Genggong = Ribbit

What sound do frogs make? In America it's 'ribbit', but on Bali it's 'genggong'. Try saying it over and over, really fast - GEHNG GAWNG GEHNG GAWNG. Run together, the words actually do sound like the song of a lovesick or angry frog.

Genggong is also the name of a traditional Balinese instrument, a jaw harp made from bamboo. When we were in northern Bali in March we got to talking Balinese instruments with our guide, and he asked if we'd like hear some live genggong music. We drove through thick foliage past rice paddies just shorn of their harvest, to a small village where the members of the last genggong group in the area live. Genggong music is not as well-known as gamelan and there are, we were told, not that many craftsman left who make play-worthy instruments. The instrument maker in this village, who died a couple years ago, had no one to pass his knowledge on to.

This is just a bit of the genggong we were treated to that afternoon. The jaw harps kick in after a few seconds.

Genggong music keeps to a gamelan pace - pretty quick, in other words. It's one thing to watch musicians play gamelan instruments at that tempo; it was something else altogether to watch these guys do their thing.

We were treated to a twenty-minute genggong recital (and a bit of music on the suling, the bamboo flutes on the floor in the first photo up top), and then the guys had to move on to another engagement. We've only begun to dip into this trip on EatingAsia but the genggong, along with a couple mornings spent in a local kitchen, was definately one of its many highlights

Here's some video from that afternoon. (Hey, who's the guest musician at the very end of the loop?)

Thanks to The Big BM for the audio file.

 

Comments

[tyron]

Wow. It seems that the jaw harp is common throughout Southeast Asia, or at least in my country (simple straight ones up the Mountain Province, multicolored curvaceous harps down Davao). I used to own and play one. I've heard it also accompany our national anthem and the effect was more heartfelt.

[Robyn]

Hi Tyron - on Mindanao only? What are they called in Tagalog? And how long did it take you to become proficient?

[Ed]

The ones from the Mountain Province (Luzon) are called kubing. I don't know what the ones from Mindinao are called. I suspect that the lowland Filipinos had them at one point as well, but just fell out of favor.

Anyway, great to hear some genggong music here. But, to tell the truth, the jaw harp that really sounds like a frog is called an enggong. These are similarly constructed, only that they are actually blown, and they come with a palm leaf amplifier.

[ELE]

Woweee - the power of music. The first couple of seconds of that recording immediately transported me back to South East Asia.

That sound is distinctively of that region.

Thank you Robyn and Dave!

[Robyn]

Thanks Ed. Enggong are also Balinese?

ELE - yes I agree. One listen of this and I wanted to hop on the next flight to Bali...

[Ed]

Yes, "enggung" are also Balinese.

http://tinyurl.com/68s2n9

Despite what the title description says, these are "enggung", not "genggong".

[tyron]

I also call it kubing ('coo-bing). I guess I was lucky to observe some friends who are players during my stay at the university (one such group of players is Edru Abraham's Kontra Gapi, a local gamelan ensemble). You make contortions with your mouth while blowing controllably at the same time. It takes some patience and practice, but I must admit that I only slightly achieved the proficiency of the Kontra Gapi.

The instrument was also used during courtship by the northern folks. There's a play set somewhere meant to convey that guy likes girl and another set to mean the girl likes the guy back or otherwise.

[B]

Brings me back to days of dancing and festive libations in Mindanao...