Mantau Kundang played on ginggung

Audio 7.4: Audio Example 4 in Chapter 7 of book: Margaret Kartomi, ‘Musical Journeys in Sumatra’, Champaign-Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012. In Besemah, there is a tradition of vocal-based jew’s-harp (“ginggung”) music based on courting songs where a young man may go to the home of his girlfriend at night and attract her attention by playing “petik mantau kundang” (plucked music to ‘call a friend’). He often mouths words of love while playing an octave drone on the “ginggung”. The item presented here, recorded in December 1971 and performed by Bp L. Saman, is an example of such a courting song. Duration: 1 min. 06 sec. Copyright 1971. Margaret J. Kartomi.