112 PEOPLES OF THE PHILIPPINES 
even the interior peoples have long possessed a supply 
of them. Even the name by which these gongs are 
known, gansa or agong, is the same in origin as Javanese 
gong from which we derive our word. 
Brass, that is zinc alloy, as opposed to the tin-copper 
mixture which makes bronze, is chiefly worked in the 
Mohammedan districts. However, there has been some 
permeation of more remote regions by the art of work- 
ing this material, for the Bontok and other mountaineers 










Fig. 23. Pipes of Pottery — Nabaloi— and Cast Brass — Bontok 
of Luzon make small castings in this metal although 
their product cannot compare in fineness with that of 
the Moros or even the pagan tribes adjacent to the_ 
Moros. The process seems everywhere to be essentially 
the same. A model of the desired object is made in 
beeswax. This is surrounded by a clay mould. On 
heating, the wax melts and runs off, the molten brass 
or sometimes copper is then poured in its place, and the 
clay mould broken away. This is what is technically 
known as the cire perdue process. The Bontok chiefly 
cast small pipes in this way. The Mohammedans make 
belts, anklets, bracelets, sword handles, blades, bells, 

