Pejeng drum (also Pejeng-type drum) is a type of Bronze Age kettledrum which was produced across the archipelago of Indonesia between the 1st and 2nd century AD. They are one of Indonesia's finest example of metalworking. [1] Examples of Bronze Age Pejeng drum, such as the ancient Moon of Pejeng, is the largest bronze drum in the world, indicating the advance of metal casting technique and the active trade in the archipelago in the first millennium AD.
The first record of the use of bronze and iron in the Indonesian archipelago was around 500 BC. Most of the earliest bronze objects were probably used for ceremonies e.g. highly stylized axes and kettledrums. Some drums were shaped in a form known as the Dong Son, a type of bronze drum which originate from northern Vietnam and are spread along the Sunda Islands e.g. Sumatra, Java, Nusa Tenggara and even as far as the Kai Islands near Papua. The spread of the Dong Son drum in the Indonesian archipelago indicates an extensive trade among the kingdoms in Southeast Asia during the period. Other bronze drums found in the archipelago represented local variation, the most well-known of these are the Pejeng drums. [1]
The Pejeng drums, named after the Bronze Age village of Pejeng in Bali, were the Indonesian variation of the Dong Son drum. Pejeng drums differ from the earlier Dong Son drum in that they had a more elongated shape and were made in two pieces (mantles and tympana) cast separately using the lost wax method. Pejeng drum was designed in the Indonesian archipelago and was produced extensively in the island of Java and Bali in the first millennium AD. The Balinese variation is among the most impressive metal artifact in the late prehistoric period of Indonesia. The Moon of Pejeng kept in the village of Pejeng, is the largest Pejeng drum in the world. Such enormous drum would have had great social value for the owners. Neither copper nor tin, the raw materials for bronze making, are available in Bali. The existence of huge bronze drums in Bali indicates an intensive inter-island trade between Bali and other parts of Indonesia during the first millennium AD. Trade was also more expansive in Bali, as pottery decorated with Indian-styled rouletted designs, were found at Sembiran and Pacung in the north part of Bali, indicating a trade as far as India within the archipelago in the 1st or 2nd centuries AD. [2]
Pejeng drums may have been used as a regalia by kings or chiefs who wanted to be considered an international elite. At Plawangan, a Pejeng drum was found in burials, together with other precious objects e.g. gold necklace and iron spearhead. In Bali, the Moon of Pejeng, the largest drum of this type, was simply kept in villages. [2] The Moko drum of Alor, a Pejeng-type drum, are still used as heirloom objects which are exchanged in marriage ceremonies.
A Pejeng drum has a symmetrical appearance. Its shape consists of three parts: the head or the tympanum at the top, the middle barrel where the handle is attached, and the base. The design difference between the Pejeng drum and the Dong Son drum is that the tympanum protrudes around 25 centimetres (9.8 in) beyond the body, and was cast separately from it. [2]
Pejeng drums were made using lost-wax casting. Another difference with the Dong Son drum is that the body and tympana of the Pejeng drum were sometimes cast separately instead of as a whole. A wax model in the shape of a drum was made around a hollow clay core. The standardized geometric pattern of human or animal were impressed into the wax using incised stone molds. The geometric patterns were molded onto for the tympana and the upper sides. [3]
Timpani or kettledrums are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. Thus timpani are an example of kettle drums, also known as vessel drums and semispherical drums, whose body is similar to a section of a sphere whose cut conforms the head. Most modern timpani are pedal timpani and can be tuned quickly and accurately to specific pitches by skilled players through the use of a movable foot-pedal. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the classical orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of ensembles, including concert bands, marching bands, orchestras, and even in some rock bands.
Pendet dance a traditional dance from Bali, Indonesia, in which floral offerings are made to purify the temple or theater as a prelude to ceremonies or other dances. Pendet is typically performed by young girls, carrying bowls of flower petals, handfuls of which are cast into the air at various times in the dance. Pendet can be thought of as a dance of greeting, to welcome the audience and invite spirits to enjoy a performance. It is one of the oldest Balinese dance, although the current form was codified in the 1950s.
The Sa Huỳnh culture was a culture in modern-day central and southern Vietnam that flourished between 1000 BC and 200 AD. Archaeological sites from the culture have been discovered from the Mekong Delta to Quảng Bình province in central Vietnam. The Sa Huynh people were most likely the predecessors of the Cham people, an Austronesian-speaking people and the founders of the kingdom of Champa.
Vietnamese ceramics refers to ceramic art and pottery as a form of Vietnamese art and industry. Vietnamese pottery and ceramics has a long history spanning back to thousands of years ago, including long before Chinese domination, as archeological evidence supports.
Moko are bronze kettledrums from Alor Island, Indonesia. While they have been found in several different locations in Indonesia, they are most famously associated with the island of Alor, where they have long been prized in ceremonial exchanges. Later moko were made in China and Java and were brought to Alor in the 19th century.
