The Calung (Sundanese: ᮎᮜᮥᮀ) is a type of Indonesian bamboo xylophone that comes from the Baduy culture. It is often used in performances by Baduy, Bantenese, Sundanese, Banyumasan, and Balinese people. The Calung instrument has several bamboo tubes that are struck at the bottom to create a wooden sound.

In the Balinese Gamelan gong kebyar, a metallophone called jublag is also called Calung. This instrument has a range of one octave and is usually used to play mid-range melodies.

In Banyumas, a region in southwestern Central Java, Indonesia, the term Calung can refer to a musical group. This group includes multiple bamboo instruments, singers, and dancers. The ensemble is known for features such as overlapping melodies and rhythms, sudden changes in speed, rhythms that start on unexpected beats, and humorous singing. The Calung ensemble is often performed at celebrations, and some of its dancers are associated with prostitution.

On November 18, 2010, UNESCO officially recognized the Indonesian angklung, which includes the Calung instrument, as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO encouraged the Indonesian people and government to protect, share, and promote performances of the angklung. In 2011, the Calung traditions were recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.

Etymology

Calung is the name of the Diospyros macrophylla tree in the Sundanese language, known as "ki calung," which means "calung wood." According to A Dictionary of the Sunda Language by Jonathan Rigg (1862), calung is a simple musical instrument made by attaching six pieces of bamboo to a string, arranged like the steps of a ladder. When hung, the instrument is played by tapping the bamboo with a small piece of wood.

Instrument

The calung is made by cutting several bamboo tubes to create different musical notes when struck. In the Sundanese tradition, the bamboo tubes are connected by passing them through holes that are cut into the tubes. The calung can be played in two ways: either by hanging the tubes in front of the player or by placing them on a bamboo frame and striking them like a xylophone.

Gallery

• A calung performance in Frankfurt, Germany.
• An illustration of a Sundanese Baduy man playing a calung, created by Jannes Theodorus Bik, around 1816–1846 (this image is from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam’s collection of pictures).
• A Rindhik musical instrument (in the style of Balinese calung) from Bali, Indonesia.
• Calung Jinjing.