MJA Nashir has just completed a short video about the Theme
Song for our film, Rangsa ni Tonun. Watching the video, it is impossible not to fall in love
with the music and the way Suarasama, the renowned music group in Medan, has
arranged and performed it.
The little ditty that Ompu ni Sihol sang for me in her
cracked and quavering old voice the last time I saw her was magical for MJA
Nashir. That he took the tape recording to the husband-wife team, Irwansyah Harahap and
Rithaony Hutajulu, the two founders of Suarasama, was a stroke of brilliance.
That they have done so much with that little recording is a testament to their
love of the melodies that used to be so much more prevalent in the Batak
villages. Batak music in the villages is disappearing.
I first really spoke with Irwansyah and Rithaony in their
home in Medan in 2010, also a meeting instigated by Mas Nashir. We had just
completed our Pulang Kampung journey and the idea of the film, Rangsa ni Tonun,
had not yet announced itself in my mind. That first conversation was as
memorable as it was inspiring.
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| My first meeting with Irwansyah and Rita in their beautiful home |
My Indonesian was still so rusty that I had
difficulties following it, but the gist of it brought me back to my passion for
the study of Batak culture while I was a graduate student struggling with my
dissertation. I had been struck by the coherence of the culture, how the same
structures of thought express themselves through different cultural media. My
dissertation was an exploration of concepts of time and space found in Batak
literature, architecture and, of course textiles. And now here was Irwansyah
explaining how he found the same thought structures in Batak music. I was
tremendously excited. We talked about how it would be possible to bring these
complicated but beautiful ideas over to the Batak youth and mused about doing
it through performance that would intertwine the same themes through different
media. I know that we had re-invented the source of ritual. That is what the
great Batak rituals were about! They gave coherence and reason to all of life.
Might these same ideas be the wellspring for the perpetuation of culture in the
modern arena? What is ritual in the modern day? An opera or performance? Ritual
without the participation of all, ritual as presentation? I still look back on
that conversation with longing. The realization of what we talked about remains compelling. I hope that we will someday create the opportunity to do
something with that seed. It would be a great honour for me to be able to work so
creatively with this professional, dedicated and very gifted couple.
Suarasama’s work on Ompu ni Sihol’s ‘The Weaving Song’ took
place primarily when I was in Holland, again under the guidance of MJA Nashir.
I was fortunate to be able to attend one of their practices when I was back in
North Sumatra – Nashir video-recorded that happy moment. Words cannot express
how deeply satisfied and thrilled I was with Suarasama’s product.
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| Rehearsal of 'The Weaving Song' |
I should not have been surprised. I don’t know them well,
but I do know that Rithaony and Irwansyah comb the Batak area looking for melodies that
are disappearing. They record this music and store it. One day they will be
renowned and thanked for what they have managed to salvage. They guide students
in ethnomusicology at the University of North Sumatra and do what they can to
stimulate Batak youth to learn their musical tradition. Both are qualified
ethnomusicologists and professional musicians. Rithaony used to sing for Opera Batak.
Irwansyah encourages the making of indigenous instruments; the environment
where we spoke on that memorable day was clad with his collection of musical
trophies. The Suarasama team includes other top musicians. Together they make
beautiful recordings that are known throughout the world.
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| Ritha and Irwansyah in concert |
Here are a few links
to their music freely available on the internet:
And here are some things written about them in the media:
I have asked Suarasama to join us on the Boat Budaya and they
have not turned me down. We are still discussing logistics and possibilities. I
would be so honoured by their participation and I know that, if they are able
to join us, they will be motivated, just as MJA Nashir and I, by their love of
Batak culture. I hope that the Boat Budaya will also represent an opportunity
to teach music to the youth on board and to inspire the Batak in the villages
to honour their musical tradition. I look forward to the music (all acoustic) wafting
on the breeze over the lake to all the little villages nestled against the
shores. Music carries so well on the water. It will announce our arrival and our
event better than anything else ever could. And oh, it would be such a pleasure
to sail with these traditional sounds. I know that there will be dancing on
board. Nobody will be able to help themselves from standing up and joining in.
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