From Brunei? Preliminary enquiries about

Iranun gong-making and metalwork on the

Tempasuk Plains of Sabah, Malaysia

Iranun gong-making and metalworkJacqueline Pugh-KitinganUniversiti Malaysia Sabah

1. Introduction

I first came into contact with gongs from Sabah in 1977, when my husband brought meto Kampung Karanaan, his village in Tambunan in the interior of Sabah. After marrying inAustralia in 1976, we returned to his home for a traditional Kadazandusun moginakancelebration amongst all his bilateral kindred, held in honor of our marriage. For over threedays, his parents’ wood and bamboo house reverberated to the sonorous cacophony of thesopogandangan gong ensemble that accompanied the feasting and magarang dancing. Thisensemble consisted of a small hand-held brass gong called koritikon, seven hanging gongs ofvarious types and names, and the single-headed native drum named karatung(Pugh-Kitingan 1988:25–27, 35–36, 43–45; 1997; 2003:4–11, 34–37; 2004:128–146). As anethnomusicologist, I was intrigued by the Kadazandusun ensemble and began to learn toplay the instruments. They were rather different from the shiny yellow metalophones of theJavanese gamelan that I had played as an undergraduate. But from where had the peopleobtained the gongs?

Apparently the Kadazandusun of Tambunan did not forge gongs, although old brokenpieces were melted down to make the tangkong or rows of small brass rings that the womenwore as belts around their hips. Yet gong ensemble music formed the backbone of everymajor ritual and celebratory event in the society. Today, gongs are still important inKadazandusun culture, not only as musical instruments, but also as items of wealth. Thetraditional nopung or bridewealth includes a perfect sanang-type gong, along with variousother items and animals including two karabau or water buffaloes.

When asked about the origins of their gongs, most people simply said “Kinoringan[God] gave them to us when we still lived at Nunuk Ragang [historical place of origin ofDusunic peoples on the Liwagu River].” Some old men, however, claimed that gongsactually came from Brunei and the Philippines, and could still be purchased at Kota Belud onthe west coast of Sabah.

Subsequent research over the years amongst many other groups in Sabah has yieldedsimilar responses. Every community has its own characteristic gong ensemble consisting ofhanging gongs and a drum or two according to culture. Coastal groups and some of thosefurther inland that have river contact with the coast also have the kulintangan, a row of smallbrass kettle gongs on a rack (Pugh-Kitingan & John Baptist 2005). It is clear that gongs weretraded into Sabahan communities either from Brunei, or via Cotabato from Togaya (Tugaya)in Mindanao where they are still made and imported through the barter trade.

Loren Billings & Nelleke Goudswaard (eds.), Piakandatu ami Dr. Howard P. McKaughan, 225–229.Manila: Linguistic Society of the Philippines and SIL Philippines, 2010.

The Iranun of the west coastal Tempasuk Plains of Kota Belud District are importantintermediaries in this trade. Linguistically part of the Danao Family of Languages thatincludes Maranao, Magindanao, and Iranon of Mindanao (Banker 1984), the Iranundominated many of the river mouths in Sabah especially along the west coast from theseventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Trading in slaves, artifacts, metalwork, textiles, andother items, they formed important linkages between the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu andnative peoples living further inland. Today, elaborate hand-woven Iranun textiles are stilltraded into indigenous communities in the interior of Sabah.

2. Types of gongs in Sabah

There are three main types of hanging gongs found in Sabah, in addition to thehorizontal kulintangan (Pugh-Kitingan 2004:22–28, 88-89).

Those called sanang in Kadazandusun or bebendir in Iranun (Bajau babandil, BruneiMalay canang, Lotud Dusun tanyang, Tindal Dusun janang) are small, relatively deep-sidedgongs of thick brass, with flat front surfaces around the boss. The front diameter is usuallymuch larger than that of the back. The sanang kimanis is an expensive rare type made frombrass mixed with gold or occasionally silver. Sometimes this kind of gong has embosseddragon designs on its front or a pitted front surface, and geometric patterns around its edge.

Gongs known specifically as tagung in Kadazandusun or agung in Timugon Murut arecomparatively large, shallow-sided gongs of thin brass, with little difference between backand front diameters. The front surface has a raised area around the large boss. These gongsare very common amongst interior Dusunic and Murutic communities, but do not feature inPaitanic cultures, nor amongst the coastal Iranun and Bajau groups.

Hanging gongs called tawag in Dusunic languages and agung in Iranun (agong inBajau and most Paitanic languages, tawak in many Murutic languages) are large, heavy,deep-sided brass or bronze gongs, with raised front surfaces around their bosses, and backdiameters that are much smaller than those of their fronts (see plates 9 and 10). They areusually made from brass, especially those of Iranun and Bajau ensembles, whereas someolder ones played in interior ensembles are made of heavy bronze and appear to havehammer marks beaten into their surfaces.

All of these hanging gongs and the older types of hammered bronze kulintangan kettlesare molded from single piece of metal. Some of the newer yellow brass kulintangan fromCotabato appear to have had their tops welded to their sides and are often embossed withfloral or geometric designs.

