JP\/19\/GONG<\/p>\n
Gongs prove to be a striking success in Bogor<\/p>\n
In the best traditions of Indonesian tourism a unique attraction
\ninvolving culture, music and craft is poorly promoted and hard to
\nfind. But the effort is worth the energy, reports The Jakarta
\nPost contributor Duncan Graham from Bogor.<\/p>\n
It looks like a scene from Dante's fevered imagination: An
\nancient, soot-blackened, windowless workshop lit by a volcanic
\ndisplay of sparks. In the center are two roaring charcoal
\nfurnaces.<\/p>\n
Sweating men squat around the saucer-shaped fires. They look
\nlike demons in the flickering red and yellow lights. They wear
\nsandals and T-shirts. Or no shirts. When tongs withdraw the
\nwhite-hot dish they jump to action.<\/p>\n
Before the metal cools they pound it with great hammers;
\nproperly beaten into submission the hapless metal is thrust back
\ninto the heat for more torture. From such prolonged pain will
\ncome extraordinary music.<\/p>\n
Bogor's gong factory could feature as a case study in Western
\nmanuals on industrial health and safety. But before activists
\nleap to protest let it be said that it was this writer and not
\nthe inferno workers who shuddered at the conditions.<\/p>\n
They clearly thought a foreigner's sensitivities a great joke.
\nWho needs hard hats, steel-capped boots, masks and ventilation?
\nProtective gear is for Western sissies, not Indonesian craftsmen.<\/p>\n
Visitors to what's reputed to be West Java's last remaining
\ngong factory should set aside squeamish sentiments and ponder the
\nsignificance of their experience. For they are witnessing ancient
\ntechnology little changed since our prehistoric ancestors
\ndiscovered that mixing molten copper and tin makes a marvelously
\nmalleable, durable and attractive metal.<\/p>\n
In Bogor the Bronze Age is alive and glowing.<\/p>\n
The workshop's owner Haji Sukarna, 70, said little had changed
\nduring his family's seven generations of gong making. An electric
\nfan is now used instead of bellows to excite the embers and a
\ncompressor drives a spray painter, but other tasks are manual.<\/p>\n
Thermometers are not used to measure the heat. As in many
\ncrafts the eye of experience gauges when the metal is just right
\nfor beating. Too hot and the chemistry changes; too cold and the
\nshape will not change.<\/p>\n
Bronze has excellent acoustic properties, which is why it is
\nwidely used for bells and wind instruments.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government supplies bars of tin and copper for
\nthe process. The metals are melted and combined to form a flat,
\nround disk. The tin component is critical; if much more than 40
\nper cent is used the alloy can be too brittle.<\/p>\n
It takes about four days to hammer this into a gong of about
\n50 cm diameter, six days for an item half as big again. The price
\ntag for the smaller instrument is Rp 2,500,000 (US$ 250),
\ncomplete with wooden stand and striker. These are also made at
\nthe same factory.<\/p>\n
Add at least another million rupiah if you buy the same gong
\nfrom a shop in Central Jakarta. It can be an expensive but
\nimpressive way to summon the family to dinner. The bigger gongs
\nare sold to mosques. Gong size determines pitch.<\/p>\n
The smaller, hat-shaped gongs used in gamelan orchestras are
\nalso produced, along with the red-painted and carved frames that
\nhold the instruments.<\/p>\n
Pak Sukarna's son, Mohamed Riduan, 56, now manages the
\nbusiness. "Our gongs have been sold all over the world," he said.
\nget a constant stream of visitors from abroad. We don't
\nadvertise or publish brochures. People get to know about us
\nthrough word of mouth."<\/p>\n
A listing in the Lonely Planet guide -- better known as the
\n"Backpacker's Bible" -- has also helped spread news of the
\nfactory and some local tour guides include the place in their
\nitineraries. But it seems that tourism authorities do not
\nrealize what a gem they have in their midst.<\/p>\n
"The work is hard and because of this it's sometimes difficult
\nto get staff," said Pak Riduan. "It's a specialized skill. We
\noperate seven days a week with 25 workers to keep up with
\ndemand."<\/p>\n
When the business started in the 19th century the workshop was
\nin a rural area. Now Bogor has expanded and houses and shops
\nsurround the foundry.<\/p>\n
But there's no doubt about the location, even if you miss the
\ncrudely painted sign on the wall outside. The heavy bass bong of
\nhammer on burnished metal echoes down the crowded street; it
\nbounces slowly off the bitumen and rolls round the concrete,
\nunimpeded by the clamor of modern traffic.<\/p>\n
It is also the same sound that rang through the forests of
\nJava hundreds of years ago when the magic properties of bronze
\nwere the leading edge of technology.<\/p>",
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