Kulintang Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. By the twentieth century, the term kulintang had a come to denote an entire Maguindanao ensemble of five to six instruments. Traditionally the Maguindanao term for the entire ensemble is basalen or palabunibunyan , the latter term meaning “an ensemble of loud instruments” or “music-making” or in this case “music-making using a kulintang. Kulintang music is considered an ancient tradition that predates the influences of Hinduism , Buddhism , Islam , Christianity , and the West . In the Philippines, it represents the highest form of gong music attained by Filipinos. Kulintang music likely evolved from this simple signaling tradition, transitioning into a period consisting of o...