"Music of Indonesia, Vol. 17: Kalimantan: Dayak Ritual and Festival Music" - Various Artists

Various Artists
CD cover

Links

This second album on Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) presents music from seven Dayak groups, three (out of four) provinces, and a variety of genres and ensembles. Many selections are devoted to the gong ensembles of Kalimantan, which are unlike either the large gamelon of Java and Bali or the interlocking gong ensembles of the southeastern region. Contrasting styles of choral singing are heard, as well as four rhythmically bewildering pieces for an ensemble of bamboo tubes struck together. The album closes with an unusual 23-minute overview of the music from a three-day curing ritual among the Ot Danum of the Melawi River region in West Kalimantan.