Gamelan for "gamelan" is gangsa, formed either from the words "tembaga" and "rejasa" referring to the materials used in bronze gamelan construction (copper and tin), or "tiga" and "sedasa" referring to their proportions (three and ten). The gamelan predates the Hindu-Buddhist culture that dominated Indonesia in its earliest records and thus represents an indigenous art form. In contrast to the heavy Indian influence in other art forms, the only obvious Indian influence in gamelan music is in the Javanese style of singing, and in the themes of the Wayang kulit (shadow puppet plays). In Javanese mythology, the gamelan was created by
Gamelan outside Indonesia Java and brought to Vancouver in 1990 and resides at the Western Front Artist Center. Both Vancouver-based ensembles are regularly used in performances by the Vancouver Community Gamelan. There are over eighty gamelans (as of 2002) of various kinds in the United Kingdom, many of them based at colleges or community centres. University of York was the first British university to purchase a gamelan, named Kyai Sekar Patak; it is still played by students there. The oldest community Gamelan group in the UK is the Oxford Gamelan Society, which plays Kyai Madu Laras, donated to the University of Oxford's Bate