The agung is a Philippine set of two, wide-rimmed, vertically-suspended gongs used by the Maguindanao, Maranao and Tausug as a supportive instrument in their kulintang ensemble. The agung is also ubiquitous among other groups found in Mindanao, Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan as an integral part of their agung orchestrA.
The agung is usually performed while standing beside the instrument, holding the upper edge of the instrument’ flange between the thumb and rest of the fingers with the left hand while striking the boss/knob/busel using a mallet with the right hand. The mallets, called balu, are made from a short stick about half a foot in length and padded with soft but tough material such as rubber at one end. Using these balus, players would handle the agung similar to the way a brass tom-tom is played.
Filipino Musical Instruments ,agung
