KOLINTANG

Kolintang a typical musical instrument of the Minahasa (North Sulawesi), which has a base material that is wood that, if hit be a sound long enough to reach the high notes and low like a wooden egg, bandaran, arbitrary, kakinik or the like (type of wood rather light but solid enough and the wood fibers arranged in such a way to form parallel lines).

The word comes from the sound Kolintang: Tong (low tone), Ting (high tone) and Tang (middle tone). Formerly In Minahasa to invite people to play kolintang: "Let's Ting Tong Tang" with the phrase "Maimo Kumolintang" and from that comes a habit of "Kolintang" for the device used to play.

Kolintang initially consisted only of a few pieces of wood placed side by side on the second leg with a position player sitting on the ground, with both legs stretched straight ahead. Over time the player's legs replaced with two banana stems, or occasionally replaced with a rope like arumba from West Java. While the use case begins sesonator Prince Diponegoro was in Minahasa (th.1830). At that time, said equipment and gamelan xylophone part taken by the group. The use of kolintang closely related to traditional beliefs of the people of Minahasa, as in ritual ceremonies in connection with the worship of the spirits of the ancestors. That is why with the arrival of Christianity on the Minahasa, the existence of such kolintang driven almost completely disappeared during ± 100th.

After World War II, then came back kolintang pioneered by Nelwan Katuuk (which make up a kolintang tone music tone according to the universal order). At first only one with a composition Melody diatonic tones, with a 2 octave range voice, and as an accompanist used instruments "string" like a guitar, ukulele and stringbas.

Year 1954 was made kolintang 2 ½ octaves (still diatonic). In the year 1960 has reached a 3 ½ octave tone 1 crotch, naturel, and 1 mol. The basic tone is still limited to three Key (Naturel, 1 mol, and 1 crotch) with a distance of 4 ½ octaves tone of F s / d. C. And development continues kolintang music and good quality equipment, expansion of range tone, shape resonator box (to improve the sound), as well as appearance. We have created Kolintang already reached 6 (six) with chromatisch full octave.