The Annah Rais Pratuokng and the Practical Appearance of Re-invented Musical Instruments

Abstract

The Annah Rais pratuokng is a traditional musical instrument of the Bidayuh. It is also known as a simple idiochord chordophone. It is made of a petung bamboo, and the sound faculty is equivalent to the functions of the Bidayuh community gong set. The sound radiator meaning is made up of tawak, satuk and canang. A similar tube zither made of bamboo, named pretong or sretong, is used by the Bidayuh of Bau. The three-string sound radiators are kromong, canang, gong, plus the tawak and gedabak. Pratuokng sound radiators are like the gongs of the Bidayuh. According to Horsbourgh's observation, "... gongs... are both a musical instrument and a representation of wealth”2. The Annah Rais Bidayuh gong set, privately owned by the villagers, can be typically played every year for ritual practice as well as for entertainment during the Gawai celebration on the first and second June. The audio collection of the Ethnology Section of the Sarawak Museum provides similar recordings from other occasions than played duringGawai Panggah. Also, some groups’ celebrations among the Bidayuh Biata, Bidayuh Selakau, and Lara, Bidayuh Lara were recorded. Few recordings were collected in Annah Rais between 1988 and 1998, which still maintain the same settings as those recorded in Kupuo Saba of Annah Rais to this date. In the context of the use of gongs during celebrations, the representations of gong tones can also be found on a pratuokng. One point of debate in the literature about tube zithers is, whether the voice functions found in the gong collection mimic the string voices found on the pratuokng or the other way round. Does this fact serve as a featured phenomenon to the actual appearance of re-invented musical instruments? Does it contribute to its sustainable appearance today?