Kolintangan
/koʊˈlɪn.tɑːŋ.ən/noun
A traditional Southeast Asian ensemble or set of small, horizontally arranged gongs, especially associated with Sabah, Brunei, and the southern Philippines.
Did you know?Kolintangan belongs to the wider kulintang gong tradition, whose performances have historically accompanied ceremonies, courtly events, community gatherings, and ritual life across maritime Southeast Asia.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Southeast Asia
Austronesian
*kulintang (reconstructed/related forms)
“A probable ancestral term associated with a set or row of small gongs; the ultimate origin is debated.”
Early Malayic period
Malayic
kulintangan
“A gong instrument or gong set; the suffix -an forms a noun in several Austronesian languages.”
19th–20th Century
Malay
kulintangan
“A row or ensemble of small tuned gongs, especially in northern Borneo.”
20th Century
Indonesian
kolintang
“A traditional Minahasan percussion instrument, commonly spelled with o in Indonesian.”
Modern English
English
kolintangan
“A regional variant spelling used in English-language descriptions of Southeast Asian gong traditions.”