Kulintang (also called kolintang or kulintangan in other languages) is a type of music made by striking small, horizontal gongs that create melodies. Larger gongs and drums are also used to accompany the music.

Kulintang is part of a long tradition of gong music in Southeast Asia. For many centuries, groups in the Southern Philippines, Eastern Malaysia, Eastern Indonesia, Brunei, and Timor have played this music. It began as a simple way to send signals and later became more complex when knobbed gongs from the Sundanese people of Java Island were added. Kulintang is important because it connects to the traditions of the people who lived in these areas before major religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, or Western influences arrived.

Technically, kulintang refers to metal gongs that are placed on a frame to make a complete set. Players strike the raised parts of the gongs with wooden beaters. Because it is used by many different groups who speak different languages, it has many names, such as kolintang, kulintango, totobuang, and gulintangan. In Brunei, Sabah, and the Sulu Archipelago, the term "gulintangan" means "rolling hands."

By the twentieth century, the word "kulintang" came to describe a group of five or six instruments played together. Traditionally, the Maguindanao people called this group "basalen" or "palabunibunyan." The term "palabunibunyan" means "a group of loud instruments" or "making music," specifically using a kulintang.

Geographic extent

Kulintang is part of a larger group called "knobbed gong-chime culture" found in Southeast Asia. It is one of three major gong ensembles in the region, along with the gamelan of western Indonesia and the piphat of Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, and Laos. These ensembles use gongs, not wind or string instruments, to create melodies. Like gamelan and piphat, kulintang music is primarily orchestral, with rhythmic parts layered one after another. It is also based on the pentatonic scale, which uses five musical notes. However, kulintang differs from gamelan in how melodies are built. Gamelan follows a strict structure with basic tones and set times for each instrument to play. Kulintang has a more flexible framework, with no set time intervals, allowing for more improvisation.

Because kulintang-like ensembles exist among many groups that speak different languages, the name for the set of gongs varies widely. It is also called kolintang, kolintan, kulintangan, kwintangan, k’lintang, gong sembilan, gong duablas, momo, totobuang, nekara, engkromong, kromong/enkromong, and recently kakula/kakula nuada. Kulintang-like instruments are played by many ethnic groups, including the Maguindanaon, Maranao, Iranun, Kalagan, Kalibugan, Tboli, Blaan, Subanon, and other Lumad tribes of Mindanao; the Tausug, Sama-Bajau, Yakan, and Sangir/Sangil of the Sulu archipelago; the Ambon, Banda, Seram, Ternate, Tidore, and Kei of Maluku; and the Bajau, Suluk, Murut, Kadazan-Dusun, Kadayah, and Paitanic Peoples of Sabah; the Malays of Brunei; the Bidayuh and Iban/Sea Dayak of Sarawak; the Bolaang Mongondow and Kailinese/Toli-Toli of Sulawesi; and other groups in Banjarmasin, Tanjung, and Timor in Kalimantan.

History

Kulintang music is an ancient tradition that existed before the arrival of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Western influences. In the Philippines, it is considered the most advanced form of gong music created by Filipinos. In North Maluku, it is believed to have been played for many centuries.

Although this music is very old, there is no clear information about its origins. The first written records of instruments similar to the modern kulintang were made by European explorers in the 16th century, who saw these instruments being used during their travels.

Because there is little information about gong music before European explorers arrived, many ideas exist about when the first kulintang instruments were created. One idea suggests that bronze gongs were used in Southeast Asia for thousands of years, possibly reaching the Philippines from China around the third century AD. Another idea questions this, stating that kulintang may not have existed before the 15th century because the Javanese gong tradition, which kulintang is thought to be based on, developed later.

In Borneo, kulintang music was originally played during harvest festivals and at the Bruneian court. As the Bruneian empire expanded, covering parts of Borneo and the southern Philippines, the kulintang tradition was adopted by inland Dayak tribes. Over time, the tradition was used in other ceremonies, such as before and after head-hunting expeditions and in silat (a martial art).

While many theories exist about when kulintang music was fully developed, there is agreement that it came from a musical tradition brought from another culture and adapted to the local traditions already present. It is likely that the earliest gongs used by local people were not for entertainment but for sending signals and messages.

Instrument

The instrument called the “kulintang” (or its other names) has a row or set of 5 to 9 gongs of different sizes, placed horizontally on a frame. The gongs are arranged in order of pitch, with the lowest gong on the player’s left. The gongs are placed face side up on two parallel cords running the length of the frame. Bamboo or wooden sticks rest across the frame, creating a complete kulintang set called a "pasangan."

