Ensuranai

Sea Dayaks (Iban)

19th century · Coconut, wood, skin, rattan · Musical Instruments

The Iban people of northern Borneo formerly made the ensuranai, a distinctive stringed instrument played with a small bow and with a resonating chamber made from coconut shell or gourd. The performer sat on the ground and held the stem in the left hand, with the resonator resting against the calf of the leg or with the lower tip of the stem grasped in the toes.

Artist

Sea Dayaks (Iban)

Date

19th century

Medium

Coconut, wood, skin, rattan

Culture

Iban people

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889