Assoc. Prof Adnan Jusoh, a lecturer at the Pendidikan Sultan Idris University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities, and History , said the time period affirmation was based on research he started in 2002 using typological analysis on the drums’ patterns.

He said there are various decorative patterns on the tympanum that are believed to be connected with the community’s socio-cultural system and activities at the time.

The earliest drum was found in Sungai Tembeling, Pahang state, in 1926. Four others were discovered in Selangor state and three more in Terengganu state.

They originated from Vietnam, with the name referring to a village called Dong Son and have become a sacred relic of Vietnamese culture.–VNA