Seventeen years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo; a ... - Sabrizain.org

230 SONG AND MUSIC
order of importance comes the smaller brass gong which
is called the chancing, and lastly the englcrumong of eight
small brass gongs of different sizes arranged in order in a
long open box. The player of the englcrumong has a stick
in each hand, and strikes these different gongs in quick
succession.
They have numerous drums of different shapes and
sizes. They are made of different kinds of wood, with
deer-skin or monkey-skin tightly stretched over one or
both ends.
The effect of all these instruments of percussion played
together is inspiring, and not at all displeasing. There is
no harsh discordant clanging, as is so often the case in the
music of primitive races. There are different ways of
striking the drums and other instruments, and each of
these ways has a distinctive name. The rhythm of the
music of the Sword Dance differs entirely from that of
the War Dance, and for each of these dances there are
various different arrangements for the musical instru-
ments.
Among their wind instruments is the engkrurai, which
is constructed of a number of bamboo tubes fixed in an
empty gourd, the long stem of which forms the mouthpiece.
All the notes can be sounded together, and com-
binations of notes or single notes can be produced from it
by shutting or opening finger-holes placed laterally at the
lower end of the bamboo tubes. There are generally
seven bamboo tubes, six of them arranged in a circle
round a larger and longer central one. All seven are
furnished with a reed at the base, where they are inserted
into the gourd. Holes are cut in the six outer pipes for
fingering. The central is pipe an open or drone-pipe, the
tone of which is intensified by fixing a loose cap of bamboo