Avoiding Extinction, Safeguarding Culture: The Role of Sarawak

Cultural Village in Preserving Melanau Music-culture

Nadia Widyawati Binti Madzhi

Fakulty of Muzik, University of Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Keywords: Melanau Music-Culture, Sarawak Cultural Village, Preservation, Revival.

Abstract: Sarawak, located on the island of Borneo, is Malaysia’s biggest state and home to more than 20 ethnic groups

who practice an array of diverse cultures, which includes the Melanau people. A minority group which

represents about six percent of Sarawak’s total population, the Melanau people are originally Animists who

venerated the spirits of nature, which for a long time has influenced their way of life, including its music-

culture. However, presently they are mostly Muslims and due to religious factors many of its culture are no

longer being practiced. To prevent the Melanau music-culture from becoming extinct, the Sarawak Cultural

Village (or famously known as the SCV) was then set up by the Sarawak government of which among its

main objective is to expose the heritage of the various ethnic groups in Sarawak - including the Melanau - to

both local and international tourists. The SCV is a living museum that not only showcases the traditional

music and dance of the Melanau but also home to the only Melanau tall house that still exist today. Using

ethnomusicological approach, this paper discusses how the SCV has contributed to the preservation of

Melanau music-culture. In collecting the data participant observations were conducted and interviews were

held with Melanau culture bearers who up to this day maintains close relationship with the SCV. The findings

reveal that the SCV is a leading revival agent particularly in promoting Melanau tradition and heritage at

both local and international levels.

1 INTRODUCTION

Malaysia consists of two almost similarly sized

regions—Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian

Borneo, which are separated by the South China Sea.

Sarawak, along with Sabah is located on Borneo

Island. As the biggest state in Malaysia, Sarawak is

home to more than 30 ethnic groups, which practice a

variety of unique cultures, including the Melanau.

The Melanau group is a minority that represents six

percent of the Sarawak’s total population of which

traditionally, they were Animists who venerated the

spirits of nature known as Ipok. Melanau cosmology

(kepercayaan tradisi) was perhaps the most important

influence on the people’s way of life, including their

musical arts.

However, presently, the great majority of the

Melanau are Muslims, followed by the Christians.

Religious issues have arguably caused the Melanau to

neglect their culture, for, their traditional customs

(adet) including its music-culture are strongly

influenced by their ancestral beliefs. Adet that was

once a pivotal tenet of their daily lives began to be

neglected. The music- culture that had been

embedded into the adet slowly relinquished its vitality

and viability, causing the present Melanau people to

become almost completely oblivious of their musical

tradition and heritage.

Indeed, Melanau music-culture is on the verge of

extinction and like the music of many other minority

ethnic groups around the world, may be categorised

as endangered. Efforts were made to prevent this

situation from worsening during which in 1990 the

revitalization movement gained momentum when the

Sarawak Cultural Village (Kampung Budaya

Sarawak) came into existence. The Sarawak Cultural

Village – or famously known as the SCV among the

locals - is the only living museum in Sarawak, set up

by the Sarawak Economic Development Cooperation

(SEDC) with the objective to expose the heritage of

the major ethnic groups in Sarawak to both local and

international tourists.

Therefore, this paper will discuss how the SCV

has become the leading revival agent particularly

through the re-creation of Tarian Alu-Alu and pretap

musical instrument. Participation observations and

Madzhi, N.

Avoiding Extinction, Safeguarding Culture: The Role of Sarawak Cultural Village in Preserving Melanau Music-culture.

DOI: 10.5220/0008764903630369

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 363-369

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

363

interviews were conducted with Melanau cultural

bearers, all of whom are also working closely with the

SCV in the efforts to revitalize Melanau almost-

disappearing musical heritage.

