Sumatra

The prehistoric musical remains of Sumatra include only iconographical depictions and remnants of bronze kettledrums ( nakara ) of the Đông Son culture, which arose in Tonkin about 500 b.c. to a.d. 100 [see Southeast Asia in Prehistory]. At Basemah, South Sumatra, a megalith in Đông Son style (now housed in the Palembang State Museum) depicts an elephant-riding man carrying on his back a Đông Son drum, apparently a symbol of power and prestige. Remains of two such drums provisionally...