Sumangkap Gong Village

Gongs matter across Sabah - in Kadazandusun, Rungus and Murut communities they are wealth, ceremony and music, played in ensembles for weddings, harvest festivals and funerals - and Kampung Sumangkap in the Kudat peninsula is where a great many of them are made. The method is hand work: sheet brass or bronze is cut, beaten into shape over forms with hammers, the boss raised, the rim turned, and then tuned by ear, the maker striking and thinning the metal until the pitch is right for its place in the set. Almost every household in the village is involved, and the noise of hammering carries. Visitors can watch the whole sequence, hear a set played, and buy, from small souvenirs up to full gongs. Nearby Kampung Gombizau keeps bees and Kampung Tinangol weaves.

What you actually see

• Gongs beaten by hand - sheet metal shaped over forms with hammers.
• Tuning by ear - the maker thinning the metal until the pitch is right.
• A whole village at it - hammering audible from household to household.
• Sets played - the ensemble sound the gongs are made for.

When to go

March to October; weekdays when the workshops are working. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Work depends on orders, so quiet days happen. Full gongs are heavy and expensive to ship. The village is a working place, not a display - ask before photographing people at work.

Nearby

Bavanggazo longhouses, the honey village and the Tip of Borneo are close.