Syapril Yamin, Keep ‘Gamolan’ Music Resounding

Syapril Yamin dedicates his life to the preservation of the traditional musical instrument of Lampung, South Sumatra. He wants the sound of gamolan music to be heard all the time.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Syapril Yamin

Syapril Yamin, 53, has nurtured his love of gamolan pekhing (bamboo xylophone) since childhood. The artist dedicates his life to the preservation of the traditional musical instrument of Lampung, South Sumatra. He wants the sound of gamolan music to be heard all the time.

“I can say that I have been familiar with gamolan since I first opened my eyes,” said Syapril while busily teaching two youths to play gamolan in early January 2023.

In his room at the Art Council Office of Lampung, Mamak Lil, as Syapril is nicknamed, received two young people interested in learning gamolan music. Patiently, he explained the basic tones of the bamboo musical instrument. Then he gave an example of how to play it to produce a beautiful and melodious sound.

Gamolan pekhing, also known as cetik, is made from seven bamboo bars that are set on a round bamboo tube as a means of resonance.

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This instrument has six tonic notes on the bamboo bars: do, re, mi, so, la, ti and do. Meanwhile, another bar has a rhythmic or tone-converting function. There is no fa note in gamolan pekhing.

Syapril is not only an accomplished player and teacher of gamolan pekhing. He is also expert at making the traditional instrument. Since 1995, he has produced tens of thousands of gamolan pekhing units for schools, colleges and art studios in Lampung.

Thanks to his expertise, he has earned the title “Rajo Gamolan” (king of gamolan). So popular is this appellation that he is better known by Lampung people as “Mamak Lil Rajo Gamolan” than by his real name.

In learning gamolan, Syapril knew no musical score. He learned to play the instrument with his father’s guidance as a child. Returning home from his paddy field at noon, his father crafted gamolan to be played and collected in his native village of Kembahang, Batu Brak district, West Lampung.

At home, he watched his father play and listened to pieces of gamolan music every day. “I was put on my father’s lap, my hands were held and guided to play this musical instrument,” he recalled the time when he first learned gamolan.

I was put on my father’s lap, my hands were held and guided to play this musical instrument.

He began to play gamolan in public when he was a student of State Junior High School 1 Liwa, West Lampung. At the time, not many teenagers of his age were skilled in playing traditional music.

Owing to his skill, many people asked him to play gamolan at wedding ceremonies. In addition to gamolan, Syapril is also adept at playing other instruments like gambus lunik (seven-string sitar), serdam (flute) and talo balak (Lampung-style gamelan).

As a student of Senior High School 1 Telukbetung, young Syapril joined Pesagih Belalaw Studio to further his musical hobby. In 1995, he was requested by the regional administration to make a comparative study and produce a large number of gamolan units for regional-art preservation.

There are several forms of tabuhan (stick hitting) in playing gamolan, including tabuh jarang (for literary narration), tabuh labung angin (for wedding ceremonies), tabuh sekeli (for inviting relatives) and tabuh sambai agung (for welcoming guests). These techniques are fully mastered by Mamak Lil. As a top artist, he has also created some more typical styles like tabuh alaw-alaw kembahang, tabuh hiwang and tabuh tari (for dances).

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Syapril Yamin

World recognition

Over the last few years, Mamak Lil has joined the quest for the recognition of gamolan pekhing by the UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. He was several times invited to meetings along with artists and art experts from a number of provinces in Indonesia having the same kind of percussion instruments.

According to him, there are at least 14 provinces in Indonesia having musical percussion instruments made from bamboo, wood or bronze. In West Sumatra, there is a percussion instrument known as talempong. In Bali there is seloding, while in West Java, East Java and South Kalimantan they have gamelan.

Therefore, it was agreed that “gamelan” was the name proposed to represent a set of traditional percussion musical instruments of Indonesian origin. On 15 December 2021, gamelan was finally declared an intangible cultural heritage by the UNESCO through the 16^th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Paris. Gamolan pekhing is included among the instruments designated by the overarching term “gamelan”.

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For the Lampung population, gamolan also functions as a means of unification. In a performance, gamolan can be played separately or along with other musical instruments. The traditional instrument, believed to have existed for centuries, also serves as a means of entertainment and cultural expression of agrarian society.

As a regional art maestro, Mamak Lil has done a lot to teach school and college students to play gamolan. He has also issued a book to provide young people in Lampung with a written guide for learning.

Nonetheless, in his view, the effort to popularize gamolan pekhing as a traditional musical instrument still needs the support of the trigonal administration. Traditional artists in Lampung need a great deal more space to be engaged in creative work. This is what they have waited for to date.

Although his artistic activities cannot yet be relied upon as a source of living, Mamak Lil loyally keeps gamolan music resounding. He chooses to dedicate his life to gamolan art for the preservation of cultural heritage.

“Mak kham sapa lagi [Who will do it if we don’t],” he said while playing gamolan.

Syapril Yamin

Born:Kembahang, 24 May 1969

Wife:Hidup Amir

Children:Three

Education: State Senior High School 1 Telukbetung, Bandar Lampung

Awards:

- Lampung Traditional Art Conservation Award from the governor of Lampung (2010)

- Creativity Award from SPDD Sultan Skala Brak Yang Dipertuan Ke-23 Kepaksian Pernong (2011)

- Cultural Conserver Award from West Lampung regency administration (2017)

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.