Irama Alap-Alap Tondi on Gondang Dua ensemble

Audio 11.3: Audio Example 3 in Chapter 11 of book: Margaret Kartomi, ‘Musical Journeys in Sumatra’, Champaign-Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012. Pakantan, situated in the south-west corner of North Sumatra, is an isolated valley of Batak Mandailing hamlets. The people were eventually converted to Islam after Muslim Padri forces invaded the area from around 1810. However, vestiges of ancestral customs and beliefs still prevail in ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, house-warmings and healing rituals. Drum ensembles are a feature of the traditional music that accompanies these practices. According to traditional belief, ancestral and nature spirits are drawn like a magnet to the sound of cyclic drum rhythms that may be played on 3 types of drum sets. One of these is the “gondang dua”, a set of 2 small double-headed drums traditionally reserved for small weddings and funerals presented by free commoners (as opposed to royalty or slaves). The Gunung Kulabu ensemble led by Amrul Lubis performs the piece in this excerpt. The ensemble comprises 2 “gondang dua”, kettle gongs (“momongan”), small cymbals (“talisasayap”), 2 gongs and an oboe (“sarune” in Mandailing, and “sarunai” in the Malay and Indonesian languages). The title of the excerpt translates as ‘rhythm calling the spirits’. It is played third at a ceremony, signaling the start of communal dancing. The piece was recorded in November 1978. Duration: 3min.26 sec.

Copyright 1978. Margaret J. Kartomi.