'Rapai pase' promotes peace in Aceh
'Rapai pase' promotes peace in Aceh
Nani Afrida
The Jakarta Post/Banda Aceh
As musicians toured several cities in Aceh to promote peace
during the two-day Rapai Pase festival, Idrus recalled a time 10
years ago when he used to enjoy playing his rapai drum.
"We used to compete with drummers from the neighboring
village. It was so much fun. Usually, when the competition ended,
the losing party would be upset," the 45-year-old told The
Jakarta Post.
The parade, which left Kutaraja in Banda Aceh on Sunday for
Peurelak in East Aceh, was held to welcome the peace deal between
the Indonesian government and the Aceh Free Movement (GAM). The
deal, scheduled to be signed on Aug. 15, could end decades of
fighting in the province.
Another resident, Muhammad Ami, 39, recalled the time when he
played the traditional musical instrument when he was a second
grader.
"I used to skip reciting the Koran just to play the rapai,"
said the man, whose family owns an 80-year-old rapai called
Putroe Cut. "It is a family heirloom."
Rapai pase is a traditional round drum made of wood and
leather originated from Pase, North Aceh. In North Aceh, rapai
pase is a folk art, usually played in rapai uroh, or a rapai
competition, among villages. In such competition, some 15 to 30
large rapai drums are played by competing teams.
"The members of the jury will stand a kilometer away from the
competition site to determine which group plays the best," Idris
said.
Unlike many competitions, the rapai competition would usually
begin at 9 p.m. and continue until dawn, before the morning
prayer. "The rapai would only stop at prayer time," Idrus said.
Rapai, which many people assume to be an Acehnese musical
instrument, is believed to have come to the province with the
arrival of Islam in the region, brought in by a Muslim preacher
Rifai, a pupil of the noted Syeh Abdul Kadir Djaelani.
Apart from rapai pase found in North Aceh and rapai uroh in
nearby district Bireuen, there are also the rapai likok, rapai
geleng, rapai tuwek and rapai pulot drums.
The making of rapai is not easy. Apart from using only select
wood, the maker should perform the Sapa Kayee ritual, which
literally means "a tree greeting".
A drum takes six months to complete, and local people believe
that if the drum is not played for a long time, music will come
from it on its own.
During the years of conflict in Aceh, the musical instrument
was abandoned, no longer played, and many of its drummers are
already over 40 years old.
"We lost a generation of rapai players," said Syamsuddin
Jalil, an Acehnese cultural observer who organized the parade.