ANTH 204 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Gong Ageng, Wayang, History Of Indonesia
Document Summary
Largely moslem (88%), with christian (8%) and hindu (2%) minorities. Island nations are indonesia, brunei, timor-leste and the philippines. Aristocratic courts patronized classical music played by hereditary professional musicians. Dutch east india company (1500"s-1600"s), dutch colony (1800-1942), japanese occupation (1942-1945), and indonesian independence (1949). Ensembles accompany dance-theatre (wayang orang) and shadow-puppet theatre (wayang kulit). Gamelan instruments: metallophones (listed below), wooden xylophone (gambang), two- stringed spiked fiddle (rebab), stringed zither (siter), vertical bamboo flute (surling), two-headed barrel drum (denang) (drummer act as kind of the conductor of the group). Metallophones: metal idiophones, hanging gongs (gong ageng, gong siyem, and kempel), bowl gongs (boning, kenong, and kethuk), and metal xylophones (saron, peking, gender panerus and gender barung). Ensemble instruments build and tuned together (not interchangeable). Gamelan music characteristics: cyclic form (colotomic time), interlocking parts (hocket), and melodic stratification. Characteristics reflect indonesian notions about time and social order (similar to communities from peru always having to help each other out).
