The Tests of the Keeper of Traditional Arts

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Saidin

Like his grandfather and father, Saidin, 55, has tried as hard as he could to preserve Malay traditional arts so that they will not vanish in the modern era. However, it is not an easy job. There are many challenges he must overcome.

Saidin is the third generation successor to the Dul Muluk Malay comedy theater, the Zikir Beredah art, or Lukah Gilo from Lubuk Raman village, Maro Sebo district, Muaro Jambi regency. His talent in performing arts was inherited from his grandfather and father. His grandfather was the main actor of the Dul Muluk theater, while his father was a Siamese tambourine player and drummer.

Since childhood Saidin grew up with the Muaro Jambi traditional arts. He is proficient as a performer in the Dul Muluk theater. He is also the main performer of the Zikir Beredah and Lukah Gilo traditional arts.

The Zikir Beredah is a kind of an Arabic musical performance involving dozens of Siamese tambourine and gong players. All the songs are quoted from the verses of the Quran. That is why Zikir Beredah is performed at special events such as weddings and to give thanks when moving to a new home.

The people believe if the verses in the Zikir Beredah are sung with loud tambourine claps and the blaring of the gong, they will be able to drive away evil spirits.

Meanwhile, Lukah Gilo, an art performance with a magical element, is played with bamboo, singing and music.

Not only being a performer, Saidin is also good at playing all the musical instruments used in the traditional arts. He is also able to make musical instruments himself. In short, he has all the expertise in these traditional arts. As a performer of the Muaro Jambi traditional arts, Saidin enjoyed his heydays in the 1980s. During these years, he performed from one to another stage almost every week especially at wedding and thanksgiving events.

However, entering the 1990s, the existence of traditional arts began to disappear with the emergence of   various kinds of modern entertainment.

Saidin and other artists only realized the threat in 2000. He and his friends then tried to revive the fading traditional arts. At the same time, the local governments were also trying to promote the traditional arts to encourage the local tourism. Since then, the invitation to perform has begun to come again.

First test

A number of traditional art groups began to appear again in villages in Muaro Jambi but the difficulty in finding the musical instruments has hampered their performances. In the past, every family usually had a tambourine in their home. As the local art faded, musical instruments were abandoned or lost. Even worse, the makers of the traditional art instruments were no longer there.

Just to get a tambourine, sometimes the local artists had to place an order at a music store in Jambi city. The shop owner then ordered it from an art craftsman in Medan. Sometimes, the tambourine they received was not the same as requested. "The Siamese tambourine from Jambi is different from the Medan tambourine. Sometimes, the difference is not realized," Saidin recalled.

In order to help the revival of the traditional arts and prevent them from dying due to the lack of musical instruments, Saidin decided to make his own tambourine, piul or the Malay violin, and other musical instruments.

He admitted that the process was not easy. To make a tambourine, for example, Saidin had to look for selected wood in the forest. The wood was then carved, smoothed, and shaped like half of the ball.

The open top surface was covered with goat skin or antelope skin. The animal skin was then tied with a rattan rope at the along edge of the tambourine.

Saidin also tried hard to make a violin. This musical instrument, according to Saidin, is the most difficult to make, because the body of the violin must be made from a log. A part of the log is then carved to make a hole. Similarly, the edges should be carefully shaped. Saidin needed more than a week to make a violin, with simple equipment. To adjust the tones, Saidin relied on the sharpness of his feeling and musical experience. "Everything I did, I learned it by myself," he said.

In order to get the best quality of wood, he only used the middle layer of the log of the berumbung wood (Adina minutiflora), rengas (Gluta renghas), or pulai (Alstonia scholaris). The old wood was chosen so that it would be long-lasting. The solid wood can produce better sound quality.

The use of a musical instrument with a good quality of sound is the right tool to play worship music to the Creator. Therefore, the material should be carefully selected. So far, the musical instruments made by Saidin can last long and can be used for generations.

With the availability of more musical instruments, the traditional art of the Muaro Jambi began to appear again. However, there is a lack of appreciation to the artists who take care of the traditional arts and those who made the musical instruments.

Second test

In the midst of his enthusiasm in preserving the Dul Muluk, Zikir Beredah, and Lukah Gilo traditional art performances, Saidin had a tumor coli which grew on his neck. The tumor that was only as big as a marble six months ago, had grown to the size of a tennis ball. The disease made his body thin and weakened his muscles and joints.

When Kompas visited him in Lubuk Raman village on June 10, 2019, he laid weak near an uncompleted violin. "If I felt strong enough, the violin should have been completed," he said. Even though he was sick, the spirit to preserve the traditional arts remained strong.

He tried to get up and play the violin to entertain the guests who came. His wife, Juliati (50), accompanied Saidin\'s play with drum beat. They performed the songs "Merajut Surang" and "Batanghari".

The tumor that attacks Saidin is a tough test for his efforts in keeping the traditional Muaro Jambi arts, perhaps the hardest. As an artist who relies on art, he is barely get income during his illness. Now, he relies on his wife Juliati who works as a rubber tapping sapper with a small pay.

To fulfill his daily needs and seek medical treatment, Saidin was forced to sell almost all the valuables in the house, including his homemade musical instruments, such as gambus guitars, piuls of  violins, Siamese tambourines, and drums. "Everything has been sold," he said.

Whatever the condition, Saidin did not want to give up with the disease. He wanted to recover and continue his dream to revive long-lost local traditional arts.

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Saidin

Saidin

Born: Muaro Jambi, April 17, 1964

Wife: Juliati (50)

Children: Anita (14) and Ayu Wulandari (10)