Muallim Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH)

Volume 1- Issue 2 (2017), Pages 1-20 / ISSN: eISSN 2590-3691

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VARIOUS TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS IN THE INVENTORY OF IBAN

CULTURAL MUSIC

Chemaline Anak Osup 1

1
Faculty of Languages and Communication, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia.
Email: chemaline@fbk.upsi.edu.my

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the inventory of the cultural and musical heritage of the Iban people
in Sarawak and emphasized the types of instruments played. The study synthesized that the Iban
traditional music is percussion-oriented, consisting of various types of percussion ensembles
such as gongs, drums, stringed instruments as well as wind instruments. There are 18
instruments discovered through field work, structured interviews, survey, questionnaires
consisting of free-response questions, observation with check-list and document analysis.
Findings show that these cultural musical instruments are three gongs (engkerumung, bebendai
and setawak), five drums (gendang, ketebung, rebana, tar and tengkuang), seven stringed
instruments (balulin, belikan, engkeratung, engkerebab, serunai, ruding and sape) and three wind
instruments (engkerurai, enserunai and ensuling). Most sadly it has been discovered that today,
unfortunately very few younger people know how to play belikan, engkeratung, engkerebab,
serunai, ruding and engkerurai and the art of playing these instrument is rapidly dying out.
Significantly, the Ibans should cultivate the skills and inclinations of playing these stringed and
wind instruments otherwise this traditional and cultural musical art will be swallowed by the era
modernization in the music industry.

Keywords: Bards, Gongs, Instrumental, Percussion, Ensemble, Distinctive, Improvise,

Predominant

Introduction

Iban traditional music can be divided into two major categories – vocal and instrumental music
(Vinson and Sutlive, 2001)1. Vocal music may be accompanied by the rhythmic striking of
sticks, as used by the Iban bards in their performance of chants (Vinson and Sutlive, 2001) 1 or
unaccompanied in the performance of Iban women in their songs like dirges and pantun.
Musical competitions are staged in longhouses which combine vocal and instrumental music.
The Iban frequently stage formal contests in the performance of pantun (songs), in which skilled

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women compete in their abilities to create and perform elaborate and intricate verses of pantun.
The competition involves the skills of each team or individual contestant to improvise lyrics in
response to challenges issued by the other contestants. Each contestant takes a turn, and must
demonstrate the ability to compose verse with rhythm with the pattern of the melody.

Typically, Iban instrumental music is characterized by a predominant use of percussion

instruments, notably drums and brass gongs (Richards, 1981)2. Drums are carved from
hardwoods over the mouths of which are stretched animal skins, but today the mouths of drums
are stretched pieces of durable fabrics. Iban purchased gongs from the Malays and Chinese
traders and these gongs comprised part of the family’s heirlooms. As far as the Iban community
is concerned, drumming is regarded as a divine gift. There are several distinctive meters or
rhythms, some of which are maintained simultaneously by two or three drummers in ensemble.
Gongs vary in size, from the large gongs to the much smaller gongs. The large gongs are called
tawak and the smaller ones are called engkerumung that are arranged on a sounding board.
These are the percussion instruments of the Ibans in Sarawak.

The Ibans play the following traditional and cultural musical instruments (altogether at
least nineteen instruments) such as balulin (a viol played with a bow), bebendai (a large gong),
belikan (three-stringed guitar), dumbak (a drum with the skin stretched tight from both ends),
engkeratung (a harp with four or more strings), engkerebab (a two-stringed viol), engkerumung
(a set of eight small brass gongs), engekerurai (a wind instrument or a mouth organ) ensuling (a
flute or pipe), gendang (a drum with the skin stretched tight from both ends), ketebung (drums
with the skin stretched tight from both ends), rebab (a two-stringed fiddle), rebana (a dance
drum or a tombourine-line musical instrument), ruding (a Jew’s harp made of brass), sape’ (a 3-
stringed instrument), serunai (a type of one-stringed instrument), setawak (a large gong made of
brass), tar (a castanet) and tengkuang (a Maloh drum cut from a single log with a length-wise slit
and no cover).

Objectives

The main objectives of the paper are:

 To discuss the traditional musical heritage of the Iban people in Sarawak
 To identify the various types of instruments in the inventory of Iban cultural music
 To analyse the significant rhythm in the Iban traditional music relating to their religious
rituals

The Ibans: Largest Indegenous Ethnic Group In Sarawak

The Ibans are an ethnic branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo (Vinson and Joanne Sutlive,
2001)1 living in Sarawak, East Malaysia. There are eight groups of this indigenous peoples
namely the Ibans of Saribas, Skrang, Lemanak, Balau, Undup, Sebuyau, Remun and Dau. These

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identities are related to their settlements (Mckeown, 1983)3 who identified themselves by the
streams or other significant geographic feature near their residence (Sather, 1994)4. Rivers
formed a major focus of Iban social identities and riverine societies which are defined by
watershed boundaries that divide one river system from another. That is why, the Iban people
normally identify with the river on which they live, and those who live along the same river
system, distinguished from other Ibans by minor differences of dialect and adat (Sather, 1994)4,
describing themselves for example as kami Saribas or kami Skrang or kami Sebuyau (we of the
Saribas river, we of the Skrang river or we of the Sebuyau river).

During the colonial period they were formerly known by the British as Sea Dayaks
because they were frequently seen patrolling the sea to help the Malays fight against the pirates.
Being a very strong and successful warring tribe, the Ibans were very feared tribe and renowned
for practising headhunting their enemies and making tribal or territorial expansion in Borneo
(Sandin, 1978)5. Headhunting among the Ibans is believed to have started when the lands
occupied by the Ibans are intruded by other tribes from Kalimantan (King, 1975)6, and also due
to the arrival of western civilization which occupied their lands belonging to them. Therefore,
confrontation was the only way of survival even if it resulted to death. Today, the days of
headhunting and piracy are long gone and the Ibans live peacefully with the other ethnic tribes
and other races such as the Malays, Chinese, Orang Ulu, Bidayuh and the like in the Land of the
Hornbills (Numpang, 1989)7 enjoying modern era of globalization and technology but they were
originally farmers, hunters, and gatherers before the arrival of the Western expeditions and
White Rajahs to Sarawak.