Each gong weighs between two and three pounds. They are 6 to 10 inches in diameter and 3 to 5 inches tall. Traditionally, they were made from bronze. However, during World War II, trade routes between Borneo and Mindanao were disrupted, making metal ores harder to obtain. After the war, scrap metal was used, leading to the common use of brass gongs that produce shorter, less lasting sounds.

The frame of the kulintang is called "antangan" by the Maguindanao (meaning "to arrange") and "langkonga" by the Maranao. The frame can be simple, made from bamboo or wood, or decorated with traditional patterns or arabesque designs. The frame is essential to the instrument and acts as a resonator.

It is considered taboo to step or cross over the antangan when the gongs are placed on it.

The kulintang is played by hitting the raised parts of the gongs with two wooden beaters. The Maguindanao and Maranao sit on chairs when playing, while the Tausug/Suluk and other groups often sit on the floor. Modern techniques include twirling the beaters, juggling them in the air, rearranging the gongs before or during play, crossing hands while playing, or adding fast, rapid strokes to show skill and grace.

Kulintang gongs are made using the cire perdue method, a process where wax molds are created. In the past, beeswax or candle wax was used for molds. The wax is covered with a mixture of finely powdered coal and mud, applied with a brush. The layers are dried in the sun, then heated in a furnace to melt the wax and harden the coal/mud mixture, leaving a hollow shell. Molten bronze is poured into the shell, cooled, and then the coal/mud is broken apart to reveal the gong. The gong is cleaned and tuned by a blacksmith (pandáy). Tuning is done by hammering the raised part from the inside to raise the pitch or from the outside to lower it. Correct tuning is found by ear, using familiar melodic patterns.

Unlike Western instruments, there is no fixed tuning for kulintang sets across the Philippines. Each set varies in pitch, intervals, and sound due to differences in size, shape, and materials. While tuning differs, some consistency exists in the melodic patterns. This system, based on patterns of large and small intervals, is similar to the tuning systems used in gamelan orchestras of western Indonesia. Although the Maguindanao, Maranao, and Tausug artists do not use scales (focusing instead on rhythmic modes), the Pelog and Slendro scales of Java match their pentatonic and heptatonic scales.

The kulintang has no traditional written notation system. Songs are passed down orally through generations. Recently, some attempts have used cipher notation, assigning numbers (1 to 8) to gongs in an eight-gong set.

Traditionally, the kulintang was considered a women’s instrument by many groups, including the Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug/Suluk, Samal, Badjao/Sama, Iranun, Kadazan, Murut, Bidayuh, and Iban. It was associated with graceful, slow, and relaxed movements reflecting female elegance. Today, both men and women play the instrument, with some famous players being men.

Performance

The main purpose of kulintang music in the community is to provide social entertainment. This happens at both professional and folk levels. Kulintang music is unique because it is considered public music, meaning everyone is allowed to take part. Not only do the musicians play, but audience members are also expected to join in. These performances are important because they bring people from the community and nearby areas together, helping to unite groups that might not otherwise interact. Traditionally, when people perform kulintang music, their participation is voluntary. Musicians view these performances as a chance to gain recognition, respect, and honor from the community, and nothing more.

Performances can generally be divided into two types: formal and informal. During formal performances, people follow a traditional set of rules that guide how the music is played. These events often involve people from outside the home. Informal performances are different. The strict rules that usually apply are often not followed, and the performers are usually people who know each other well, such as close family members. These performances were times when amateurs practiced on the instruments, and young boys and girls often gathered the instruments. Sometimes, they used other instruments like the saronay and inubab instead of the kulintang. Ensembles during informal performances did not always need to include five instruments, as they do in formal ones. They could have four instruments (three gandingan gongs, a kulintang, an agung, and a dabakan), three instruments (a kulintang, a dabakan, and either an agung or three gandingan gongs), or even just one instrument (a solo kulintang).

Social functions

Kulintang music is often played during many social events. It is used at large feasts, festive or harvest gatherings, to entertain visiting friends and relatives, and during parades. It also plays a role in ceremonies for important life events, such as weddings and the return of people who have completed the Hajj pilgrimage. Kulintang music is also used in official events, such as celebrations for government officials, meetings with foreign leaders, ceremonies for rulers or village leaders, the crowning of a new leader, and the passing of a sultanate from one family to another.

Kulintang music is not played inside mosques or during Islamic holidays, such as Ramadan, except at night after people finish eating. It is also not played during times of mourning for important people, during funerals, or during busy planting or harvest seasons.

The Kulintang instrument is used for more than public performances. It is also played during healing rituals and animistic religious ceremonies. Though this practice is no longer common among the Maranao people because it is not Islamic, some areas in Mindanao, Sabah, and Maluku still use it.