In previous centuries, the Brunei Sultanate controlled much of the west coast of Sabahthrough the Iranun. Is it possible that claims of gongs originating “from Brunei” actuallymeant that they came from Tempasuk which was once under Brunei’s control?

3. Metalwork in northern Borneo

Metallurgy was apparently practiced on a modest scale by many indigenouscommunities in Borneo from prehistoric times, with Brunei emerging as a major center offine metalwork from AD 800. The Harrissons refer to early bronze (from 500 BC) and iron(from AD 700) industries in northern Borneo and describe in detail a prehistoric bronze“kettle-drum” collected by G.C. Woolley in the Sabah Museum Collection (Harrisson &Harrisson 1971:13–17, 209–214). They also note that a similar “kettle-drum” was collectedby I.H.N. Evans “from the Tempasuk District and now in the Cambridge Museum ofArchaeology and Ethnology” (1971:259).

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In discussing metalwork amongst the Danao peoples of Mindanao, Gowing recounts aMaranao story of how many generations ago the Sultan of Togaya and one of his sons wentto Tempasuk on the west coast of Borneo where brass articles were made. The son married adaughter of the so-called Sultan of Tempasuk and settled there to learn the art of brasswork.After ten years, he returned home to Togaya bringing various items of brassware, and taughthis people the art of brasswork (Gowing 1979:153–157). Gowing notes that whereas copperabounds in Mindanao, tin and zinc are not available. Brass and bronze were traditionallyimported from Borneo, particularly from Brunei (Gowing 1979:154, 157).

Alman (1962a, 1962b) describes small-scale metalworking cottage industries in theDusun and Bajau communities on the Tempasuk Plains in the early 1960s. He mentions theIranun smelting brass at Kampung Pandasan and their use of a “piston and feather bellows”(Alman 1962a:20, 23–24).

Obviously over the past few hundred years, the Iranun of Tempasuk were regionallyimportant in producing many types of metalwork. But did they actually make gongs, and ifso, where did this take place?

4. Iranun metalwork

In seeking answers to these questions, members of the leading high class Datu familiesfrom Kampung Rampayan Laut, one of the oldest and more traditional Iranun coastalvillages, were interviewed.

According to Haji Masrin Haji Hassin (55 years), the Iranun District Chief for KotaBelud, gongs were already being made in Tempasuk over six generations ago. He heardabout this from his father and grandfather, and counted the generations from his ancestorDatu Gador, a metal craftsman and gong-maker, to his adult son Iskandar:

Datu GadorDatu IsmailDatu MamasarayaHaji HassinHaji MasrinIskandar

The Iranun villages Kampung Rampayan, Kampung Marabau, and Kampung Tamauwere centers of gong-making and other metal crafts, as was the village of Midpulu at themouth of the Tempasuk River. Midpulu is thought to have been the main center but it nolonger exists, and its site has been swallowed up by mangroves.

Haji Masrin recalls seeing as a child his uncle (his mother’s first cousin) Haji SulaimanDuyang also known by his Iranun name Haji Datu Tunggal Datu Duyang of KampungRampayan making fine silver subang-studded earrings, hanging anting-anting earrings, andgelang arm bangles. He was told that the Iranun had once made gongs using wax molds andcharcoal. The knowledge of the correct mixtures for making the alloys, however, has beenlost with the demise of the older generations of craftsmen.

Hajah Pandian (around 58 years), a weaver from Kampung Rampayan Laut, is thedaughter of Haji Sulaiman (see photo 1 in the PDF on the CD included with this book). Shesaid that gongs were made in Rampayan using a wooden frame placed in a hole in theground. The mold was placed in the frame and covered with soil. Burning charcoal was usedto heat the metal, and when removed from the wax mold, the gong was beaten into shapewith a hammer.

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According to Hajah Pandian, much of the brass and bronze for making gongs inRampayan in more recent times was purchased from Brunei itself, as was silver and gold formaking fine jewelry. In addition to weaving, high-class Iranun women also made delicatemetal jewelry such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brass sinisip headdresses (calledsarimpak in Bajau) with garigai pendants and mandapun collar decorations. She keeps anornate gelang and a pair of elaborate subang that were made from fine pale yellow Bruneigold by Dayang Aisah Sulutan Adil, her late grandmother (photo 2). Dayang Aisah madeseveral sets of subang and gelang, one for each of her children. These have since beenpassed down to her descendants.

Hajah Pandian and her sisters are skilled in making mandapun and sinisip (photos 3 and4). They buy the brass in thin sheets and cut it into the required shapes, then emboss studdedpatterns into the thin soft metal using a small hammer and nail. Their late brother, HajiImban, was especially skilled in making sinisip and mandapun. Today sinisip pieces aremade with brass combs attached for easy use.

Hajah Rangkuni alias Hajah Faridah of Kampung Rampayan Laut, a cousin of HajahPandian and Haji Masrin (photo 1), is skilled in sewing colorful dempas ‘sleeping mats’,payung au uburubur ‘umbrella covers’, and has a complete tilam a Iranun ‘Iranun mattress’or traditional bed set. She is also the keeper of many brass heirlooms made by her forebearsin the Rampayan area.