Uniquely, they live in longhouses called rumah panjai in the middle-level hills (Vinson,
1978) and on delta plains until today. By the 20th century, the Iban settlements are well
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established and most of the Iban longhouses nowadays are equipped with modern facilities such
as electricity and water supply and other facilities such as tar-sealed) roads, telephone lines and
the internet. The younger Ibans are mostly making a living in urban areas but they frequent visit
their hometowns especially during the holidays or festive seasons. Although the Ibans today are
becoming increasingly urbanised, surprisingly they are still retaining most of their traditional
heritage and culture (Vinson, 1989)8 in their respective villages. The dynamic relations between
the Ibans and the other racial societies have produced profound changes in the Iban society and
culture.

Traditional Musical Heritage of the Ibans

Iban traditional music is percussion-oriented. The Ibans have a musical heritage consisting of
various types of percussion ensembles composed of several hanging or held, knobbed gongs
which act as drones of the melodic instrument (Richards, 1981)2. Here, the typical Iban
percussion ensemble include a set of engkerumungs (small gongs arranged together side by side
and played like a xylophone), a tawak (the so-called ‘bass, a large gong’), a bendai (a gong less
the size of tawak which acts as a snare gong) and also a set of ketebung or sometimes called

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bedup (a single sided drum percussion). This traditional music is called tabuh, that is, a set of
the four musical instruments namely engkerumung, tawak, bebendai and ketebung, each of
which is respectively played by one person in synchronisation.

The tabuh and gendang significantly accompanied the unique Iban traditional dance, the
ngajat. There are various kinds of tabuh depending on the purpose and types of ngajat dance. In
other words, they can be played in some distinctive types corresponding to the purpose and type
of each ceremony with the most popular ones are called gendang rayah and gendang pampat,
two kinds of musical or percussion ensemble played to welcome the gods or supernatural spirits
from the unseen worlds as part of their invocations. The performers will dance with hand-held
weapons and each ngajat is accompanied by the tabuh.

For example, an Iban warrior performs the ajat bebunoh (warrior dance) with the music
of a gendang panjai orchestra and he dances as if he is fighting against an enemy. While he
performs the warrior dance, he occasionally shouts and raises his shield with one arm and swings
his ilang (warrior sword) with his other arm as if he moves towards the enemy. While he moves
forward, he has to be careful with the steps of his feet in order to guard them from being cut by
his foe. It is noted that the tempo of his action is very fast, with his knife and shield gleaming up
and down as he dances in the ruai (longhouse gallery).

If one is observant enough, when the dancers take the floor to dance, the musicians begin
beating two gendang drums, a bendai gong, a set of seven or eight small gongs (engkerumung)
and a large tawak gong. The music for the performance of ajat bebunoh (warrior dance) is
always quicker in tempo than the music for any other normal dances. However, the longhouse
folks from time immemorial, have been very skilled in playing all kinds of gendang music. Also,
when the percussion ensemble called gendang rayah is played, it is considered a solemn
performance only for religious festivals with the same percussion ensemble for gendang rayah to
make the music.

Yet, there is something unique about the music played using the ketebung drums. There
can be several drummers, even up to eleven of them. These long drums are cylindrical, made
from strong wood, such as tapang or mengeris, and one of its ends is covered with the skins of
monkeys or mouse deer or the skin of a monitor lizard. The major types of ketebung drum music
are known as Gendang Bebandong, Gendang Lanjan, Gendang Enjun Batang, Gendang Tama
Pechal, Gendang Pampat, Gendang Tama Lubang, Gendang Tinggang Batang and Singkam
Nggam. Each of these types of ketebung drum music are played by drummers on the open air
verandas during the celebration of the Gawai Burung festival. For example, the Singkam Nggam
music is accompanied by the quick beating of beliong adzes. After each of these types of
ketebung drum music has been played, then the drummers beat another music called sambi
sanjan, which is followed by still another called tempap tambak pechal. To end this orchestral
performance, the ritual music of gendang bebandung is beaten.

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When a festival called Gawai Manang or bebangun is held for a layman to be

consecrated as a manang (shaman), several music must be beaten on the ketebung drums at the
open veranda (tanju) of the longhouse of the initiator or sponsor such as Gendang Dudok,
Gendang Rueh, Gendang Kelakendai, Gendang Tari, Gendang Naik, Gendang Po Umboi,
Gendang Sembayan, Gendang Layar, Gendang Bebandung and Gendang Nyereman. But
Gendang Bebanuong must also be beaten when a manang dies and is beaten again when his
coffin is lowered from the open air verandah (tanju) to the ground below, on its way to the
cemetery for burial. Nevertheless, there are other or ordinary types of music beaten by
drummers for pleasure, not for ritual purposes, such as Gendang Dumbang, Gendang Ngang,
Gendang Ringka, Gendang Enjun Batang, Kechendai Inggap Diatap and Gendang Kanto.

Tabuh is described as the Iban's brass band orchestra with four musicians playing music,
that is, one playing the bebendai (small gong) which is beaten first of all to determine the rhythm
of the tabuh music, then responded to by the gendang drum, after that followed by the tawak (big
gong) and finalized by the engkerumung (small gongs) set. We hear only two rhythms of tabuh
music for ngajat dance – either fast or slow rhythm, for any four types of ngajat dance, namely
Ayun Lundai (slow swing), Ai Anyut (flowing water), Sinu Ngenang (sad remembrance) and
Tanjak Ai (against the water flow).

