Travels are going well Arrived safely in Padang Panjang on Wednesday afternoon via Jakarta.

It’s great to be back with Admiral, my host and his family. Already we are into action traveling to remote villages to see which groups/areas can be a featured as part of Sumatralia. 

For those who don’t know I am in West Sumatra. Padang is the capital of the province. Padang Panjang is where the Institute of Performing Arts is located and is my base. Solok is another region in West Sumatra as is Bukitinggi.  

Sidi Burak

Yesterday we went to Admirals parents house in Solok some 2 hours from Padang Panjang. He took me to a village nearby called Tabek Dangka where there is a style of music called ‘Indang Solok’. ‘Indang’ is the drum and ‘Solok’ the area.  

The group is called ‘Alang Lawik’ which translates as Sea Eagle. They’re an 11-piece frame drum ensemble. Alang Lawik has been in operation since 1930 with members constantly passing on the music to children and the younger generations in the village. It is very village specific. 

The groups’ style has its origins in Acehenese dance that was taken to Pariaman in 1910. The Islamic pilgrim from Pariaman Sidi Burak studied in ‘Tari Saman’ in Aceh and brought it back to Pariaman (Coastal area in West Sumatra). 

Tari Saman is famous styles of Acehenese dance that involve a lot of high-energy body percussion and singing.

We arrive in the rain and sat in a dilapidated old kitchen/stall for some time. I was introduced to the head to the village Pak Wir. He also manages the performing arts. He showed me the drums they used and played a little. 

He then suggested he show us a video of Alang Lawik. More of the group arrived when we watched the VCD in a house across the way.

 I was pretty gob smacked. It’s very hard to describe the group but suffice to say I’d never really seen anything like it and they were absolutely awesome.

 We arranged to have some lessons and to video Alang Lawik when Andy arrives. It feels like a wonderful start. This area is just so rich in art & culture.

 Today we will go to Lasi near Bukitinggi. There is a group there that specialise in a Dikia Rebano or Zikir Rebana.

 Zikir is to memuji (worship) and menyebut (chant) sifat-sifat (the qualities) of Allah. Dikia Rebano is a musical style that has developed out of Zikir.

 They use Rebana which is a large frame drum seen throughout Sumatra which came through traders from the Middle East.

 We will also order some Rebana from here.

Hope all is well in Oz. I will write again soon. Rendra.

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