2 AN OVERVIEW OF THE

MELANAU PEOPLE OF

SARAWAK

2.1 Religion

Melanau mythological cosmology (kepercayaan

tradisi) was perhaps the most important factor which

influences the people’s way of life. Traditionally, the

Melanau were Animists who venerated the spirits of

nature, which were known by various names,

including ipok, ipuk, jin, tow, duhig or ammow,

though the great majority of Melanau simply call

them ipok or ipuk. The Animist Melanau, better

known as Melanau Likou, believe that the world

consists of three parts: the Upper World (likou bah

au), the Middle World (likou dagen duan), and the

Under World (likou bah dibak), with humans living

in the Middle World. Each world (dunia) is guarded

by benign (ipuk) and evil (ipok) spirits who live in

different parts of the dunia, in places such as the sea,

mountains, rocks, sky, forest and riverbanks. Humans

must not upset them for fear of attracting misfortune

(buwen), and therefore, the Melanaus practice

numerous taboos (palei) that must be strictly adhered

to in many aspects of their daily lives (Jeniri

1988:173)

Presently, only about one per cent of the Melanau

people are practising Animists. The majority of

Melanaus today are Sunni Muslims, though there are

also a large number of Christians (Catholic and

Sidang Injil Borneo). Sidang Injil Borneo, or simply

the SIB as the locals call them, are ‘the fruits of labour

of the Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM)’. Based on

historical records, Islam was brought by Arab traders

to the region as early as the 15th century. Its influence

further expanded when the Sultanate of Brunei took

control of Sarawak. During the mid-19th century, in

the era of the White Rajahs, it is alleged that

missionaries brought in the Christian religion. As a

result of the domination of these two monotheistic

religions, most Melanaus gradually relinquished their

animist beliefs.

2.2 Social Class: The Pangkat Pikul

System

Historically, the Melanaus had a social class system

that was especially apparent in the practice of their

adet, mainly during marriage and death ceremonies.

Presently, some of these customs are still being

practiced. The social ranking system among the

Melanaus people, is known as Pangkat Pikul. The

Pangkat Pikul is headed by the Orang Sembilan Pikul

(the Nine-Rank Noblemen), followed by the Orang

Tujuh Pikul (the Seven-Rank Commoners), the

Orang Tujuh Betirih (the Seven-Rank Freemen) and

the Orang Empat Betirih or Dipen (the Four-Rank

Servants), respectively. The Orang Sembilan Pikul

practices a certain set of customs exclusive to their

standing. For example, when there is a death among

the Orang Sembilan Pikul, a group of musicians

would play music on a set of gongs, which could not

be played for those who were not Nine-Rank

Noblemen.

There is, however, one more rank in Melanau society:

the Orang Lima Belas Pikul (the 15-People),

sometimes known as the Pangeran (‘prince’), though

some Melanaus claim that the Orang Lima Belas

Pikul and Pangeran are different from each other

(Yasir 1989: 201). The term Pangeran is closely

related to the people of Brunei, and it still widely used

today. It is claimed that the Melanau people of this

category are not ‘original’ (asli) Melanau, as they

were born of Brunei-Melanau parentage. Prior to the

mid-19th century during which Sarawak was under

the power of the Brunei Sultanate, many of the

Sultan’s officials stayed with the Melanau

community. A number of them married the daughters

of the local leaders and their offspring carried the title

Pangeran as a prefix to their names. Presently, while

the majority of the Melanau people no longer practice

the Pangkat Pikul system, a relatively small number

of them still maintain the adet system in some death

and marriage ceremonies.

2.3 Language

The Melanau people speak both the Melanau

language (Bahasa Melanau) and the Malay-Sarawak

language (Bahasa Melayu Sarawak). Although

Bahasa Melayu Sarawak is one of the many dialects

of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu), most people

outside of Sarawak do not really understand or use

this dialect. One needs to be familiar with it in order

to understand and use it. However, all Sarawakians

are able to speak Bahasa Malaysia, the official

language of Malaysia, which is the medium of

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instruction in all primary and secondary schools

throughout Malaysia, and in all official

communications and discourses as well. The locals

call this language ‘Bahasa Semenanjung’, or the

language of the Peninsular, and they usually converse

in this language with anyone who comes from

Peninsular Malaysia, who are even called by some

locals as ‘Orang Malaya’.

