Gongs: The Symbol of the Ethnic Minorities in Truong Son - Tay Nguyen (A Case Study in South Tra My District, Quang Nam Province)

Abstract

Gongs (a Cồng as a gong which has a knob in the middle; a Chiêng is a gong that has none) have a long history as a popular symbol for most of the ethnic minority people in Truong Son-Tay Nguyen. Depending on the ethnic group, the gongs have their own characteristics and then they are symbolic of life and the cultural as well as music creation. They are also considered to be the symbol of power and vitality for the ethnic group. A music instrument is normally examined from the two following elements: sound and material. The local people in South Tra My district, Quang Nam province, do not originally produce their own gongs. Instead, they contribute by fixing the sound of the gongs and then associate their own style of performance with their own sound and their own way of beating the gongs. In this way, each ethnic group establishes their own cultural symbol through the sound of their gong.