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Gingaung

The gingaung is a double-skin drum used by the Bimoba. It belongs to a family of three similar drums, i.e. the gingaung, the gingaung bik and the gingaung pang, of which the gingaung is the bass drum and the largest of the three. It has a snare at the bottom and the membrane at the top is struck with a drumstick and damped with the palm or the fingers. The gingaung can also be struck with the hands held out flat. The gingaung is carried around the neck during play, the leather strap or braided rope worn across the shoulder. The two membranes are tied to each other along the sides with a system of interlaced straps of cow hide. This drum is approximately 60 to 65 cm long and has a diameter of 50 cm. It is made of one single piece of wood from the nong tree or the napok tree. The drumstick is called the gingaung bienu and is made from the wood of the naipoor tree.

Its deep tone gives an extra dimension to the music by playing ostinato figures that have a fairly repetitive rhythmical pattern. It is highly suited to accompanying dances such as the Kuanta and the Tarkutik.