Rows of large round brass trays or talam stand in racks above each window of thesitting room of her traditional styled house (photos 5 and 6), and small embossed oval talama parayasan are used as wall decorations (photo 7). She has inherited several engraved brasscontainers of various shapes and names, betel nut boxes, and kabu’. The latter are tall,free-standing, vase-like objects used for decoration during weddings and other importantsocial events (photo 8). During the edsanding of the traditional Iranun wedding, a kabu’ isplaced on either side of the dais where the bridal couple is seated.

Three large heavy brass agung (tawag) gongs hang from the wall above the doorwayleading from the sitting room to the inner rooms. These are typical of the large gongs used inmost gong ensembles across Sabah, including the sopogandangan of Tambunan, and theywere made in Rampayan several generations ago (photos 9 and 10).

5. Conclusions

From these preliminary enquiries it can be seen that gong-making and metal craftingwere activities carried out by high-class Datu families of the Iranun of Tempasuk.

Whereas weaving was purely a woman’s activity, jewelry manufacture was undertakenby both men and women. This included making fine gold and silver craft, as well as theembossed brass sinisip and mandapun. Today, the manufacture of these two items continues,but the finer gold and silver work is no longer produced.

The Iranun of the Rampayan area also made gongs as well as many types of embossedand engraved brass containers and trays. These items were traded into Dusunic communitiesfurther inland, especially the Rungus, Lotud, and Kadazandusun as well as many others.Gong-making was a man’s activity. Possibly bronze and brass were made in Tempasuk informer times, but it appears that more recently brass was purchased from Brunei itself forgong-making. The art of making these alloys for gongs has been lost with the passing ofolder practitioners. It is also not clear when gong-making began amongst the Iranun andwhen it actually declined.

Gongs made by the Iranun included the agung (tawag), and probably the bebendir(sanang), and also the kulintangan. These instruments are played in the Iranunsakadaremetan a kulintangan or kulintang gong ensemble, but today are traded in from

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Mindanao. It is not clear whether the large, thin, tagung-type gongs were made in Tempasuk.They do not figure in Iranun, Bajau, and neighboring Tindal Dusun gong ensembles, but arewidespread in the interior, particularly in Murutic cultures, and may have come from adifferent source.

Nowadays, the Rungus communities of Kampung Sumangkap and Kampung Gombizauin Kudat weld cheap gongs from aluminum or zinc sheeting and spray-paint them in darkbrown colors to resemble the brass originals. A complete Rungus set costs around RM 500,instead of RM 900 for one brass tawag or agung from Mindanao. The Iranun complain thatthese cheaper gongs from Kudat lack the resonant timbre of their traditional brass gongs. Withthe loss of Iranun technical knowledge of gong-making, however, the cheaper instruments arefulfilling an increasing demand for gongs to play music in many communities.

This paper is but a preliminary discussion of the topic. The manufacture of other bronzeand brass items, such as cannons, has not been included here. Possibly cannons were alsomade in Tempasuk in the past, since they figured in the traditional bridewealth of the Iranunand some of the neighboring Bajau (Headly 1951). This whole topic warrants furtherresearch. It is apparent, however, that gongs were made here and that “from Brunei” may infact refer to the period of time when Tempasuk was part of Brunei.

References

Alman, John H. 1962a. Bajau ironwork in the Tempasuk Plain. Sabah Society Journal 2.19–30.

Alman, John H. 1962b. Dusun brasswork. Sabah Society Journal 3. 29–38.

Banker, John E. 1984. The Illanun language. In Julie K. King & John Wayne King (eds.),Languages of Sabah: A survey report (Pacific Linguistics C–78). Canberra:Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian NationalUniversity. 67–74.

Gowing, Peter Gordon. 1979. Muslim Filipinos—heritage and horizon. Quezon City: New Day.

Harrisson, Tom, & Barbara Harrisson. 1971. The prehistory of Sabah (Sabah Society JournalMonograph 4). Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Society.

Headly, Derek. 1951. Some Illanun and Bajau marriage customs in the Kota Belud District,North Borneo. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 24(3). 159–162.

Pugh-Kitingan, Jacqueline. 1988. Instruments and instrumental music of the TambunanKadazan/Dusun. Sabah Museum and Archives Journal 1(2). 24–61.

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Pugh-Kitingan, Jacqueline. 2003. Alat-alat muzik instrumental Kadazandusun Tambunan.Kota Kinabalu: Pejabat Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negeri Sabah.

Pugh-Kitingan, Jacqueline. 2004. Selected papers on music in Sabah. Kota Kinabalu:Kadazandusun Chair, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Pugh-Kitingan, Jacqueline, & Judeth John Baptist. 2005. From coastal communities tointerior peoples—The dispersion and diffusion of the kulintangan in Sabah. In AbdulHalim Ali (ed.), Transformasi sosial masyarakat pesisir Borneo-Kalimantan. KotaSamarahan: Institut Pengajian Asia Timur, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. 1–12.

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