Imperiled ethnic music breaks concert record<\/p>\n
Pandaya, The Jakarta Post, Manado, North Sulawesi<\/p>\n
It was a record-breaking folk music revelry at Klabat Sports
\nStadium.<\/p>\n
Thousands of townsfolk flocked to the stadium last Saturday,
\ndancing the poco-poco and humming to the thunderous bamboo music
\norchestra played by a colossal collaboration of 2,155 people from
\nsome 50 groups from across the province.<\/p>\n
After a two-kilometer street parade from the provincial police
\nheadquarters to the stadium, they played 11 songs ranging from
\nlocal folk to gospel and Western pop oldies.<\/p>\n
It offered the fun-loving Manadonese a rare treat to sway to
\nthe romantic waltz and energetic poco-poco in the sunset.<\/p>\n
The Dji Sam Soe Bamboo Music Festival, named after the
\ncigarette maker that sponsored it, was a successful undertaking
\nto break into the Museum of Indonesian Records (MURI), a
\nSemarang-based museum founded by traditional herbal medicine
\n(jamu) entrepreneur Djaya Suprana.<\/p>\n
\"It is a national and probably international record in terms
\nof the number of people playing bamboo music in a single
\ncollaboration,\" Djaya said.<\/p>\n
Musik bambu (bamboo music) that the orchestra play is
\nindigenous to North Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
There are no documents on the music genre but local elders
\nestimate that it began around 1830 in outlying areas in the
\nmountainous north of the island.<\/p>\n
Musik bambu is a transformation of the ancient way of
\ncommunication using bamboo tools as other ethnic groups, such as
\nJavanese, also did.<\/p>\n
Originally all instruments were bamboo. In the course of time
\nChristian missionaries coming to the area in the 1860s introduced
\nnew instruments such as the clarinet, drum, cymbal and cello.
\nThey \"modernized\" the art with western touches. And there came
\ntango, waltz and gospel tunes.<\/p>\n
The music, which is played by between 40 and 60 people, is
\nperformed at practically all occasions, from weddings to formal
\nceremonies in government offices.<\/p>\n
Until the 1970s, it had been a favorite indigenous art for
\nshows at private parties where people sang and danced the night
\naway to the music.<\/p>\n
But now the older generation is singing its swan song: The
\nbamboo music is losing out to pop culture, be it national or
\nwestern. Last week's colossal festival also showed signs of a
\ngigantic problem -- lack of regeneration. Most participants were
\nold.<\/p>\n
\"Youngsters are ashamed to play the traditional music,\" said
\nMeydi Uguy, a Manadonese elder.<\/p>\n
The bamboo music is but one of the endangered indigenous arts.
\nBia, music with instruments made of sea shells that was popular
\namong Sangir islanders from the northern tip of Sulawesi, is
\nanother.<\/p>\n
The wooden kolintang music is also losing the battle against
\npop culture. Cakalele dance, a one-time sacred war dance, and
\nMaengket dance are also sounding distress calls.<\/p>\n
Almost all of the about 80 groups are from villages in the
\nmountains, where traditional values are preserved.<\/p>\n
In fact the colossal bamboo music festival aimed to
\nreinvigorate the drive to save the endangered North Sulawesi
\ncultural icon.<\/p>\n
The provincial government is considering holding bamboo music
\nfestivals on an annual basis. In some districts, like Tombatu,
\nBelang and Ratahan, bamboo music is taught as extracurricular
\nsubjects in schools.<\/p>\n
Not only that, North Sulawesi is also doing everything to
\npromote bamboo music nationally. In the commemoration of
\nIndonesia's first president Sukarno's birthday in June, North
\nSulawesi sent a 1,500-strong bamboo music group to perform in
\nBung Karno Sports Stadium in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
But commercially, the prospect is up in the air because even
\nthough the bamboo music retains, to some degree, its popularity
\namong the older generation, it lacks financial appreciation. A
\nnight-long show costs between a mere Rp 250,000 (about US$28) and
\nRp 1.5 million (about US$167), depending on the band's degree of
\npopularity. As a company consists of up to 60 musicians, the pay
\nis not worth staying up to blow the gargantuan instruments.<\/p>\n
\"It's barely enough to buy a glass of Cap Tikus,\" quipped Eddy
\nPelealu, a member of the Community of Bamboo Music, the umbrella
\ngroup of bamboo music groups throughout North Sulawesi. Cap Tikus
\nis locally-made alcohol that many partygoers cannot go without.<\/p>\n
Financially unrewarding indeed. This probably explains why
\nthere are no professional exponents of bamboo music. People play
\nthe music as a hobby in their spare time.<\/p>\n
\"They are mostly farmers,\" said Pelealu.<\/p>\n
People in North Sulawesi are anxious that the government's
\npromise to help preserve and promote local arts is honored.<\/p>",
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