The House of Gongs in Tboli land
LAKE SEBU, South Cotabato (MindaNews / 31 August) – For about three decades now, the House of Gongs has been a quiet listener to the soothing sounds of nature, sitting beside the scenic Lake Sebu, from where cool winds gush and serene beauty resonates.
The famed 354-hectare Lake Sebu, to which this town was named after, beckons from the privately-owned museum that houses 80 gongs, one of which is believed to have been produced during the 17th century and came from the tiny-rich country of Brunei Darussalam.
From Tboli Museum, the owner, Dominador Sen Baay, or Datu Bao, rightly changed its name to House of Gongs, hitting the message right away for tourists visiting this town, which for a long-time has been associated with rich indigenous traditions, apart from its freshwater lakes and waterfalls.
Touted as the summer capital of South Cotabato for its cool climate all-year round, Lake Sebu municipality currently hosts three Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (Gamaba) awardees or national living treasures for Tnalak weaving (Barbara Ofong), chanting (Rosie Sula) and brass casting (Bundos Fara). The first one, Lang Dulay also for Tnalak weaving, had passed away due to old-age and ailment.
Gongs are known as agongs (or agung) among the Tboli and other indigenous groups in Mindanao.
Datu Bao, 65, became a gong collector by a twist of fate.
“I am not fortunate with animals. Many of the carabaos, cows and horses that I owned died. So I decided to collect gongs, as they don’t die. They may fade but they last forever,” he said in Filipino.
He started his gong collection from the several pieces that he inherited from his late father, Baay, who sired 30 children out of nine wives. Having many wives is accepted in Tboli culture as long as the man could provide for their needs.
Their ancestors used to live along the coasts of Kiamba, Sarangani, where traders brought the gongs and other goods from the neighboring countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia to be sold to the locals, he recalled.
Over time, Datu Bao amassed not only gongs but also other collections such as china, kulintangs, brass wares, and traditional Tboli costumes made of Tnalak, among others, that are displayed at his museum.
His museum follows the traditional rectangular long-house design of the Tbolis, called gunu bong, although a bit modern since it is elevated using concrete.
Datu Bao, who served as vice mayor of this town for three terms from 1992 to 2001, said he had spent at least P7 million from decades of collecting his gongs, including on foreign travels to neighboring East ASEAN countries.
His gong collections are mostly made in Brunei, Malaysia or Indonesia. He described the kulintangs made in the country as smaller versions of gongs. Both are percussion instruments.
Datu Bao’s most prized collection is the gong coming from the Islamic sultanate of Brunei believed to have been made in the 17th century. It is displayed high up in the ceiling, with Datu Bao recalling they used to play hide and seek on it when they were still small children.
In the Tboli tradition, the gongs are used for religious rituals, such as to ask strong rains to stop, during festivals to accompany the kulintang and other musical instruments, and to call for community meetings decades ago when cellular phones were not yet available.
According to Datu Bao, a huge gong, like many of his collections, can be heard as far as five kilometers away.
Thickly made of brass and weighing at least five kilograms, his most expensive gong costs P100,000 while the rest range on the average between P40,000 to P50,000.
“The gongs have become part of the Tboli culture. I built the House of Gongs to preserve our cultural heritage,” he told MindaNews.
In their culture, Datu Bao noted that ownership of gongs is a symbol of wealth and royal blood.
It is used by male members of families with royal blood for dowry in marriage, aside from horses and carabaos, he added.
He could have over 100 gongs in the museum, but he said that his daughter brought some of them to Germany where she lives with her German husband, for display.
Since the House of Gongs started in 1998, tourists from Europe, United States and Japan, among other countries have visited the museum, although most of the visitors are local tourists, including students who make the trip as part of their educational tour.
It is conspicuously located along the road going to the popular resorts and restaurants operating along Lake Sebu, hence visitors could just walk in.
The House of Gongs, which is already part of the tourism circuit promoted by the Department of Tourism in Region 12, is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is no entrance fee but visitors are encouraged to donate whatever amount for the upkeep of the museum.
Two workers keep watch over the House of Gongs, the only one of its kind in the country, according to Datu Bao.
“It’s also the only private museum owned by an ordinary individual,” he joked, noting that museums in the country are mostly owned by rich people, citing the Ayala Museum of the wealthy Ayala family.
Datu Baay said he has no plans of selling his gongs, as he believed there is a curse attached to the instrument.
His most favorite gong, named Sakam, gave him many blessings after acquiring it, said Datu Bao.
“I dreamed that if I own it, darating ang mga grasya,” he recalled, noting that these blessings include his long life – he’s 65 – and that money just came if he’s short of it.
On the other hand, he said that the chieftain who sold Sakam to him died after two weeks.
“It seems there’s a curse that if you sell a gong, something bad will happen to you,” he said.
Datu Bao pledged to high heavens that he would keep the House of Gongs until his last breath, and leave it as inheritance to his family whom he hopes will sustain it. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
No comments:
Post a Comment