their glorious bass note and rhythmic beat, traditions grew up around gongs in
Kalinga. Being touched by one was thought to bring happiness and strength. That association
with strength and power continues into their use in modern ceremonies and sports, evoking a link
to the strong and successful through the ages.
Gongs continue to be symbols of mysticism and good fortune in the Kalinga society. In
every celebration, the Kalingas incorporate dance and traditional music as a form of thanksgiving
and cultural preservation.

Recommendations

Kalinga Cultural experts and educators should develop and implement a policy
commitment to promote the preservation and transfer of Kalinga cultures and languages. To
foster such a transfer a sound understanding of the gangsa is needed. Inclusion in school
curricula is most desired as a means for the capture and validation, as well as for the
eventual exchange, transfer and dissemination of indigenous knowledge in general and of the
gangsa in particular.

References

Dioquino, Corazon Canave. Gongs on The CCP Encyclopedia on Philippine Art Vol. VI:

Philippine Music. 1994, Cultural Center of the Philippines (Manila).
Hila, Antonio A. Musika: an Essay on Philippine Ethnic Music. Manila: Sentrong
Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, 1992.
Santos, R.P. “The Ethnic Tradition,” CCP  Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, volume VI:
Philippine Music. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1994.
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Wikipilipinas:_The_Hip_
%27n_Free_Philippine_Encyclopedia:About
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/fr/ev.php
URL_ID=32653&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html).
Woodward, Ian (2007). Understanding Material Culture. New York, New York: SAGE
Publications Ltd. ISBN 0761942262.
www.elance.com/s/aknighton/ The gong: a glorious history