'Tingkilan': Ancient song from East Kalimantan
'Tingkilan': Ancient song from East Kalimantan
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Sangatta, East Kalimantan
It might have been just another ordinary night in the small town of Sangatta in East Kalimantan, but when local music show Tingkilan began playing under the starry sky, the night seemed to become more impressive.
Several familiar traditional and contemporary songs like Sangkuriang,Angin Mamiri and Titanic were played in the rhythm of Tingkilan, creating a unique sound and atmosphere.
The music was pleasing and relaxing.
"The music is beautiful, isn't it ?" a local friend said. "That's Tingkilan played in a modern way."
Later on, the artists were applauded for their good Tingkilan performance before they took a break.
Ismed Rizal, a leader of Tingkilan music group Tunas Rimba admitted most of visitors were usually delighted with the show because it was unique.
"It's a rare kind of music which is unfamiliar to most people. We modernized it so that everyone could find it easy to listen to."
According to him,Tingkilan emerged in the 1300s when Islam began to spread its influence in the oldest kingdom in the country, Kutai, established in about 400 A.D.
At that time, he said, Tingkilan only used a few types of musical instruments like a kind of guitar namely gambus, two types of drum: rebana and ketipung.
According to website kutaikertanegara.com, Tingkilan is now performed with various music instruments:gambus, rebana, ketipung, and violin.
It is also accompanied by singers who present traditional songs namely Betingkilan, meaning to answer back and forth.
That night, the music show was conducted by seven local artists, four male musicians playing gambus, bass guitar, small guitars and cello, and three female singers.
They wore traditional costumes, Dodot for the men and Taqwo for the women, both were in the old-fashioned style of the Kingdom of Kutai.
Ismed said there are several Tingkilan music groups in East Kalimantan, but Tunas Rimba might be the only modern Tingkilan music group.
Tunas Rimba was established in 1980 as a contemporary vocal group and has so far won 38 awards.
But after 10 years, the group transformed itself into a Tingkilan group in order to introduce the traditional music to people among fierce competition between modern music bands. The band started developing the traditional music with a modern style, which was to prove popular.
They won second place in The National Traditional Music Competition in the mid-1990s.
It has also become a reputable music group performing its distinctive Tingkilan to prominent figures like former president Abdurrahman Wahid, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and other national guests.
Ismed said he was very proud of his group's achievement and was working hard to improve it.
"We are always trying to maintain our standards and improve our performance.
"Some of our musicians are teenagers because we want Tingkilan to exist beyond our group," he said.
However, Ismed added he was disappointed with his local people because many hadn't given enough respect to Tingkilan.
"This is a pity. Visitors love us but many of our people don't," he moaned.
Therefore, he hoped the local tourism department would move forward with its efforts to preserve the presence of Tingkilan.