The ''pat kon'' ( mnw, ဗာတ်ကွေန်) is a graduated brass

gong chime A gong chime is a generic term for a set of small, high-pitched bossed pot gongs. The gongs are ordinarily placed in order of pitch, with the boss upward on cords held in a low wooden frame. The frames can be rectangular or circular (the latter are ...

associated with the

Mon people The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး‌, ; th, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and s ...

of mainland

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The ''pat kon'' has been absorbed into the traditional musical ensembles of neighboring Southeast Asian societies.

Names

The instrument is known by various names within the region, including ''la gyan hsaing'' ( my, လခြမ်းဆိုင်း), ''la gyan kye waing'' (လခြမ်းကြေးဝိုင်း), ''khong mon'' ( th, ฆ้องมอญ, ) and ''kong mon'' ( km, គងមន). In the

Mon language The Mon language (, mnw, ဘာသာမန်, links=no, (Mon-Thai ဘာသာမည်) ; my, မွန်ဘာသာ; th, ภาษามอญ; formerly known as Peguan and Talaing) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon peopl ...

, it is called ''naung not'' ( mnw, ဏံၚ်ဏောတ်) or ''pat kon cao'' ( mnw, ဗာတ် ကွေန် စှ်, lit. "ten child gongs").

Design and variations

The ''pat kon'' consists of about a dozen (10 - 15) gongs mounted in a vertical crescent-shaped wooden frame. It produces the same range of pitches as the more common gong circles (such as the

Kong toch The ''kong vong toch'' ( km, គងវង់តូច or kong touch km, គងតូច) is a number of gongs that are attached to a circle-shaped rack, closely resembling its larger relative, the kong thom. Both instruments belong to the percuss ...

and '' khong wong''), but rather than resting on the ground, the wooden frame of this instrument extends into the air in the shape of a

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...

. The instrument was formerly used in

nat (spirit) The nats (; MLCTS: ''nat''; ) are god-like spirits venerated in Myanmar and neighbouring countries in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 ''Great Nats'' who were designated that status by King Anawrahta when he formalized ...

propitiation ceremonies, and originally consisted of 14 gongs, but a 15th gong was added in 1962, tuned to the fifth note. The instrument's wooden frame is made of beechwood (''

Gmelina arborea ''Gmelina arborea'', (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane ), locally known as gamhar, is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the family Lamiaceae. Distribution and habitat ''Gmelina arborea ...

''), with

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

used to suspend the individual gongs. The wooden frame is embellished with traditional arabesque or ''kanok'' designs, inlaid with

glass mosaic In Myanmar culture, glass mosaic ( my, မှန်စီရွှေချ) is a traditional form of glasswork where pieces of glass are used to embellish decorative art, structures, and furniture. Glass mosaic is typically divided into two sub ...

, and carvings depicting a stylized

kinnari A kinnara is a celestial musician, part human and part bird, who are musically paradigmatic lovers, in Hinduism and Buddhism. In these traditions, the ''kinnaras'' (male) and ''kinnaris'' (female counterpart) are two of the most beloved mytho ...

bird or devas. The image of a half-man, half-bird figure carved onto the frame is traditional, and is meant to symbolize a celestial musician. The frame is also typically decorated lavishly in gold paint and

. ''Khong mon'' are featured in a special type of

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

ensemble called ''

pi phat A ''piphat'' is a kind of ensemble in the classical music of Thailand, which features wind and percussion instruments. It is considered the primary form of ensemble for the interpretation of the most sacred and "high-class" compositions of the ...

'', which plays ''pi phat mon'' or ''pi phat nang hong'' into the mainstream of traditional Thai music as well; ''pi phat mon'' or ''pi phat nang hong'' is usually performed by Thai musicians.

References

*Clark, Mitchell (2005). "Sounds of the Silk Road: Musical Instruments of Asia." Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Publications. {{DEFAULTSORT:Khong mon Gongs Burmese musical instruments Cambodian musical instruments Thai musical instruments Mon people

Names

Design and variations

See also

References