The structure of the instrumental music points to t1te influence of China and Further India, whilst the songs suggest Arabic, and even early Portuguese, influence. The last-named are called krontjong songs. These melodies are in our major scale, and seem very romantic to us. Songs of this kind are in vogue in other districts of Indonesia, too, probably having been transmltted either by indirect or direct channels. On the island of Nias we also come across large and small gongs which originated from Java. Characteristic of this island are the magnificent I drums with skins either on one side or on both; those with a skin on only one side are often of enormous size and occasionally reach almost ten feet in length.

But the most remarkable instrument on Nias is a sort of bamboo 'buzzer'. It consists of a hollow bamboo cane, that pat-t held in one's hand serving as a resonator, with two holes opposite each Other. Below these holes the cane is slit lengthwise. When this part is struck with a knuckle of the other hand, (or, where two 'buzzers' are played simultaneously, on the knee-cap), a buzzing note of a fixed pitch is produced. If both holes are closed the note produced is lower by a major second. On Nias the player uses two 'buzzers' simultaneously, one instrument being smaller than the other, and produces two notes, the interval between them being i major third. If the notes c and d are sounded with the larger instrument, the smaller one adds e minor and f sharp. It is on this tritone that most of the songs of southern Nias are constructed.

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