The slow rhythm accompanies the ajat semain (group happy dance), ajat iring
(accompanying dance) and ajat kelulu (comedial dance), because these dances are rather slow
although graceful. The other rhythm of tabuh is fast which is suitable for the ajat bebunoh
(killing dance). However, the slow rhythm of tabuh music may be played for tinggang punggung
dance, a special dance for purpose of ngambi indu, (inviting or taking the bride) for wedding.
The rhythm for tabuh rayah (rayah music) is also slow for ngerandang and ngelalau jalai (a
dance for clearing pathway for the bride to walk in a bridal procession) – sometimes this dance is
called fencing dance.

Such percussion ensemble like tabuh music can often be performed at many types of
social events, including agriculture rituals, weddings, victory celebrations, curing rites, rituals for
the dead, entertainment for visitors, and other community rituals, just like the agung orchestra
among the main lowland Philippine groups such as the Tagalog, Visayan, Kapampangan,
Ilocano. This instrumental ensemble is still played until today among the Iban community in
Sarawak. Similarly, the Kadazan-Dusun, located on the western coast of Sabah, refer to their
percussion ensemble as a tawag or bandil, which consists of six to seven large gongs in shoreline
groups and 7–8 large gongs for those in interior valleys. In south-western Sarawak, the
Bidayuh’s percussion ensemble consist of nine large gongs divided into four groups (taway,
puum, bandil, and sanang), however among the Ibans in Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan, these
percussion ensembles are smaller in comparison.

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Inventory of Iban Cultural Musical Instruments

The Iban music is predominated by the percussion instruments. In the context of Iban society,
although string and wind instruments are common, it is gongs and drums that are more important
(Vinson and Sutlive, 2001)1. The intervals in the eight-piece gong set known as engkerumung is
particularly interesting, though not unique to Ibans. These eight small gongs are arranged on a
sounding board and struck with a piece of wood. The first, third and fifth gongs are in intervals
of thirds, but the seventh gong is an interval of only two notes. This produces a minor and an
unforgettable melody as the gongs are struck sequentially by players. Tabuh or betabuh is a
predicate for ‘drumming’. Drums and the skills to play them, are regarded as gifts from the
gods, a belief shared with people in other parts of the world, such as the Mattaponi,
Chickahominy and the Virginia Indians.

Described below is the inventory of musical instruments belonging to the Ibans in

Sarawak. This inventory includes the various types of gongs, drums, stringed instruments and
wind instruments:

Gongs

Gongs made up most of the percussion ensemble of the Iban music. There are the engkerumung
(kerumung, mumung) or the smaller gongs, the bebendai (the intermediate-sized gongs), and the
Setawak (tawak, a larger gongs). They are played together in syncronisation with drums.

Engkerumung (kerumung, mumung)

A set of eight small brass gongs that are arranged on rattan strips tied to a sounding platform. It
is arranged according to its sound scale. Each gong is struck with a wooden stick or mallet in a
prescribed order, with the accompaniment of two larger gongs (the larger one tuned to ‘G”, the
smaller one to ‘A’) that produce a discordant background against which the dominant tune
pattern is played (Vinson and Sutlive, 2001)1. In other words, they are laid on bark strips in a
frame and played with two sticks. In a concert, the engkerumung are played with tawak,
bebendai or chanang and gendang for dancing. Engkerumung is also played for dancing at
ritual and the rhythm is gendang rayah.

Bebendai

Bebendai is an intermediate-sized gong that is struck, having a boss like the larger tawak (a gong
larger that bebendai) but the boss is shallower than that of the tawak. When played, it is hung
with a strand of tekalung (a kind slender rope) so that its sound is clear and loud. However, the
Ibans called this traditional musical instrument a nipple gong because it has a central raised boss
or nipple, often made of a different metals than other gongs with varying degrees of quality and
resonance. It has a tone with less shimmer than other gongs, and two distinct sounds depending
on whether they are struck on the boss or next to it.

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Nipple gongs range in size from 6" to 20" or larger. Sets of smaller, tuned nipple gongs can
be used to play a tune, like the nipple gongs used in Chinese temples for worship. This
instrument come in various sizes (its size ranges in up to 1 meter in diameter) with different pitch
(either deepest pitch, slightly higher pitch, higher pitch or just a note beat). The Chinese called
this instrument chanang but the Ibans called it bebendai but it is just a type of gong with a flat
surface and shallow boss which produce a loud sound. Whatever its name, bebendai is good for
use when struck together with a larger gong (tawak or setawak) to provide the rhythm and beat
for the Iban martial arts of pencha’ or kuntau (Janang et.al, 2016)9.

Setawak (tawak, a larger gong)

This cultural instrument is a deep gong of brass or bronze, with a high edge, and boss in the
centre of the face (Janang et.al, 2016)9. A gong described as one span or width is a gong whose
face measures a span from the edge of the boss to the edge of the face. The depth of the gong is
about half, and open back about two-thirds of the face diameter. It is believed that gongs are
made in Java and Brunei, and gongs are measured in jengkal (spans) on face but for trade, they
are valued for kilograms nowadays. Its face is dished in the centre round boss.

When in use, like bebendai when struck, it is also hung by bark strap from beam or if in
procession, from shoulder or on pole between two men. Gong is sounded by striking with short
heavy rubber headed stick and the sound stopped (made staccato) by holding sides of the boss
with other hand. Tawak beaten rapidly and alone is an alarm or gathering call for the traditional
Ibans. For rites and dances, tawak provide complex rhythm (Richards, 1981)2 accompanied by
shallow gong (commonly called nipple gong, bebendai or chanang), a set of 8small gongs
(engkerumung) and drum (gendang).

