The Sulu Zone Gong-Chime Complex: Enduring Cultural Links Through Synchronic Soundscapes

• In Event: Extending Sightlines and Soundlines: The Gong-Chime of the Sulu Zone

Abstract

Warren’s (1981) publication The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898 has become a classic in Southeast Asian history narrating social, economic, political, and ethnic relationships in this Malayo-Muslim maritime state located between the Celebes and the Sulu seas. Through vibrant local trade and exchanges with foreign merchants such as the Bugis, the Chinese, and Europeans, the region and its encompassing ethnicities were consolidated. This historical maritime state is presently fragmented and relegated to the periphery of three modern nation states, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Drawing from Winichakul’s (2003) post-nationalist discourse towards a look at a “history of margins” for alternative regionalisms, this paper analyzes constituents of the Sulu Zone as a present-day cultural complex. This is achieved by investigating the shared presence of the kulintang, a floating term for the gong-chime tradition in this region. The kulintang is a quadripartite concept that references the instrument, ensemble, repertoire, and its performance. The four domains are used to analyze shared approaches, styles, and conventions within this traditional ensemble as present in East Malaysia, Central Sulawesi in Indonesia, and the Southern Philippines. Historical and cultural links that bind the region are analyzed as part of a “mari-cultural evolution” (Andaya, 2006) by looking at water rather than land oriented connectivities. Reflecting on Warren’s (1981) landmark publication and its present-day relevance, this presentation argues that beyond nation-state boundaries, enduring cultural links are found within kulintang synchronic soundscapes that presently bind the Sulu Zone as a gong-chime complex.

Author

• Mayco A. Santaella, Sultan Idris Education University