Ketebong drummers keep a sacred beat alive
THE Ibans of Borneo were once fruit gatherers and hunters. They settled in huge communities, normally along the main rivers.
In addition to their living skills in the jungles, they were wellknown for making and playing various instruments -- either for recreational or for ceremonial purposes.
One such instrument is their traditional drum or ketebong, regarded as a sacred instrument,
Marin Jiram, a third-generation Iban born in Ulu Medamit, remembers fondly how his elders like Tuai Rumah Aling played the ketebong.
This ancient and traditional drum, now very few in his longhouse, is made from a cylindrical piece of good wood (about 2 ? feet to 4 feet in length) like mengeris, nibong, tapang and other hardwood.
The centre is hollowed out with a smaller middle-section diameter compared to that of both ends of the wood, creating a cone shape at both extremities.
This allows the drummer;s fingers more contact with the drum’s skin while the other end helps to create a more amplified sound from the hollowed-out cylindrical wood.
Marin Jiram told thesundaypost: In the old days, we, children, were told the skin of old ketebongs was obtained from wild animals like deer, monkeys or even monitor lizards.
I remember being told by our Tuai Rumah preparing the skin was a very lengthy processas the skin had to be stretched.
But today, goatskin and many modern materials can be used. Some people even use PVC instead of wood for the body.
The people of Rumah Aling (formerly TR Anggut, the father Cikgu Nanta), would have seen the last of the old ketebongs, played during a special Gawai before Malaysia was formed.
Many of this group have passed on and many of the ketebongs, which could have been brought over from Ulu Skrang, were lost in the fires which broke out twice in Ulu Medamit.
The third and fourth generations would today be playing modern instruments like the guitar and the western drums with a few of the old ketebongs, inherited from those long-ago days.
Last drummer
Rayong anak Takit, one of the last traditional ketebong drummers (who used to join the Tuai Rumah), and good friend of TR Aling, is one of the few ketebong drummers of Rumah Aling. He was one of the players who welcomed guests to a traditional Gawai in the longhouse.
That kind of traditional reception was never seen again after Malaysia was formed because the younger folks cannot play ketebongs in the old style, and besides, many of the original ketebongs were lost in the longhouse fires many years ago.
Rayong who is now unfortunately hearing-impaired, has mentioned many times to the younger generation like Marin Jiram: It’s important to revive the playing of ketebongs as part of the Iban culture, not only in the longhouse but also as part of the performing arts.
I can only imagine the beautiful sounds of the ketebong played by my group. Now I can’t hear anything well.
Cikgu Samuel Tegap elaborated on how the skin of the drum was fixed.
The skin is stretched onto the front end of the drum, using thin rattan strings, trimmed to get rid of the sharp and rough edges. These are then fastened to a rattan ring which goes around the outer rim of the cylinder.
Small wedges are fashioned out of wood and slipped onto the rattan ring on which the rattan strings are fastened.
These wedges are driven into the ring to tighten the skin of the drum while at the same time, acting as a tuning mechanism for the drum. The wedges will be driven further into the ring to acquire a higher pitch in the tone of the drum.
Playing ketebong
Since time immemorial, the ketebong has only played been during Gawai or Gawa -- the only occasions traditional rituals are carried out to ask for blessings from or appease the ancient deities.
Guests were invited from neighbouring longhouses along the Limbang River for the special Gawai. Tuai Rumah Aling, then only a young man, played the ketebong well.
Today, he and maybe only two others can be considered the last traditional ketebong drummers, Marin Jiram said.
It seems there was even a qualification to play the ketebong -- only those who had performed the berjalai in their lifetime were eligible.
The ketebong, being so sacred, women were only allowed to watch from afar.
During a recent workshop in Sibu, Cikgu Samuel Tegap and a few others shared their knowledge.
The ketebong is played by beating the fingers against the walls of the drum skin -- by either putting the fingers close together (the tambit position) or creating a gap between each finger (the buka position).