Therefore, setawak or simply commonly known as tawak, is a larger gong that is played
for dancing and for ceremonial occasions. The Ibans collected and kept sets of brass gongs as
part of their collectibles and family heirlooms. Gongs are highly prized as indicators of wealth.
That is why they are regarded as part of heirlooms of families. In fact, the Ibans regarded them
as almost equal to jars as objects of acquisition by Iban travellers. These gongs are used for the
dances performed at community gatherings. There are several sizes of gongs with differing
tones (Cadar and Robert, 1996)10; Otto, 1996)11 that are combined in the percussion groups.
Central to such musical groups are sets of tuned gongs (engkerumung), pitched to the notes G,
G#, B, C, D, E, F# and E. These pitches are taken from one collection (Scholz, 1996)12. Pitches
are relative and vary from set to set. These gongs are struck in a sequence that produces a
plaintive tune in a minor key (Vinson and Sutlive, 2001)1, against which are played the
intermediate-sized gongs (bebendai or chanang) and the larger gongs (tawak or setawak). Metre
is kept on drums, which are struck in a regularly variable time.

It is noted that a gong is comprised of two parts – bunchul or geligir, that is, the central
boss of the face of a gong, and sambang, that is, the face or flat surface around the central boss
of a gong. Anthony Richards refers to tawak as deep bronze gong with hemispherical boss

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(bunchul, geligir) on face (papan, sambang). Generally, a larger gong is a musical percussion
instrument that takes the form of a flat, circular metal disc which is hit with a mallet.
Historically, it originated in China and later spread to Southeast Asia (Kalanduyan, 1996)13, and
it can also be used in the percussion section of Western symphony orchestra (Terada, 1996)14. In
the Iban society, gongs are broadly of three types – the suspended gongs, bossed (nippled) gongs
which are intermediate-sized and the bowl gongs or engkerumung. Suspended or larger gongs
are flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes
near to the top rim (Cadar, 1996)15. Bossed or nipple gongs have a raised centre boss and are
often suspended when played horizontally, and bowl gongs are bowl-shaped, and rest on
cushions and belong more to bells than gongs. The Iban gongs are made mainly from bronze or
brass but there are many other alloys in use. Generally, gongs produce two distinct types of
sound, that is, a gong with a substantially flat surface vibrates in multiple modes, giving a
"crash" rather than a tuned note (Matusky, 1985)16. This category of gong is sometimes called a
tam-tam to distinguish it from the bossed gongs that give a tuned note.

Drums

There are several types of drums such as gendang, ketebung (sometimes called ketabuh), rebana,
tar and tengkuang. These musical instruments are all parts of the Iban ensemble percussion. It
takes a player to learn some technical skill to play each type of the drums. The beating of the
drum of course requires an exact sense of timing to strike it on a precise beat. When the Ibans
are free in the evenings, they would gather in the longhouse gallery (ruai) to learn how to strike
the various types of gendang or drums.

Gendang

Gendang is a musical instrument called drum, with the skin stretched tight from both ends (like
dumbak in Malay culture). It is broad and shallow with heavy wooden shell. This is a
percussion instrument, that is, a typical drum about 2” x 1” and cylindrical with skin at each end
(Richards, 1981)2. It is played together with a band of gongs (small, intermediate-sized and the
larger ones). When it is striken (played with the hands), it is rested on the floor and it produced a
percussive beat. Techniques of drumming, though seemingly easy, in fact require an exact sense
of timing and a demanding ability to strike the instrument on a precise beat.

According to an Iban myth (Richards, 1981)2 immediately after his departure from the
visible world, the hero named Keling, taught the ancestors of the Ibans to play the percussional
gendang raya music on gongs and drums so that, even after their separation, humankind might
continue to summon the mythical heroes in “the raised world” to this world down here, in order
to celebrate the great Gawai festivals (Sather 1994)4. Drumming also is critical in the initiation
of the Iban manang. It is the pulsating beat of the drum that the manang follows, added by his
familiar spirit (yang), to return from his soul. At the beginning of a major gawai, many drums

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are played together in a contest of rhythm and skill. The reason for this was a signal to the
Panggau people (“people of the raised world” in the heavens) to come as guests.

Ketebung (ketabuh)

This drum is about 3’ – 4’ long with 8” skin at one end only. The dried skin of deer, goats or a
monitor lizard, is fitted at the end of a wooden cylinder, from wood of merebau tree. The
cylinder is constricted at the middle or towards the open end not covered with skins. The skin is
secured with a strip of pliable rattan (Janang et.al, 2016)9 called tali rembuyan, and made tight
using a treenail or peg. The drum is struck to make its sound. This drum is sometimes called
ketabuh. It is between three and four feet in length, and has one end covered with animal skin,
secured with cane and strings.

Drums are both musical and ritual instruments. The technique of drumming was first taught
by the mythological figure named Keling. Drums are also played in the ritual performances of
the Iban shaman. During initiation and healing rites, a drum is beaten to recall back the soul of
the shaman, lest it be lost. Types of drums include betal, dadup and dumbak (a small drum),
gendang and gung (a broad bronze drum), ketebung and rebana (a dance drum) and sebang (a
large drum). A strict prohibition exists on drumheads made either with the skin of a long-taled
monkey or macaque for which reason only manang (shaman) knows why. Such drums (six or
seven drums) are used to invite the spirits of the dead festivals in their honour (for example
Gawai Antu in the Kuching-Sri Aman Divisions, and Gawai Ngelumbung in the Kapit Division).
Therefore, such drums can never be used to invite the gods to a major ritual like Gawai Amat
(Masing, 1981)17

Rebana

Rebana is a Malay term for a dance drum or in some parts, a tambourine-line musical
instrument. For the Ibans in Sarawak, it is a musical instrument in the percussion family
consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils".
Classically the term rebana denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may
not have a head at all. The rebana is often used with regular percussion sets. They can be
mounted, for example on a stand as part of a drum kit (and played with drum sticks), or they can
be held in the hands and played by tapping or hitting the instrument (Schleisinger, 1911)18. This
musical instrument come in many shapes with the most common being circular. It is found in
many forms of music like folk music, classical music, gospel music, rock music and pop music.
The Ibans believed that rebana originated in Egypt, where they were known as kof to the
Hebrews, in which the instrument was mainly used in religious contexts.

