13 join second Telang Usan Sape Heritage Training programme
MIRI: A total of 13 trainees have begun their two-year stint under the second Telang Usan Sape Heritage Training programme.
Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau, who officiated at the recent event supported by Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), said the first training programme involved 20 participants, who have since graduated.
“Some have been selected to become tutors for this second batch of trainees.
“With the success of these groups, I’m requesting SEB to continue with this noble effort for many more years and would also like to request them to consider organising training for youngsters to learn other Kayan and Kenyah traditional musical instruments such as tung, satung, keledi, and others. These musical instruments are hardly heard of today,” he said.
Besides playing the sape as a hobby or to keep the tradition alive, Dennis hoped that sape players could turn their unique skill into an income generating tool.
“We hope to have more people like Mathew Ngau – the Sape Master, who has successfully turned sape playing, coaching etc into his main income generator.
“Therefore I urge all the new trainees to take their lessons seriously. We hope to see you on your graduation day and I hope to see you play our much loved sape all over the country and even the world,” he said.
He added learning to play the sape could prevent youths from ge ing too engrossed with their gadgets and completely forget their culture, including the Nyivan Sin traditional dance.
“It is really sad to see very few modern day youths today who could perform their traditional dance. Even if there are, they are normally children who a end primary and secondary schools in rural areas,” he said.
He urged the Orang Ulu to preserve the originality of sape melodies by encouraging more members of the Kayan and Kenyah communities to play the musical instrument.
“To a true Orang Ulu of Kayan Kenyah origin, the legendary melody of sape can only be played by their own kind.
“I am one who could a est to this, because when I hear the true Orang Ulu sape melody played by an Orang Ulu sape musician, my body would feel like it wants to move to the rhythm. I don’t know why and I am sure my Orang Ulu brothers and sisters agree with me. This is the reality,” said the Telang Usan assemblyman.
He said while he welcomed other races, including foreigners, to learn to play the sape, there is a distinctive difference in the melody performed by skilful Orang Ulu or Kayan Kenyah sape musicians.
“That is why I travelled all the way to Long San today, not only as the guest of honour to this event but also to give my thanks especially to Sarawak Energy Berhad for their efforts in supporting the sape training session, especially held here in Ulu Baram.
“This gives the opportunity for Kayan and Kenyah youths to learn to play the sape instrument while at the same time, keeping this beautiful tradition and culture of ours alive among the Orang Ulu of Ulu Baram,” he added.