According to Zaini Oza (1989: 241), the Melanaus

consist of six subgroups that are identified according

to the similarities in their dialect: Melanau Mukah-

Dalat (Mukah, Dalat, Oya, Sungai Kut), Melanau

Matu-Daro (Matu, Daro, Oulau Beruit, Batang Lasa),

Melanau Kuala Rajang (Rajang, Jeijeh, Belawai,

Segalang, Paloh), Melanau Sibu (Sibu, Kanowit,

Tanjong, Igan, Banyuk), Melanau Bintulu (Bintulu,

Tatau, Niah, Sungai Kemena, Sebiew) and Melanau

Balingian. Each Melanau subgroup has its own

Bahasa Melanau dialect, which is said to be

comprehensible to all, regardless of which subgroup

they belong to, although some claim that the Melanau

Bintulu dialect is hardly understood by the other

Melanau subgroups.

According to the locals, few hundreds years ago

the Old Melanau language (Bahasa Melanau Klasik)

is somewhat different from its present usage. Present-

day Melanaus do not speak Old Melanau, and only a

small number of elderly Melanaus can still

understand it. This language was widely used in

traditional Melanau vocal music, especially in the

various chants (tigaps) performed in many traditional

rituals such as healing ceremonies as well as in

traditional games and work-related activities.

Words like “is”, “or”, “then”, etc should not be

capitalized unless it is the first word of the subsection

title.

No dot should be included after the subsection

title number.

2.4 The Malay-Melanau Identity Crisis

Malay (Melayu) culture has greatly influenced the

lifestyle of the Melanau, with whom people of Malay

descent have had a long association. One can only

assume that this happened because of the conversion

of the many formerly Animist Melanau to Islam.

When someone converts to Islam in Malaysia, he or

she is said to ‘become Malay’ (masuk Melayu) and is

therefore expected to lead a life like other Malays,

with no explanation. The Malays, who are

constitutionally Muslim, represent the largest ethnic

group in Malaysia.

The process of Malaynisation is greater among the

Melanau than the other ethnic groups and this it has

affected the way they perceive themselves. A large

number of Muslim Melanau now prefer to be known

as either Malay-Melanau or Malay. According to

history, by the early 19th century Sarawak had

become a loosely governed territory under the control

of the Brunei Sultanate during which the Melanaus

were introduced to Islam and Malay culture. Some

historians believe that the people of Brunei were in

contact with Sarawak as early as the 15th century but

there are insufficient historical documents to confirm

this theory. In governing Sarawak, the Sultan of

Brunei placed his representatives—Malay nobles

commonly known as Pangerans—in various

territories along the Rajang River. The Pangerans

were also responsible for collecting tributes from the

inhabitants of the respective territorial dominions.

There, the Pangeran stayed and mixed with the local

people, some of whom married the local women who

were mostly of aristocratic lineage (such as the

daughters of the village headmen), thus indirectly

‘forcing’ the females to become Muslims.

Apparently, proselytisation was never a part of the

Sultan’s agenda —he was more interested in

collecting tributes than converting the Melanaus to

Islam—but intermarriage certainly contributed to the

early Islamisation of its people. Thus, the Melanau

began to adopt a Malay life style and speak Malay.

Clearly, the criteria defining ‘Malay’ as stipulated

in the Constitution to some extent parallels the criteria

defining of a Melanau in the case of those who have

converted to Islam. The Malays of Brunei and the

Melanau have been in contact for at least 170 years,

making the Melanau to be one of the earliest ethnic

groups in Sarawak to have largely adopted the Malay

culture. Other ethnic groups, such as the Iban and

Bidayuh, mostly lived in the interior parts of Sarawak

and had very little contact with the Brunei officials

3 THE SARAWAK CULTURAL

VILLAGE: HOME OF THE

MELANAU’S TARIAN ALU-

ALU AND PRETAP MUSICAL

INSTRUMENT

Being one of the most popular tourist destinations in

Malaysia, the SCV has come a long way. Located

nearly 35 km from the town of Kuching on 17 acres

of land at the foothills of the legendary Mount

Santubong, the SCV serves as a living museum where

visitors can witness the lifestyle of several ethnic

groups native to Sarawak, namely, the Iban, the

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365

Bidayuh, the Melanau, the Orang Ulu, the Penan, the

Chinese and the Malays.