But the word rebana finds its origins in French as tambourine, which referred to a long
narrow drum. When the Ibans played the rebana, it can be held in the hand or mounted on a
stand, and can be played in numerous ways, from stroking or shaking the jingles to striking it
sharply with the hand or a stick or using the tambourine to strike the leg or hip. In the context of

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the Iban community, rebana is indeed just a small frame drum (one whose shell is too narrow to
resonate the sound) having one or two skins nailed or glued to a shallow circular or polygonal
frame. The rebana is normally played with the bare hands and often has attached to it jingles,
pellet bells, or snares. The Iban rebana typically have one skin and jingling disks set into the
sides of the frame. However, for this ethnic group of people, the term rebana is often extended
to include all related frame drums, such as those of the Arabic countries (Brinkworth, 2012)19.

Tar

Tar is a rhythm instrument that consists of two small flat round parts fastened to the thumb and
clicked by the fingers. In other words, it is a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow shell
or cylinder with a drumhead stretched over one or both ends that is beaten with the hands or with
some implement (as a stick or wire brush). It is an instrument like the castanet, a percussion
instrument (idiophone), used in a set of music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave
shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for
rhythmic accents or a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks (Clacforsyth,
1919)20.

Tar is traditionally made of hardwood because in the olden days, fibreglasses are not
available yet then Clacforsyth (1919)20. In practice, a player usually uses two pairs of tar. One
pair is held in each hand, with the string hooked over the thumb and the tar resting on the palm
with the fingers bent over to support the other side. Each pair will make a sound of a slightly
different pitch. The origins of the instrument are not known. The practice of clicking hand-held
sticks together to accompany dancing is ancient, and was practiced by the older folks in times
past (Karl and Fritz, 1976)21. Sometimes, the young people join in the music by using the
bones, spoons and jug band to add to the music of merry making (traditionally, these also can
also be considered as forms of tar or the castanets). Long time ago, during the gawai festival,
tar was featured prominently in dances or ballet more or less.

Tengkuang

This instrument is called Maloh drum, that is, a drum of the Maloh tribe of Kalimantan who live
in Sarawak long ago. It is cut from a single log with a length-wise slit and no cover. Tengkuang
is a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow shell or cylinder with a drumhead stretched
over one or both ends that is beaten with the hands or with some implement (as a stick or wire
brush).

Its shape is something resembling any of the cylindrical blocks that form the shaft of a
column. It has a unique drumming or croaking noise. But normally, this musical instrument just
a hollowed log with a lengthwise slit and no skin to cover its hollow. When played, it is only
beaten with two sticks (Janang et.al, 2016)9

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Stringed-Instrument

The Ibans have several musical stringed-instruments such as Balulin or belula, belikan,
engkeratung, engkerebab (rebab), serunai, rusing (Jew’s harp) and sape’. Out of the eighteen
cultural musical instruments discovered, the Ibans have more stringed-guitar instruments than
any other like drums, gongs and the wind instruments.

Balulin or belula

Balulin or belula is actually what is commonly known as a viola (Schoenbaum, 2012)22 played
with a penyayat (bow). It is a wooden string instrument in the violin family, the smallest and
highest-pitched instrument in the family of Iban music. This typical viol has four strings
(Templeton, 2001)23 commonly played by drawing a penyayat (bow) across its strings. Balulin
can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) but not many of them have
the musical inclinations and skills to play it likewise.

Today, balulin is not so prominent in the Iban society although at times it is sometimes
used in many varieties of folk music because there are not many Ibans who can play it well in the
country music, bluegrass music or jazz music. Yet, it was once upon a time informally called a
fiddle (Young, 2007)24. Unfortunately and most discouragingly today, a luthier (balulin maker
or repairer) can never be found among the modern Iban generations in Sarawak.

Belikan

In the Iban community, belikan is a three-stringed musical instrument or guitar, which is made of
wood. It is made from koompassia wood (a kind of bee tree in the forest), made hollowed from
the face and closed by thin wood with a small hole in it. Normally, the sound of a belikan is
clear and loud when played for dancing in the longhouse. However, today belikan is one of the
more obscure instruments of the ancient Iban musical instrument (Richards, 1981)2.

This instrument resembles medieval viol called the guitar fiddle. The body of a belikan
may be just a figure eight shaped with point waist, bouts roughly equal, and a soft blend into the
neck with sloped shoulders. There are three strings leading to three pegs in a spade peg box, pegs
inserted from underneath. Tailpiece is present, and looks to be looped around an end knob. No
indication of bridge, fingerboard or nut. There are four D shaped sound holes, situated at the
upper portion of each of the bouts, with the lower sound holes larger than the upper sound holes.
The bow is a little longer than the instrument, and is held in the underhand position.

Engkeratung

Engkeratung (harp) is a stringed musical instrument which has four strings or more, running at
an angle to its soundboard, which are plucked with the fingers. Engkeratungs have been known
since antiquity (perhaps in the 1950s) in Sarawak but I have never seen any Iban musician

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playing it yet. This instrument is believed to have had great popularity in Europe (Dave &
Gerou, 1998)25 during the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Ehsan, 2003)26, and was disseminated
to European colonies which ruled the South East Asian people, particularly our country in the
1950s.

