Tone Wood with mallet (Ifugao)
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Roughly worked, black-brown, in the shape of a bracket with a flat underside, in the hump of which there are two holes through which the two eyelets of a handle wrapped with rattan are pulled. Mallets round, tapering towards one end. According to Sachs (1923: 20) it is an idiophone that is struck immediately.
Lambrecht (1938: 465,473ff) disagrees with the Mayawyaw (a subgroup of the Ifugao) a death ritual on the occasion of a successful headhunt, in which some men beat the pa'tong and thus set the rhythm for a group of dancers. In the same ceremony, an opposite bangi 'bang is used, which, according to Lambrecht, has the appearance of a pa'tong, but is thicker and has a handle made of rattan in the middle. This description suggests that the pa'tong of the Mayawyaw, unlike the present piece, is without a handle. Lambrecht can only explain the meaning of bangi 'bang as a "ritual object". It is now interesting that Beyer and Barton (1911: 232,236,244) describe the bangi 'bang among the Ifugao as a musical instrument with the same appearance as the present pattung. The bangi'bang is only used in rituals for the dead and to heal illnesses. Made from the wood of the Bischofia javanica, its tone is sharp and crackling and carries a long way when the bangi'bang is struck in the aunt.
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Map Museum of World Cultures in Frankfurt (Weltkulturen Museum)
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Banaue, Philippines
(Culture of the Ifugao people values kinship, family ties, religious and cultural beliefs. They're unique among all ethnic groups in North Luzon for their interesting customs and traditions. The Spanish never were able to take control of the Ifugao territory.)
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Length: L. b: 24.8 cm
Length: L. a: 46.4 cm
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Photo: Weltkulturen Museum (Museum of World Cultures) Frankfurt, Germany
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