The SCV was established in 1989 by the Sarawak

Economic Development Cooperation, and houses one

of the most popular cultural groups (Artis Budaya

Kampung Budaya Sarawak), which has won

numerous awards in dance competitions in Malaysia

and overseas. By purchasing an entry ticket for USD

20, visitors can not only enjoy a 45-minute cultural

show held at the Theatre Hall, they can also visit the

fascinating longhouses that stand majestically amid

the lush green foothills, amongst which stands the one

and only Melanau tallhouse in Sarawak

Despite the success of SCV in promoting and

preserving the musical arts of the various ethnic

groups in Sarawak, at the beginning of its existence

the SCV was not well supported by the locals,

including several people who held high positions in

the state government, for reasons that were somewhat

personal. A significant proportion of the traditional

music and dance of Sarawak is ritual-related, and it

was perceived by some that to perform it for the sake

of ‘tourist entertainment’ was offensive. In addition,

it was also made known that some ethnic groups were

not very happy with the idea of ‘other’ people

performing their music and dance, for instance, when

Malay dancers performing the Iban dance. To them,

their music and dance could only perform only by

their own people. They were, undeniably, very

protective of their own culture.

Besides this, the dances performed in the daily

cultural show at the SCV were newly created dances

(tarian kreasi baru), which included new elements but

retained most of their traditional components. This, to

some locals, was an act they deemed disrespectful to

their original traditions. For example, the colour of

the dance costumes of almost all Sarawak ethnic

groups was black, but for the purpose of tourist

attraction, coloured costumes were created (Kak

Mida, personal communication, 21 February 2012).

Initially all SCV dancers wore black costumes, but

because one of the feedback they received from the

tourists was that they were having difficulties in

distinguishing which dance belonged to which ethnic

group, the coloured costumes were instituted for the

dances.

Nevertheless, the difficulties that were

encountered did not dampen the spirits of those

working at the SCV. After almost ten years of

operation, the locals finally realised that the purpose

of the SCV was to preserve their musical arts for the

appreciation of future generations (Kak Mida,

personal communication, 21 February 2012). In fact,

a substantial number of dance troupes have been seen

imitating the dances created by the SCV when they

perform in various local dance competitions (Abang

Jo, personal communication, 22 February 2012).

Thus, the SCV, to some extent, has influenced the

music-culture of the Sarawak people.

3.1 Tarian Alu-Alu

One of SCV’s efforts in preserving Melanau musical

arts is through the re-creation of Tarian Alu-Alu, a

newly created dance that was inspired from a

traditional game played during a mourning period, a

period known as peligin. A peligin can last up to 15

days after the funeral during which fellow visitors

would conduct various activities to not only fill their

time - especially when they had to stay awake at night

– but also to entertain the deceased’s family members

who were grieving due to the loss of their loved one.

Storytelling and ‘guessing’ games (teka-teki) were

among the activities that were frequently held during

the peligin period of which stories such as local

heroes, myths and legends were told. Teka-teki, on

the other hand, could have any matter as its subject,

and this guessing game was among the most popular

peligin activities, attracting quite a crowd.

The alu game (permainan alu) was another traditional

game that was frequently played during the peligin

period. As the name suggests, alu refers to a five feet-

long wooden pestle, commonly used in pounding

sago and rice. Two players would sit across each

other cross-legged on the floor and as they held one

end of a pair of alu, the game was played by clacking

the alu together and onto the floor in a prescribed

rhythmic pattern, during which the other players

jumped in and out of the clacking pestles. To avoid

having their feet hit by the clacking alu, the players

must first carefully observe and identify the rhythmic

pattern before attempting to step between the alu.

When the players had succeeded in doing so, usually

the two players who were clacking the alu would

deliberately increase the tempo until eventually, it

was almost impossible for anyone to play without

getting their feet caught between the wooden

pounders.