Engkeratungs vary in many ways in terms of size. Older folks mentioned that many
smaller engkeratungs can be played on the lap, while the larger engkeratungs are quite heavy to
carry. Different engkeratungs may use strings of catgut, nylon, metal, or some combinations.
While all engkeratungs have a neck, resonator, and strings, it has a pillar at its long end to
support the strings. The Iban do not have the modern engkeratungs, therefore the Ibans are
uncertain about the techniques used to extend the range and chromaticity of the strings; neither
can they adjusting a string's note mid-performance with levers or pedals (Ruth and Lou, 1985)27
which modify the pitch of the engkeratungs.

Engkerebap or Rebab

This two-stringed viol has a soft figure eight shape with a very broad waist, and only soft curves
there. Lower bout is definitely larger than the upper bout, and the body has a gradual curve into
the neck with sloping shoulders like a viol. There are two strings (Richards, 1981)2, complete
with two pegs on a disc peg box, the pegs being inserted from behind. The tailpiece is fairly
long, and though it might be difficult to make out from this particular sized image, it is forked at
the end, possibly indicating either a tail gut or a hook joint.

There are two sound holes, simple D shaped, set in the waist of the instrument. The
bridge, however, is set in the middle of the lower bout, not between the sound holes as might be
expected. The bow is about as long as the instrument, and uses an underhand grip. The scale of
the instrument is a bit larger than usual, being about from the knee to almost the top of the head,
making it closer to about 35-40 inches long.

Serunai

Serunai is a one-stringed viol, that is, a bowed stringed instrument (Richards, 1981)2, fairly
large, somewhere around 30-35 inches in length. It is exclusively played gamba style (on the
leg, like a cello). The instrument is most likely carved from a single block of wood, as most
traditional Iban instruments were, with an attached soundboard. The shape of the body was
roughly figure eight shaped, with various waist bumps or points. From the sculptural evidence, it
seems as though the instrument had both a flat soundboard (very typical of Iban traditional
musical instruments) and a flat back (also consistent with a block carved instrument).

As a bowed instrument, it is tended to be called some variant of fiddle (viol, viola, vielle,
fiedel, etc.) indiscriminately. As such we don't really have any confirmable textual evidence for
the instrument. This also includes tuning, which we'd have to make some sort of guess on based

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on the physical form of the instrument and the scant information we have on tuning of fiddles in
general. There are no physically surviving examples.

Ruding (Jew’s harp)

A ruding, often made of brass, but best of aping palm, used by young people for singing to each
other. It has a few names (ruding kacai, ruding kacu and ruding inang) but they refer to the
same thing. Ruding are narrow and straight and are held by the cords across between open lips.
There are a number of parts, for examples papan, pala, genaling, sembulang and punggang.
Papan is the flat body of ruding in which the tongue (dilah) is cut. Pala is the end at the base of
the tongue with its short projection (genaling) to which a cord and a toggle (sembulang) are tird
for tugging to sound the ruding. The other end has also a genaling with a groove (punggang) for
cord to be looped on a finger of the other hand to hold it steady. Today very few younger people
know how to play this instrument and the art is rapidly dying out.

The ruding is also known as Jew’s harp (Fox, 198428; Gallman, 1977)29, just a lamellophone
instrument, which is in the category of plucked idiophones: it consists of a flexible metal or
bamboo tongue or reed attached to a frame. The tongue or reed is placed in the performer's
mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a note. When played, the frame is held firmly
against the performer's parted teeth or lips (depending on the type), using the jaw and mouth as a
resonator (Kolitveit, 2006)30 greatly increasing the volume of the instrument. The teeth must be
parted sufficiently for the reed to vibrate freely, and the fleshy parts of the mouth should not
come into contact with the reed to prevent damping of the vibrations and possible pain. The note
or tone thus produced is constant in pitch (Wright, 2008)31, though by changing the shape of his
or her mouth, and the amount of air contained in it (and in some traditions closing the glottis),
the performer can cause different overtones to sound and thus create melodies. The volume of
the note (tone) can be varied by breathing in and out. The Ibans considered this musical
instrument to be one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. The instrument is known in
many different cultures by many different names. The common English name "Jew's harp" is
sometimes considered controversial or potentially misleading, and so the Ibans called it ruding.

Sape’

The sape’ is a three-stringed instrument, made of a single piece of pelai’ wood about 3 feet long
((Richards,1981)2. Its stalk and face of belly are straight but the belly is made hollowed from the
back and left open. It is tuned with keys at its head and played by plucking. Its melody is played
on the higher tuned string and the other strings provide a rhythmic ground (Janang et.al, 2016)9.
The Ibans (as well as the Kayan of Orang Ulu) have been playing this musical instrument for a
long time. Today, the sape’ is the official instrument for the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is
played similarly to the way rock guitarists play guitar solos, albeit a little slower, but not as slow
as blues. Sape’ is originally a traditional music by Orang Ulu (Kayan, Kenyah and Kelabit), but
nowadays both the Ibans as well as the Orang Ulu play this instrument which resembles the

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guitar. Normally, when sape’ is played, the common traditional dances (datun jalut and nganjak
lansam) are performed in accordance with a sape’ tune.

Originally, sape’ is a traditional lute of many of the Orang Ulu or "upriver people", who
live in the longhouses that line the rivers of Central Borneo. Sapes are carved (Richards, 1981) 2
from a single bole of wood (with many modern instruments) reaching over a metre in length.
Initially the sape was a fairly limited instrument with two or three strings and only three frets. Its
use was restricted to a form of ritualistic music to induce trance. But gradually, in the 21st
century, the sape’ gradually became a social instrument to accompany dances or as a form of
entertainment. Today, three, four or five-string instruments are used, with a range of more than
three octaves. One or two strings are carrying the melody and the accompanying strings as
rhythmic drones. In practice, the music is quite complex, with many ornamentations and
thematic variations. There are two common modes, one for the men's longhouse dance and the
other for the woman's longhouse dance.

