'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.