Apart from clacking the alu, the players would use

them to play another game. After positioning an alu

vertically on the floor and placing a coconut shell

(tempurung kelapa) on its peak, several players would

hold the alu, after which one particular player would

place his stomach onto the tempurung kelapa. The

players underneath him would then spin the alu as fast

they could, with the player on top resembling a

human helicopter. The alu game was indeed a fun and

popular game among the youngsters, especially for its

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acrobatic elements. Despite the fact that one can no

longer see this game performed after a funeral (for the

now predominantly Muslim Melanau no longer

practice the peligin period, nor do the Christian

Melanau), there is one particular place where one can

see its performance. Today, the alu game is being

presented in the form of a newly created dance (tarian

kreasi baru) that was first popularised by the dance

troupe of the SCV.

According to my informants, the person responsible

for creating this dance is Mr Ramli Ali, a

choreographer at the SCV who is also a Melanau.

Prior to the birth of the SCV, Ramli Ali and few SCV

dancers and musicians had gone to various places

around Sarawak, especially to the interior parts where

they conducted research concerning the traditional

dances involving the Bidayuh, Iban, Orang Ulu,

Melanau and the Malay groups. In relation to the

Melanau dance, Ramli and his team had gone to

Mukah in which where most Melanau elderly reside.

Upon completion of their research, Ramli Ali began

to put the ideas together and choreographed them into

a tarian kreasi baru, now famously known as Tarian

Alu-Alu. Ever since the emergence of this dance, the

SCV has been actively performing it, not just at their

daily cultural performances, but also in numerous

local and international festivals, cultural shows and

events. Indeed, the Tarian Alu-Alu is one of the

SCV’s defining acts and because it has become so

popular that apparently, other dance groups imitate its

choreography whenever they need to perform a dance

representing the Melanau group, since the Melanau in

general has acknowledged this tarian kreasi baru as

part of their culture.

According to Mr Ramli because the tarian kreasi baru

served to entertain the visitors of the SCV, they had

to make some adjustments to the original dance. For

example, although the alu game served to entertain

the deceased’s family during peligin, apparently the

players played them without getting ‘too happy’ as a

sign of respect for their recent loss. Therefore, in

playing this game, no one was allowed to smile, and

in addition, all moarners were required to wear black.

Bearing these facts in mind, the SCV dancers wore an

all-black costume when the Tarian Alu-Alu was first

performed in the 1990s, and they did not smile while

dancing on the stage.

This ‘grim-face’ Melanau dance drew much criticism

from the visitors, especially international tourists who

felt that the dancer’s facial expressions were rather

unpleasant. Moreover, their all-black attire was worn

not only during the Melanau performance, in fact, all

five dances had incorporated the black costumes,

resulting in the audience not being able to distinguish

which ethnic group that the dances belonged to (Kak

Mida, personal communication, 2012). Therefore, to

accommodate these demands, the SCV had to make

some changes to its stage presence. Now, the dancers

of the Tarian Alu-Alu are required to smile during

their performances, and they no longer wear all-black

costumes. Some Melanau are said to be rather

unhappy with these changes because they feel that

although the Tarian Alu-Alu is a newly created dance,

it should maintain the original traits of its

performance as closely as possible.

Additionally, there was one other issue that the locals

raised of which the local people were quite protective

of their own cultural heritage, to the point that only

their ‘own people’ could perform these dances. For

example, a Malay male dancer performed the Iban

dance, which caused some locals to disapprove such

‘intrusion’. Clearly, if the SCV were to abide to this

ruling it would be highly impractical. Nevertheless,

as time passed and upon seeing the SCV’s endless

efforts to promote and preserve their cultural heritage,

eventually the local people began to accept these

differences.

The daily 45-minute cultural show began with the

Iban, followed by the Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu

and Malay performances, respectively. The

performances were accompanied by live music,

played by a group of musicians who sat on a raised

platform located on the stage, facing the dancers and

the audience. They played on the engkromong,

canang, tawak, gong and beduk for almost all

performances, except for the Orang Ulu performance,

in which only the sape was played.

Based on my observation, the Tarian Alu-Alu

delighted most of the audience, especially its

acrobatic and game-like movements, in which the

bamboo poles were used instead of the wooden

pounders. The dancers comprised of four males and

females. While the female dancers wore a long-

sleeved blouse and a songket sarong with various

accessories on their costumes and hair, the male

dancers wore a long-sleeved top with a pair of pants.