Sape music is usually inspired by dreams and there are many traditional pieces with many
variations. It is interesting to note that the sape is a member of the plucked cordophone family.
Alhough the sape is a boat-shaped lute that has a short neck, it can produced many variations of
melodies in the core repertoire. When playing the sape the player sits down in which the sape is
supported by the player's legs the sape is held close to the chest. The player mainly plucks the the
lowest tuned or the bottom string and the rest of the strings are plucked as drones.

Wind Instrument

The Ibans do not have many wind instruments. There are however only three commonly known
among the Iban community in Sarawak. These three instruments are engkerurai (engkeruri),
enserunai and kesuling (suling). It is interesting to learn that all the three musical instruments
are mouth-organ and the Ibans are at least creative enough to introduce these three instruments in
their culture and deserves to be complimented for the musical inclinations in this aspect of
musical genres.

Engkerurai (engekuri)

This is a kind of the Iban wind instrument, that is, a mouth organ made of gourd into which are
inserted small lengths of bamboo (Richards, 1981)2. This wind instrument contains some type of
resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing
into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is
determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of the effective length of the
vibrating column of air. In the case of some wind instruments, sound is produced by blowing
through a reed; others require buzzing into a metal mouthpiece.

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Sometimes the Ibans simply called this musical instrument as kerurai because it is a
mouth-organ made from a small dried gourd into which are inserted six lengths of dried bamboo
(engkalat), each about the size of a thumb and of varying lengths. Each piece of bamboo is
carved with a ’tongue’ with small holes that are opened or closed with the fingers of the player.
The pieces are tied together with a thin cane, and fixed in pace in the gourd with beeswax. The
organ is played when the performer blows into or sucks air from the gourd, while changing the
fingering on the bamboo pieces. Some tu nes are Kenjan-kenjan Kara Rugan and Minta Telu
Indai Latit.

A pipe is is sounded by exhaling or inhaling, but only when the hole is stopped. The
pipes are arranged (clockwise) 1 4 2 6 3 5, where 1 (the lowest note) is farthest and 6 nearest
the mouthpiece (4 and 2 being to the right). Pitch varies (Janang et.al, 2016: 371), kerurai being
a solo instrument; but approximate intervals, with the names of the pipes and their fingering are:
G Indu (left forefinger tip), 2 B flat Nyingit (right thumb), 3 C Ranggung (right middle finger), D
Ranggung dua (left fourth finger), 5 F Ranggung atas (butt of left forefinger) and 6 G Octave
Anak (left thumb). Nyingit (2) is between B and B flat. Indu (1) is used partly as drone and
partly to mark rhythm. It seems that its style is similar to that of Scottish pipes. Nevertheless,
the simplest engkerurai in the Iban community is the keluri. Keluri is a set of bamboo reed
pipes, crafted from pieces of bamboo of different lengths and fastened with beeswax in the
hollow of of the gourd in which they are set.

Enserunai

Enserunai is a wind musical instrument, that is, a bell-mouth clarinet or just a harmonica or other
similar instruments. For the traditional Iban community in Sarawak, it is a one-string violin
played with a rattan-string bow (Janang et.al, 2016)9, wetted with saliva, is played on a sound
box of gourd with a flat thin face. The sound is provided by moistening the bow with saliva, and
drawing it over the string that is taut over the sound box. The sound box is made from a gourd,
one third of which is cut away and a thin flat piece of wood secured in the gourd. In East
Malaysia however, among the Malays, serunai are harmonicas or mouth-organs. The Iban
people in Sarawak sometimes called it enserunai or ‘clarinet’ or a bell-mouth clarinet because it
is a mouth-organ.

Ensuling (kesuling)

This musical instrument is a flute sometimes called suling (Richards, 1981)2. It is made from a
small piece of bamboo which produces the sound of music when blown. A minor ethnic group
of Murut in Sarawak called it selingut, and to them it is a nose flute (a flute carved from a piece
of bamboo that is played by exhaling and inhaling through the nostrils). So, the kesuling or
ensuling is a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group (Carroll, 1999)32. Unlike
woodwind instruments with reeds, an ensuling is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that
produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. This instrument may be categorized as

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edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the ensuling can be referred to as a flute player,
flutist or, less commonly, a fluter.

In the Iban community, ensuling may be one of the earliest extant musical instruments.
A number of kesuling are kept in Sarawak Meseum, demonstrating that a developed musical
tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Sarawak, which had
become an integral part of the Ibanic culture. Ensuling produce sound by directing a focused
stream of air below the edge of a hole in a cylindrical tube. To produce a sound with an opened
ensuling, the player is required to blow a stream of air across a sharp edge that then splits the
airstream (Boehm, 1964)33. This split airstream then acts upon the air column contained within
the flute's hollow causing it to vibrate and produce sound. To produce a sound with a closed
ensuling, the player is required to blow air into a duct. This duct acts as a channel bringing the
air to a sharp edge (Galway, 198234; Putnik, 197035; Wye, 198836). As with the open ensuling,
the air is then split; this causes the column of air within the closed ensuling to vibrate and
produce sound.

The Significant Rhythms In The Various Iban Traditional Music Relating To Their
Religious Rituals

As far as the Iban community is concerned, drumming is regarded as a divine gift. There are
several distinctive metres or rhythms, some of which are maintained simultaneously by two or
three drummers in ensemble. Gongs vary in size, from the large gongs to the much smaller
gongs. The large gongs are called tawak and the smaller ones are called engkerumung that are
arranged on a sounding board. These are the percussion instruments of the Ibans but the
rhythms are inspirations and there are certain ones that can only be used to invoke the spirits.
There are distinctive and replicable rhythms in the chants of bards (lemambang) and shamans
(manang). Bards, for example, establish a rhythm that is easily followed by a chorus. The
bard’s stick (tungkat lemambang) constructed of hardwood or medium-sized bamboo, is fitted
with a hardwood tapper that moves freely as the stick is raised and then lowered to come into
contact with the floor.

