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children, such as the whistle (wa) made from the padi-stalk[1]; the little "german flutes" made from the spathe (peuleupeuëʾ) of the betel-nut tree, and used to imitate the cries of birds; the red earthenware whistles (pib-pib) introduced by the Klings; the plaything called gènggòng, which consists of a thin plate of iron to which is fastened at one side a little iron rod. This latter is held in the mouth and a sort of buzzing noise produced by twisting it to and fro.
Full-grown people also sometimes amuse themselves by blowing on the wa, as for instance to while away the time when watching in a hut (jambō) in the padi-fields to drive away noxious animals. The bangsi.With adults, however, a more favourite instrument is the bangsi[2], a sort of flageolet made of bambu (bulōh) with seven round holes on top and one underneath, and a square hole (also on top) not far below the mouth-piece. With this instrument an adept player can produce all the tunes he fancies, both those to which pantōns are set and those employed in sadati performances etc. In the evenings and nights especially the votaries of this instrument are wont to defer with its strains the hour of sleep for themselves and their companions.
The suléng.The suléng is of finer finish than the bangsi; it is really a sort of flute, and has no mouth-piece, being open at the upper end, and closed below by the division of the bamboo. It has 6 small holes and one somewhat bigger one close to the opening; the performer holds the instrument horizontally in front of his mouth and blows into the larger hole.
The suléng is made of a thinner and finer kind of bambu known as igeuë. It is usually adorned with handsome silver or copper bands encircling the instrument above and below each hole, and the closed end is similarly mounted.
Suléng orchestra.The suléng is played for amusement like the bangsi, but it is more often used in combination with a tambu[3] (our ordinary hand-drum)
- ↑ It is in fact a kind of jew's-harp. The Malay instrument of the same name is made of bamboo. A short section is selected and so cut as to leave three or four long prongs projecting from the solid end which is gripped in the mouth. These prongs are made to vibrate by the trituration of the string and produce a musical sound by their reverberation. I learn from the author that a similar instrument is used in Java; it is known as pōpō among the Gayō people and as karinding or rinding in W. Java. (Translator).
- ↑ The Malay bangsi is the same as the instrument here described, It has a danting or chiselled mouth-piece like a penny whistle; another instrument similar in all respects except that it has a straight mouth-piece is called nabat by the Malays. (Translator).
- ↑ The drum used in the mosques to announce the time of prayer and which is called
