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.