Sumatra's music heritage on show

Sumatra's music heritage on show

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang

Its shape is very plain. A piece of wire, the size of a coconut
leaf rib, coils at a length of six centimeters, and both its ends
meet. In the middle of the coil, a smaller piece of wire with a
small lever protrudes at the end of the wires that meet. At a
glance, it looks like a belt buckle, but larger in size.

In the hands of an artist, the simple instrument can produce a
range of extraordinary tunes. It is played by blowing on it to
make a melody by moving the lever with the forefinger. It is
called the genggong.

The Genggong is a traditional wind instrument from Payakumbuh,
West Sumatra. The instrument is usually played by a young man to
free himself of the longing to be with his lover, to bring
solace, or played during rice harvests, which is now seldom, as
it is now hard to find.

However, the musical instrument from Sumatra island can be
seen at the Pesona Nada Pulau Andalas (Enchanting Melody of
Sumatra) exhibition, displaying Sumatra's traditional music
instruments at the Adityawarman Museum on Jl. Diponegoro, Padang,
which started from Sept. 6, and will run through the next two
months.

As many as 99 traditional musical instruments from eight
provinces in Sumatra are on exhibit, from Aceh, North Sumatra,
Riau, West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra and Lampung.

Most of them are rare and probably seldom heard or seen by the
younger generation from where they originated and are still being
played.

In general, the traditional instruments displayed at the
exhibition are divided into three groups -- wind, string and
percussion instruments.

In addition to exhibiting the 99 traditional instruments from
the eight provinces (each province displaying 10 to 17 pieces),
the exhibition also displays photographs showing artists playing
the instruments on video clips and documentary films. Visitors
can see and hear the musical instruments of each province.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Director General of History
and Archeology of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Harri
Untoro Drajat on Sept. 6.