Dayaks play 'senggayung' according to tradition

Dayaks play 'senggayung' according to tradition

By Erma S. Ranik

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): Fruit harvest time is much
awaited by Dayak Jalai people. For the Dayak people living in the
bigger part of Jelai Hulu subdistrict in Ketapang regency, the
fruit harvest season is not only the time to enjoy the fruit, but
also to play senggayung, one of their traditional and ritual
music genres.

To Dayak Jalai people, music is not just a form of
entertainment. It also plays a very important role in their
traditional rituals. The well-known Dayak Jalai music is Gamal
(gamelan or traditional orchestra) and kanjan). This music used
to be played during a traditional ritual of re-burial of deceased
parents. Gamal and Kanjan is played on gong and gamelan
instruments.

Unlike gamal and kanjan, senggayung played on a simpler
instrument. To create senggayung is not very difficult. You just
go to the forest and choose two pieces of fresh bamboo having
sufficiently long joints. One piece should be mature bamboo and
the other younger.

The length of each bamboo piece should be two joints. Half of
a joint is removed from each piece and the two pieces are
mutually "knocked" to a regular rhythm. The senggayung music is
there to be heard.

Seemingly, this music is not very difficult to play, but it
is. The problem is that not every Dayak Jalai person is allowed
to play this music. There are traditional rules.

The time to play senggayung music in Jalai tradition is the
fruit harvest season. All fruit trees planted in the garden and
in the pedahasan (traditional orchard) must yield fruit. If any
tree does not yield fruit, then senggayung may not be played.
It's not surprising that senggayung music is only played once
every three to five years.

The prohibition to play Senggayung music at will stems from
the legend of the birth of the music itself. Senggayung,
according to Dayak Dalai legend, is not normal music but music
belonging to the spirit.

The local belief has it that people could play senggayung
after a male spirit named Bujang Tengkuang fell in love with a
woman named Sibunsu. This woman was then brought to the spiritual
realm. In this spirit realm Sibunsu saw a great number of fruit
trees. She also witnessed the spirits playing senggayung at
harvest time.

Though already having two children, Sibunsu didn't feel at
home there. She escaped back to earth together with her daughter,
bringing with her fruit seeds from the spirits' realm, which she
planted.

Years later, at harvest time, Sibunsu's daughter played
senggayung. This activity was strictly prohibited. The result was
that Sibunsu and the people of her village suffered from various
kinds of diseases. Out of mercy, the former husband of Sibunsu
asked his son to go down to earth to cure Sibunsu and the people
of her village. He also sent a message proclaiming that the
people were permitted to play senggayung, provided they first
asked permission of the spirits who are owners of this music.

Ritual

It is not surprising that the playing of senggayung should be
preceded by a ritual. Here lies the role of a damung (head of
custom). He must know whether all fruits in the pedahasan have
ripened. If so, the damung will initiate the traditional ritual
as a sign for the consent of playing senggayung.

According to Jinar, head of Jalai's Studio, senggayung should
be played by three people. In the Jalai dialect the three persons
are called Anak Jaulaq, Pengait and Pindai. Anak Jaulaq plays the
melody, Pengait bass, and Pindai drum, Jinar explained. Therefore
the players must be capable of combining the knocks of their
senggayung into a harmonious rhythm.

The musical ritual of senggayung has specific kinds of rhythm.
According to Jinar there are 33 kinds. Therefore a senggayung
player can be considered expert if he can master all of the
rhythms. "If such is achieved, many will come to learn", said
Jinar.

Senggayung, in the eyes of Benjamin Eframin, an ethno-
musician, has specific characteristics.

"The tone interval is half lost", he explained. This loss,
according to Benjamin, is found between the tone of la and sol.
This, according to him, is not only found in senggayung music but
also in almost all Dayak musical pieces.

According to this ethno-musician who is a graduate of the
Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Yogyakarta, not all people can
comprehend it, "let alone if there are dozens of kinds of
rhythm", he added. If not seriously interested in it, he says
nobody could master senggayung". The same concern was also
expressed by Jinar. "Now only old people can master the whole
senggayung rhythm", he complained.

Worried

Therefore Jinar is somewhat worried that the coming Dayak
Dalai generation will be fully unfamiliar with senggayung rhythm.
Moreover, with the introduction of VCD to villages, youngsters
prefer to sing karaoke to learning senggayung", he complained.

For Benjamin, the introduction of outer culture to Jalai
people is unavoidable. "But it can't be an excuse for being
reluctant to learn senggayung," he pointed out.

He said the younger generation has been hindered from playing
senggayung by the mechanism of the music itself. "It is difficult
enough to teach the entire senggayung rhythm if the music is only
played during fruit harvest season," he said.

But according to Bidau, a traditional damung from Tanjung,
this rule is inflexible. "If we don't follow the tradition, who
else will do it?" Badu asked.