Gangsas, gongs made only in the Cordilleran area in northern Luzon, were stolen from a parked car of a member of the American Center for Philippine Arts (ACPA), a California-based Philippine dance company, earlier this week.
If it were as simple as going to the mall and getting a new one, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal.
But these gongs, used in traditional dances of the Kalinga tribe in the northern Philippines, are handmade and difficult to get.
According to a Facebook post by the ACPA, five of seven gongs were stolen from the car.
Major Julian, the member whose car was broken into, told ABS-CBN News he was more concerned with the gongs than the broken windows. “It’s like you said it takes so many resources just to get here. And you don’t just fly to Manila and then go to the shoe mart (SM mall). You have to travel to go get it,” he said.
According to musician Herna Cruz-Louie, obtaining each gong the first time took several months because they would rely on friends vacationing in the Philippines to bring one gong back at a time.
A GoFundMe page was set up to raise funds to get new gongs on Jan. 31; as of today, the group had exceeded their goal of raising US$1,400 (PHP70,000) with a total of US$1,850 (PHP92,000).
Louie said that for some Filipino Americans, the gongs weren’t just instruments, but a direct connection to the homeland.
“It’s our connection. We learn these instruments here in the United States as Filipino-Americans and so, to be able to have these here is such a huge deal. And to be able to have dancers who perform to Filipino music,” she told ABS-CBN News.
“It’s our voice for those who don’t have a voice. We use them to speak their history and bring here so others will know who they are and what they’re all about.”
(Check out a Kalinga dance and listen to how the gangsa sounds in this video below)