Throughout this performance, the Tarian Alu-Alu

was accompanied by a musical ensemble, which

consisted of musical instruments such as an

engkromong, a canang, a tawak and a beduk (a single-

headed drum). The engkromong used in this

performance was made up of eight gong-chimes that

were laid horizontally in a wooden frame, and was set

to a hemitonic pentatonic scale (E, G, A, B, C1, E1,

G1, A1). In this piece, the engkromong played the

melody that was somewhat improvised yet orderly in

a certain way. It was entirely up to the engkromong

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player to decide on the number of bars he wished to

play for every phrase, but the melodic motif consisted

a series of three notes that was somewhat fixed.

The piece began with an introduction by the canang,

followed by the other musical instruments, which

cued the entrance of the dancers came. The piece was

performed in quadruple meter and in a relatively fast

tempo, mainly controlled by the beduk. As previously

stated, the engkromong played the melody freely,

without any restriction on the number of bars within

each musical pattern, and the canang, tawak and

beduk all played within a periodic rhythmic pattern.

3.2 PRETAP, The Extinct Melanau

Musical Instrument

Rainforest Music House is a gallery in the SCV that

exhibits a huge collection of Sarawak’s musical

instruments. At the Melanau musical instrument

section, however, contained the least number of

musical instruments in comparison to the other

Sarawak’s ethnic groups – only three. The double-

headed drum (gadeng) and a pair of gong that were

displayed are a common sight but the third instrument

was a rare sight. This musical instrument is known as

pretap.

This particular pretap was re-constructed by a well-

known Melanau cultural bearer who is also the man

responsible for designing the only Melanau tallhouse

that still exists in Sarawak, the tallhouse that is still

standing majestically in the SCV. He is fondly known

as Pak Sill, a man of which the SCV has worked

closely since its existence. In my interview with him,

Pak Sill claimed that in the past, the pretap and the

other three obsolete instruments were used on many

occasions, as supported by local legends. However,

most Melanau are no longer familiar with these

legends. Pak Sill, on the other hand, comes from a

family who treasures Melanau oral history and he

inherited many stories of the past from his

grandparents and parents. The various functions of

the obsolete musical instruments as well as the history

of the ceremonial canang, gong, tawak and

engkromong are described in those legends.

According to him, among the main reasons why the

Melanau are unaware of the pretap is simply because

it is not deemed to be a musical instrument.

According to tradition, the pretap was actually an

apparatus that was primarily used to locate people

who were lost in the forest. ‘Pretap’ is a Bahasa

Melanau Klasik word, which means ‘clapping’

(bertepuk); it is probably an onomatopoeia, reflecting

the sound it makes when beaten with a stick. It was

customary for the Melanau to go deep into the forests

in search of forest products, and they became forest

experts., If they got lost they were assumed taken by

the ipok. As mentioned earlier, the Melanau Likou

believed that the world is governed by the ipok, who

live in various parts of the world, with the forest being

one of their habitats.

In the past, when the villagers learned that a fellow

villager was lost in the forest, they immediately

formed a rescue group and carried the pretap with

them. The pretap is made from the species of yellow

bamboo (buluh gading) of which Pak Sill claims the

spirits are extremely afraid. Apparently, regarded as

a mystically potent plant by many Southeast Asians.

Some Malays plant the buluh gading in the compound

of their houses to protect them from being disturbed

by evil spirits (jin) sent by individuals who wish them

harm, usually for personal reasons (Madzhi, personal

communication, 10 January 2013). According to Pak

Sill, a group of rescuers would beat the pretap with a

stick and shout the lost man’s name as they walked

into the forest. Most members of the search team

would hit the pretap continuously and as loudly as

they could, hoping that the ipok would be terrified

when hearing the sounds of the pretap and would

release the victim. The pretap was beaten freely with

no fixed rhythm.