Kulintang music can be used to send messages between villages or longhouses. These messages, called apad, use sounds that mimic the speech of the Maguindanao language to share specific information or make social comments that adults understand. However, this practice is becoming less common because long-distance communication is no longer needed. Instead, a type of music called Anun, which does not carry messages, is now used more often to express emotions and feelings.

Kulintang music was important in courtship traditions because Islamic customs prevented unmarried men and women from meeting. Unmarried women were kept in a special room called a lamin, where they could not be seen by suitors. However, when women played Kulintang music, suitors were allowed to watch them. This made Kulintang music one of the few ways for people of different genders to interact socially.

Musical contests are a unique part of Kulintang performances, especially among the Maguindanao people. These contests happen at many formal events, such as weddings. The Maguindanao are different from other groups because they hold individual contests where players demonstrate their skills on instruments like the agung, gandingan, and kulintang. Other groups usually have contests between groups from different towns.

Compositions

Kulintang music does not have fixed compositions because it uses rhythmic modes. A rhythmic mode is a musical unit that connects all five instruments in the ensemble. By combining the rhythms of each instrument, musicians create music. Changing one rhythm can create different music. This is how rhythmic modes work.

The kulintang player must be able to improvise within the rules of a rhythmic mode. Like gamelan orchestras, each kulintang mode has a theme that the player changes using variations, repetitions, or other techniques. The player decides when to make these changes. This means the kulintang player is both the melody leader and the conductor of the group. She decides how long each piece lasts and can change the rhythm at any time, making it faster or slower based on her choice and the music being played.

Improvisation was important because kulintang music was meant to entertain the community. Audience members expected players to create unique versions of a piece using improvisation. If a player repeated another’s performance without adding new ideas, the audience might think the performance was boring. This is why set pieces for performances are different—musicians often practice before events and rely less on improvisation.

Even though many rhythms are possible, rhythmic modes can be grouped based on certain traits, such as the number of beats in a phrase or differences in rhythm and melody. The Maguindanao people have five typical genres: Duyug, Sinulog, Tidtu, Binalig, and Tagonggo. The Maranao people have three: Kapromayas/Romayas, Kapagonor/Onor, and Katitik Pandai/Kapaginandang.

These genres can be further divided into subcategories based on factors like the instruments used, playing techniques, the purpose of the music, and the age and gender of the musicians. These subcategories are often described as "old" or "new."

Old styles are slow, clear, and respectful. Examples include the Maguindanao's kamamatuan and the Maranao's andung. These are usually played first to honor older musicians. New styles, like the Maguindanao's kagungudan and the Maranao's bago, are fast, energetic, and full of improvisation. These are often played later to give younger musicians a chance to perform. Tagunggo is different because it is used in rituals, such as sagayan, where a specialist dances to the music while calling on ancestral spirits.

Sulu-type kulintang music is found among groups like the Tausug, Samal, Yakan, Sama/Badjao, Iranun, and Kadazan-Dusun. Each group has its own compositions. For example, the Tausug have Kuriri, Sinug, and Lubak-Lubak, while the Yakan have Tini-id and Kuriri. A common feature of Sulu-type music is the quick exchange of short melodies between the kulintang and agungs, as seen in Tausug Sinug and Yakan Tini-id and Kuriri.

Kulintang music does not have fixed names because it is passed down orally. Two reasons make it hard to label: first, musicians do not always agree on names, even within the same village. Second, improvisation causes changes over time, so names may only be relevant for a short period.

Attempts to organize kulintang music uniformly have failed because of these issues. For example, the Maguindanao word "binalig" can refer to both a rhythmic mode and a "new" style. Also, older pieces become "old" over time, even if they are centuries old. These differences can make it confusing to discuss the music.

The kulintang gong is believed to have come from the Sundanese kolenang gong, as they are very similar. Both instruments have similar shapes and sizes, unlike other gongs. The word "kulintang" is thought to be a variation of "kolenang."

Experts believe kulintang music reached the Philippines through migration routes from the Indonesian Archipelago. One route goes through Sunda, Banjermasin, Brunei, and the Sulu Archipelago. Another goes through Sunda, Timor, Sulawesi, Moluccas, and Mindanao.

Kulintang music is becoming less common in Eastern Indonesia and has disappeared in some areas. Sets of five bronze gongs and a…

Composition of various ensembles

The makeup of kulintang ensembles differs among different cultural groups in the region. Usually, these ensembles include five to six instruments, with the main instrument being a gong row that plays the melody and serves as the central musical focus for the entire group.

Gallery

• A photo shows two dancers and musicians playing Kulintang in Buru Regency, Maluku, Indonesia. The image was taken between 1900 and 1940.
• A group photo of Ambonese people holding Kulintang instruments in Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia. The image was taken between 1900 and 1940.
• A photo shows Sama-Bajau musicians performing at the Philippine Reservation during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904.