Center for
Kertuk Buluh
Che Zawawi bin Abdullah who lives in Kampung Limbat, Pasir Mas, Kelantan is a maker of Kertuk Kelapa Daun Buluh. More commonly known as Pok Awi, he is an activist in Kelantan of various art forms such as Silat Kelantan, Rebana Ubi, Main Puteri as well as Kertuk. He is also a traditional musical instrument maker and is known as one of the few in Kelantan who are able to make the Kertuk Kelapa Daun Buluh.
Our arrival at Pok Awi’s house was greeted by the antics and shrieks of a baby monkey in a nearby shed. Nameless as yet, Pok Awi informs that the monkey had been caught from young to be trained early to climb the tall coconut trees to retrieve coconuts for the multitude of uses including creating the Kertuk Kelapa Daun Buluh instrument.
Pok Awi tells us that during the days when he was still a young man, the Kertuk Kelapa Daun Buluh was played in a set of 6 coconuts which the Tok Juara tunes to play the same note. There would be competitions across the villages to play the Kertuk Kelapa Daun Buluh. Sadly, such events no longer occur today. He shows us how to make the Kertuk Kelapa Daun Buluh from selecting the right coconut to cutting the hole in the coconut, scraping the coconut meat out, testing the coconut chamber for cracks by putting water inside, making the bamboo daun (leaf) which will function as a tone bar, and creating the beater from the stalk of the coconut flower sheathe.
Kertuk Colek
Hamzah bin Yusof, fondly known as Pok Jah, is one of the still-active music instrument makers from Kelantan. He is also the Penghulu (village leader) of Kampung Gelang Mas in the district of Wakaf Bharu near Kota Bharu town. He is known for his skill of making traditional music instruments such as cepuling, kertuk daun buluh, cak, gendang kecapi and kertuk colek. Pok Jah was introduced to these instruments particularly the gendang kecapi dan kertuk colek, by Ayah Mat, the previous Tok Gawa (village leader in Kelantanese dialect) and also a taxi driver. At that time, Ayah Mat, was looking for someone who is be able to make and to play the gendang kecapi dan kertuk colek for a traditional music ensemble "Orkestra Simfoni Kebudayaan Negeri Kelantan" which was funded by the Tourism Ministry and public donations. It was difficult to find a capable person and out of curiosity and passion for traditional music, Pok Jah volunteered himself to make and play the kertuk colek although he, at the time, was not so knowledgeable in the instrument. But after learning from other known music instrument makers at the time, he managed to make and learn how to play the instruments. Pok Jah joined the traditional ensemble and started to practice for a month to prepare for a tour in Kuala Lumpur. The gig lasted only a week because he could not agree with the members fighting among themselves for the post of the ensemble leader. After he left the group, he started a new group called Orkestra Simfoni Serangkai Emas (Golden Cluster Symphony Orchestra (sic)) which was self funded. Although he is still active in menora, main Petri, Mak Yong, wayang kulit, dikir barat and silat music, Pok Jah does not believe in getting acknowledgment in the form of awards or monetary. He personally does not want to compete between the practitioners for awards and he is unhappy at some practitioners who are more interested in profit for exchange of information on traditional music.
Gendang Kecapi
Ayah Man, whose real name is Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad aged 73 years is one of the traditional folk music instrument playing Gendang Kecapi that is still active. He settled in Kota Bahru, Kelantan. He was a special disable human being. Ayah Man lost his sight at the age of 5. However, he is a man who gritty and very talented. He was invited in many international event such as festivals in Hong Kong, Holland, Germany, Belgium, China and more. He had also received a medal award from the Sultan of Kelantan.
Ayah Man recognizes gendang Kecapi through his father who made it the musical instrument for Ayah Man to play during his free time. Gendang Kecapi are made from bamboo newly felled. According to Ayah Man Gendang Kecapi has been exists long time ago in the state of Kelantan.
Ayah Man’s Gendang Kecapi is now aged over 20 years have been modernized (new version) with the use of waste materials and the use of electronic sounds such as guitar pickups. According to him, the used of guitar strings because it's simple and easy to tune. The Sound of the instruments was also amplified with the used of the guitar amplifier. He said the instrument (new version gendang kecapi) needs more than 6 months to complete.
However, Ayah Man still remember the original Gendang Kecapi. According to him, the common reed are Buluh Dinding . However, Buluh Betung and Buluh Duri can also be used to create Gendang Kecapi. The difference is the size and thickness of the bamboo will produce a different tone of sound. Gendang Kecapi only used a segment (se ruas) of the bamboo, a hole at the top is for sound of gendang (percussion). The skin is to be lever to create a string and coated to sound the canang and gongs. According Ayah Man, an essential element of the sound of the Gendang Kecapi is canang, gong and gendang. According to him, the name given is from the kecapi wich packing the the canang and gong strings. This musical Instrument is played by only one person and not fit to play in groups. This is because each instrument created a different sound and tuning.
According to Ayah Man, there is a proposal to make the instrument from the pipe stick and plastic but according to him again the plastic pipes will be sound very soft and week. Most of the time the songs played were songs like wayang kulit, silat and Muzik Melayu Asli. According to him, he is the only person who still play this musical instrument. Unfortunately, now he rarely been invited to perform the instrument.
Togunggak
The togunggak is a bamboo idiophone and may have been the forerunner of the gong. While it is now rarely played amongst the Kadazan or Dusun, where it is known as togunggu or togunggak respectively, the Murut still play it frequently. Among the Muruts, the instrument is known as tagunggak. A togunggak set consists of six to seven pieces, each made from a bamboo section of a different diameter and height to give it its respective sound and pitch. The togunggak is played to the same rhythm as the gongs. This instrument is always played in a group during festivities such as the Harvest Festivals, weddings and other celebrative communal occasions.
Tongkungon
The tongkungon or tongkongan is a chordophone, a tube zither made entirely of one large section of poring bamboo. Often, one node at one end is perforated, while the other is left intact; a slit is cut on the entire length of the bamboo section, and to either side strips of the skin of the bamboo are carefully undercut to make the cords. Generally there are four to eight stings, but skilful players who make their own tongkungon might opt for up to 15 strings. Small pieces of cane or wood are placed under the cords at each end to alter their length and thus their pitch. The number and names of the strings, as well as the sound interval between their pitches correspond to the names of the gongs in the ensembles of their respective communities. In Tambunan the tongkungon has three strings to the right of the linapak (slit), and four to the right.
The instrument is popular not only among the Kadazandusun, but also amongst other ethnic groups in Sabah, and throughout Borneo. A very similar version of the tongkungon is produced and played by the ethnic entities of the southern Philippines.
Sompoton
The sompoton is an aerophone, and maybe the most fascinating of all the Sabahan native musical instruments. It is constructed from a dried gourd and eight bamboo pipes arranged in a double-layered raft. A small lamella of polod palm (like a tiny bungkau) is inserted in the side of each sounding pipe near its base. The pipes are fitted into a hole on one side of the gourd and sealed with bees wax. The lamellae lie inside the gourd and provide the sound of the completed instrument. The pipes are bound with thin strands of rattan, whereby one of the pipes has no sound; it is merely there to balance the bundle. By blowing and sucking the gourd's mouth, the player can produce a soft-sweet harmonious and continuous sound, not unlike the bagpipe. The sompoton can be played as a solo instrument for personal entertainment or in groups to accompany dancing. It is popular among the Kadazandusun, but variations of the sompoton can be found almost everywhere in Borneo, and other parts of South-East Asia.