When beating the skin of the drum, both of these actions would produce two distinct sounds, the side of the palm, adjoining the fingers, would rest on the brim of the drum, and only the fingers are whipped onto the surface of the drum skin.
In addition, the tune produced can also be determined by the pace and number of beats, created when beating the skin of the drum with both hands.
The player also needs to play the ketebong in a sitting position with both legs extended away from the body, at the same time, the knee (on the dominant hand) is lifted up so that the brim of the drum rests on the inner side of the knee.
Hence, when beating the drum, part of the palm near the hand would slap onto the knee. This action also helps to ensure only the drummer’s fingers hit the drum skin.
The hand would be fully extended away from the body to create better momentum when beating the drum skin.
However, the same technique could not be applied in the case of the other hand (the less dominant one). So the drummer would have to raise this hand high in the air.
These two actions would create an orchestrated movement of the hands and arms, at the same time enhancing the art of playing the ketebong.
Ketebong group
The ketebong may be played by seven to 11 drummers. When playing a tune, there are four different roles the drummers must undertake.
The first drummer would play the same beat repeatedly and it’s called indu. This beat is followed in succession by the second drummer, playing the beat that completes the beat made by the first drummer. The second drummer is called laki.
The third drummer’s role is to separate the beats made by the first and the second drummers, thus ensuring they do not follow each other’s pace.
The roles of the rest of the drummers would be to play the beat so that the tune they produced would harmonise the three different tunes, produced by the first three drummers together.
Moreover, the uniqueness of playing the ketebong is that numerous tunes could be produced and each of the tunes would require a different beat and pace on the part of the drummers in the group.
The skills of the drummers could be further put to the test by getting them to pass an object to each player beating the ketebong. This could be in the form of a glass full of rice wine (tuak) or a copper betel nut case.
Basically, the ketebongs produce two types of tunes -- for ceremonial and recreational purposes.
In the Batang Rejang Zone (Central Sarawak), the Ibans folk normally play gendang Rayah, gendang Betan, gendang Pampat, and gendang Kanto during ceremonial offerings or “miring”.
For recreational purposes, they would play gendang Tam Te Dumban, gendang Pelanduk Tinggang Batang, gendang Dumban Makai Pisang, Pisang Makai Dumban and gendang Enjun - Enjun Batang.
However, many more tunes can be created, according to the drummers creativity.
Culture and heritage According to Iban folklore, in ancient times, the Ibans lived peacefully with their deities (who now lived in the skies) in a place called Tampun Juah.
However, disputes between the Ibans, led by Buntak, and the deities led by Keling, eventually arose, causing them to part ways.
Initially, they were living in the same longhouse with Keling’s father as the chief. Later, the supporters of Buntak decided they had been treated harshly by Bungai Nuing, Keling’s righthand man. So they decided to break away from Keling and his followers.
Buntak led the Ibans into the interior of the land while Keling led his men into the sky or Panggau Libau.
Later, Buntak and his people held a festival called Gawai Batu and invited Keling and his people to feast with them on earth.
Keling and his people descended to earth to join them but unfortunately, this merry-making led to greater dissension between the peoples of the earth and the sky.
On his way back to the skies, Keling declared to Buntak they would no longer come for a visit or live together as they used to but instead would only come to their aid, if a ceremonial offering (miring) was made with a call to them for assistance.
The shaman (lemambang) would throw yellow glutinous rice and chant blessings (bebiau) to call out to the deities in the skies while the elders would play the ketebong to sound out the message to the skies that the people of the earth are holding a feast to ask for their blessings.
Hence, it’s compulsory ceremonial offerings are made to please the deities in the skies. Failure to do so would portend tragic events.
What does the future hold for the ketebong?
According to Cikgu Samuel Tegap, the sound of the ketebong is the sound of the rainforest and our people.
When we beat our drums, our passions for our music are revealed. We need drums to raise our souls to the skies. We need the music of the ketebong to bring blessings to our people and our land, he said.