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

SONG AND MUSIC 231
on the upper end. It is played by blowing air into the
neck of the gourd, or by drawing in the breath, according
to the effect desired. The volume of sound is not great,
and the music produced is not unlike that of the Scotch
bagpipes played very softly and very badly.
They have a flute, or rather flageolet (ensuling), made
of bamboo, with a plug at the mouth-hole. It is blown at
the end, and there are three or four finger-holes, so that
different notes can be produced.
Another musical instrument is the serunai, or one-
stringed fiddle. The body is half a gourd-shell, the
mouth of which is covered up with a circular piece of soft
wood, which is thin and close-fitting, the seams being
cemented with wax. To this is fixed the stock, an arm
about two feet long made of hard wood. The bow is a
bent cane, and the string of the bow a split rattan about
a foot in length. The string of this instrument is of the
same material, and there is a peg at the end of the stock
by which the string can be tightened. There is a movable
bridge on the bell} 7 of the instrument for the string to
rest upon. The body is sometimes made of half a cocoanut-shell
instead of a gourd. The string has to be wetted
before it will sound, and then it gives forth a monotonous,
mournful, dismal sound when the bow is rubbed
against it.
The Dyaks also have a four-stringed
zither. The
strings are made of split cane, and are stretched over a
wooden box of soft wood. This instrument varies in
shape and size, and is called the enghratong.
The blikan is a rude guitar made of soft wood, with
two strings of rattan and two pegs for tightening them.
The strings are pressed with the tips of the fingers of the
left hand to modify the tone, and the fingers of the right