The SCV Rainforest House Gallery’s pretap was

made by Pak Sill and sold to the SCV in 1994. A

skilful craftsman, Pak Sill claims that he was involved

in every step of the construction of the pretap. He

even searched for and cut down the bamboo himself,

and then constructed the pretap in his small, home-

based workshop. The last pretap that he saw dated

back to 1952; it had belonged to his grandmother.

That pretap no longer exists, for it was eventually

used as firewood (kayu api) in hard times.

The process of making a pretap requires that certain

techniques must be followed strictly otherwise it will

rot. It is forbidden to cut down the bamboo during a

full moon (from the 25th day of the month and lasts

until the fifth day of the following month). If the

bamboo is cut down during a full moon, the pretap

will last only for three to four years, as it will most

probably be eaten by bubuk, a species of beetle that

feeds on wood. Pak Sill insisted that his

grandmother’s pretap was more than a hundred years

old, as he had been told that it was inherited by many

generations before it was finally handed down to his

grandmother. Because Pak Sill had constructed the

pretap by carefully following every tenet (petua) that

he knew, the 20-year old pretap at the SCV remains

solid to this day.

The pretap consists of several parts. The frame that

holds the structure of the entire pretap is constructed

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to hold several tubes of buluh gading and planed

wood. The base of the frame is made of four pieces of

planed wood tied together using rattan and arranged

into a rectangular shape, measuring 90 cm x 30 cm.

Next, two pairs of buluh gading about 85 cm in length

are placed vertically opposite each other and again

tied to a pair of planed wood strips.

Then, eight almost similar sized pieces of bamboo are

placed on a buluh gading structure that securely holds

them in place. Pak Sill claims that when played like a

musical instrument, these bamboo pieces’ function as

eight ‘keys.’ The eight horizontal ‘keys’, which are

cut from one piece of bamboo, are arranged in order

of the lower to the higher pitches; Pak Sill claims that

the thicker the bamboo, the higher the pitch when it is

beaten. In addition, two pairs of bamboo that are

about 77cm in length with two holes carved on their

surface are placed in between the frame and tied

vertically – these bamboos also serve as the ‘keys.’

The pretap is beaten, using a pair of wooden mallet.

Thus, when the pretap is converted into a musical

instrument, the player would beat on all 12 tubes of

bamboo ‘keys.’

Pak Sill reconstructed the pretap in the form of a

musical instrument that could easily be dismantled

and carried by rescuers. Weighing about 13 kg, the

pretap could generally be categorised as an unpitched

percussion instrument

4 CONCLUSIONS

Despite having been through many challenges, the

SCV no doubt has proven to be one of Sarawak’s

leading revival agents particularly in promoting

Melanau tradition and heritage. Through their newly

created Tarian Alu-Alu the great majority of the

Melanau people have collectively accepted the dance

as their identity to which many music and dance

troupes have actively perform in various local and

international competitions and festivals. The fact that

the SCV keeps a close relationship with many culture

bearers such as Pak Sill, is an effort that is deemed as

extremely essential, especially in making sure that

new dance/music creation are still being performed

within its original context.

The SCV has played an important role in helping to

define Melanau cultural identity, particularly through

the re-creation of Tarian Alu-Alu as a tarian kreasi

baru that has become so popular that it is recognised

as the signature dance of the Melanau. At the SCV the

voice of the remaining cultural bearers can also be

heard as they teach Melanau traditional songs and re-

create some of their obsolete music instruments in the

hope of reviving some of the musical arts for the

benefit of their own people. Indeed, the SCV is the

leading revival agent in Sarawak, showcasing

Melanau musical arts in a new form but at the same

trying to maintain some of the fundamental elements

of structure, content and style.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If any, should be placed before the references section

without numbering.

REFERENCES

Jeniri, Amir, 1988. Komuniti Melanau. In Adat Resam

Penduduk Sarawak. Sarawak, Dewan Bahasa dan

Pustaka Cawangan Sarawak.

Yasir, Abdul Rahman, 1989. Organisasi Sosial, The

Sarawak Museum Journal Vol. XL (61): 199-207

Zaini, Oza, 1989. Bahasa Melanau: Satu tanggapan awal,

The Sarawak Museum Journal Vol. XL(61): 231-46.

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