The Iban traditional music is the tabuh but it is played at any religious ritual with a
solemn rhythm (not too fast and not too slow). With this rhythmic music, they perform a unique
dance called the ngajat to the gods and unseen supernatural spirits. The word ngajat originates
from the word "engkajat" which means "jumping on the spot" with the rhythm by the music of
gongs and drums. As far as the dancing performance is concerned, the ajat dance is attributed to
a spiritual being, Batu Lichin, Bujang Indang Lengain, who brought it to the Iban many
generations ago. While returning home after a ngayau (headhunting) expedition against the
enemies who had attacked hi longhouse, Batu Lichin being an Iban warrior, happily dance at the
head of their war-boats after successfully obtaining trophy heads during headhunting raids. In
the interior parts of Sarawak, the practice of warrior dance is still continued until today.
Performing this dance means respecting and invoking the spirit of Batu Lichin. Therefore,

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playing the rhythm of musical instruments serves many purposes depending on the occasion, not
only to entertain the people who in the olden days, but to serve as a respect to the Iban god of
war, "Sengalang Burong".

Gendang raya, a rapidly beaten rhythm to catch the attention of the gods and spirits, is
said to be more important in inviting gods and ancestors to festivals (gawai). On the other hand,
sanjak is a distinctive drum beat that is used to invite Lang Sengalang Burung to war festivals in
the Gawai Burung (bird’s festivals). When talking about sepepat (fireflies being considered as
spirits), Erik Jensen (1974)37 says that “a special rhythm is beaten which is thought to be
particularly effective in summoning the spirits”. According to him, “this rhythm is never used
unless spirit presence is deliberately sought and the appropriate sacrificial offerings are in
readiness”.

Drum rhythms or beats are quite distinctive, and with the general technique of drumming,
regarded as a divine gift to Iban musicians. As scholars (Gass, 1999)38 learn nore about the
significance of pulsating n rhythms, their capacities to excite or to calm, the purpose and the
potential of Iban beats becomes clearer. In invocatory chants, internal rhythm is achieved by
using words with two syllables (Masing 1997)17. In examples that Masing provides, disyllabic
words account for about three-quarters of the total words used. In other cases internal rhythm is
maintained by the grouping of words having the same meaning.

It is somewhat suprising that there is little information about the names of rhythms, nor is
there any basic description of rhythms that provide structure to various Iban chants, drum-beats
and songs. A distinctive drum rhythm or gendang sanjak lanjan, the rhythm is performed at
festivals related to warfare (Gawai Burung) to which Lang Sengalang Burung and his retinue are
invited. However, it should be noted that not all rhythms have the same purpose of invoking
important beings to attend the festivals.

Conclusion

There are two major categories of Iban traditional and cultural music, that is, the vocal and
instrumental music. But the vocal part of it is not discussed here in this article. Normally, vocal
music is accompanied by the stringed and wind instruments or by the rhythmic striking of sticks
(as used by the Iban bards in their performance of chants) or unaccompanied by any kind of
musical instruments (as in the performance of Iban women in their songs like dirges and pantun).
However, the Iban instrumental music is characterized by a predominant use of percussion
instruments, notably drums and brass gongs. The drums are carved from hardwoods over the
mouths of which are stretched animal skins. Today, the mouths of drums are stretched pieces of
durable fabrics. In the olden days, the Ibans purchased the gongs from the Malays and Chinese
traders and these gongs comprised part of the family’s heirlooms.

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Drumming is regarded as a divine gift. As far as drumming is concerned, in the context

of Iban society, there are several distinctive metres or rhythms with regards to the beating of
drums, some of which are maintained simultaneously by two or three drummers in ensemble.
However, the percussion instruments of the Ibans also includes gongs which vary in size, from
the large gongs to the much smaller gongs. The large gongs are called tawak and the smaller
ones are called engkerumung that are arranged on a sounding board. Traditionally, the Ibans
played the following musical instruments (altogether at least eighteen instruments) such as
balulin (a viol played with a bow), bebendai (a large gong), belikan (three-stringed guitar),
gendang (a drum with the skin stretched tight from both ends), engkeratung (a harp with four or
more strings), engkerebab (a two-stringed viol), engkerumung (a set of eight small brass gongs),
engekerurai (a wind instrument or a mouth organ) ensuling (a flute or pipe), gendang (a drum
with the skin stretched tight from both ends), ketebung (drums with the skin stretched tight from
both ends), rebab (a two-stringed fiddle), rebana (a dance drum or a tombourine-line musical
instrument), ruding (a Jew’s harp made of brass), sape’ (a 3-stringed instrument), serunai (a type
of one-stringed instrument), setawak (a large gong made of brass), tar (a castanet) and tengkuang
(a Maloh drum cut from a single log with a length-wise slit and no cover).

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34. Galway, James. (1982). Flute: Yehudi menuhin music guides. London: Macdonald.
35. Putnik, Edwin. (1970). The art of flute playing. evanston, illinois: Summy-Birchard Inc.
36. Vinson H, Jr. (1989). “The iban in historical perspective” . The Sarawak Museum
Journal. No. 61. (Old Series).
37. Wye, Trevor. 1988. Proper flute playing: A companion to the practice books. London:
Simmerick
38. Jensen, Erek. (1974). The iban and their religion. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
39. Gass, Robert. (1999). Chanting. New York: Broadway Books.

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