The Second Era of Northern Domination refers to the second period of Chinese rule in Vietnamese history, from the 1st century to 6th century AD, during which present-day northern Vietnam (Jiaozhi) was governed by various Chinese dynasties.This period began when the Han dynasty reconquered Giao Chỉ (Jiaozhi) from the Trưng Sisters and ended in 544 AD when Lý Bí revolted against the Liang dynasty and established the Early Lý dynasty. This period lasted about 500 years.
Cổ Loa Citadel is an important fortified settlement and archaeological site in present-day Hanoi's Đông Anh district, roughly 17 kilometers north of present-day Hanoi, in the upper plain north of the Red River. Various relics of the Bronze Age Phùng Nguyên culture and Đông Sơn culture have been found in Cổ Loa, although it was later established as the capital of Âu Lạc Kingdom during the 3rd century BCE. It might be the first political center of the Vietnamese civilization. The settlement’s concentric walls resemble a snail’s shell; it had an outer embankment covering 600 hectares.
A Đông Sơn drum is a type of ancient bronze drum created by the Đông Sơn culture that existed in the Red River Delta. The drums were produced from about 600 BCE or earlier until the third century CE; they are one of the culture's most astounding examples of ancient metalworking. The drums, cast in bronze using the lost-wax casting method are up to a meter in height and weigh up to 100 kilograms (220 lb). Đông Sơn drums were apparently both musical instruments and objects of worship.
A Balinese name is part of a system of identification used by the Balinese people and in the western parts of the neighboring island of Lombok, Indonesia. A Balinese name will have three parts: a title, a birth order name and a personal name. Balinese people do not use a family name.
Bronze drums are ancient artifacts found in various cultures in Southeast Asia and southern China. The drums were cast in bronze using the lost-wax casting method. The drums were both musical instruments and cult objects. They are decorated with geometric patterns, scenes of daily life and war, animals and birds, and boats.
The known recorded history of the Philippines between 900 and 1565 begins with the creation of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription in 900 and ends with Spanish colonisation in 1565. The inscription records its date of creation in the year 822 of the Hindu Saka calendar, corresponding to 900 AD in the Gregorian system. Therefore, the recovery of this document marks the end of prehistory of the Philippines at 900 AD. During this historical time period, the Philippine archipelago was home to numerous kingdoms and sultanates and was a part of the theorised Indosphere and Sinosphere.
The prehistory of the Philippines covers the events prior to the written history of what is now the Philippines. The current demarcation between this period and the early history of the Philippines is April 21, 900, which is the equivalent on the Proleptic Gregorian calendar for the date indicated on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription—the earliest known surviving written record to come from the Philippines. This period saw the immense change that took hold of the archipelago from Stone Age cultures in 50000 BC to the emergence of developed thalassocratic civilizations in the fourth century, continuing on with the gradual widening of trade until 900 and the first surviving written records.
The Moon of Pejeng, also known as the Pejeng Moon, in Bali is the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world. and "the largest known relic from Southeast Asia's Bronze Age period." It is "considered highly sacred by local people." It is thought to be a relic of early rice cultivation rituals.
The History of Bali covers a period from the Paleolithic to the present, and is characterized by migrations of people and cultures from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the history of Bali started to be marked by Western influence with the arrival of Europeans, to become, after a long and difficult colonial period under the Dutch, an example of the preservation of traditional cultures and a key tourist destination.
Pura Penataran Sasih is a Hindu temple in Pejeng village, Bali. It was founded, according to a modern chronogram displayed at the entrance, in 1266 AD, and served as the state temple of the Pejeng Kingdom, 1293 - 1343 AD.
The Kingdomship of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20th centuries, Balinese kingdoms demonstrated sophisticated Balinese court culture where native elements of spirit and ancestral reverence combined with Hindu influences – adopted from India through ancient Java intermediary – flourished, enriched and shaped the Balinese culture.
The Kalanay Cave is a small cave located on the island of Masbate in central Philippines. The cave is located specifically at the northwest coast of the island within the municipality of Aroroy. The artifacts recovered from the site were similar to those found to the Sa Huynh culture of Southern Vietnam. The site is part of the "Sa Huynh-Kalanay Interaction Sphere" which was an Iron Age maritime trading network associated with the Austronesian peoples of the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, as well as most of northeastern Borneo and Southern Thailand. The type of pottery found in the site were dated 400 BC to AD 1500. The "Sa Huynh-Kalanay Interaction Sphere" is characterized by a remarkable continuity in trade goods, including decorated pottery and double-headed pendants and earrings known as lingling-o.
The bale kulkul or bale kul-kul is a Balinese pavilion where a slit-log drum is placed. It is essentially a drum tower or a watch tower. A bale kulkul can has a civic function, such as those used in villages as a mean of communication; or for religious function, an integral part of Balinese temple architecture.
The Indonesian ceremonial bronze axes were Bronze Age objects that were produced in the Indonesian archipelago between the 1st and 2nd century AD. Archaeological sites in Java, Bali, Sulawesi, the eastern islands, and around Lake Sentani in Papua have been uncovered, showing the bronze axes at the center of a bronze production or at burial sites. They are a testimony of the extensive trade network in the islands of the archipelago in the first millennium AD, thought to be connected to the Dong Son culture.
