ABSTRACT
The types of percussion ensembles, their music and their uses are many and varied in Malaysia. The musical tradition of the caklempong was brought to Malaysia by the Minangkabau people who settled in the southern state of Negeri Sembilan as early as the fourteenth century. The gong-row is found throughout Southeast Asia where, on the mainland, the small knobbed gongs are placed in circular racks such as the kyi-waing of Myanmar and the khong mong of Thailand. It has been noted that in Sarawak the gong-row, called engkerumong, is found exclusively among the Iban people of the state. The kulintangan ensembles are played either to accompany dance or for entertainment at important social gatherings, and in some regions to accompany the martial arts. The kompang is a traditional Malay instrument having a similar basic shape as rebana in Indonesia and dufuf in Middle East. The instrument is a membranophone with a frame body and a single drumhead made of skin.
