Brunei’s Traditional Music under Threat of Extinction

Various indigenous races of Brunei Darussalam own most of the country’s traditional musical instruments.  The instruments have been given several different names by the various races, but their similarities are evident when the instruments are presented during performances.

The matter was touched on during a talk on books that was held Monday at the Language and Literature Bureau.  The talk was presented by an education officer from the Ministry of Education, Awang Mohammad Abdoh in his comments on a book entitled ‘Alat Muzik Tradisional Brunei’ or Brunei’s Traditional Musical Instrument’.  The book by Hajah Kapiah Abdullah was first published in 1993 and again last year. 

According to the book, different races of this country have different views and uses of the musical instruments. 

Take the gulingtangan orchestra, for instance, for without the proper accompaniment of instruments, a musical ensemble is incomplete. Gulintangan is normally accompanied by the tawak-tawak, canang, and gong to name a few.According to the book, some races hold on to the superstition that if a musical instrument has been stepped over it will produce an unseemly tone or caused skin diseases.  For the Dusuns and Muruts, playing the gulintangan is taboo when there is death. 

The session involved students and teachers, staff of the Language and Literature Bureau, writers and government officers.  The talk was aimed at exposing the culture covering all races in the country and the need to document in audio the country’s traditional music that is threatened by extinction.