Salomon Gau, 57, has been in a good mood since attending the 2022 Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), which took place at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching last weekend.
It’s been four years since Miri-based Salomon last performed at the Festival, which was put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic and Salomon was happy to be back at the music event.
During the three-day event, the Kenyah dancer and musician performed alongside legendary sape master Matthew Ngau Jau; he also caught up with his former student, sape player Alena Murang and other musicians.
Salomon also participated in RMWF’s music workshops where he took the opportunity to introduce the jatong utang, a traditional wooden xylophone which he makes, to attendees. He also invited his teacher, Ngau Bilong, to perform at the festival.
The jatong utang is played predominantly by Sarawak’s Orang Ulu community, particularly the Kayan and Kenyah tribes.
“The jatong utang isn’t as popular as the sape but it is among a the few traditional music instruments of the Orang Ulu community.
“During my workshops, many visitors were intrigued by the unique sounds of the jatong utang. Many people were also surprised to learn that I have been making this percussion instrument, together with the sape and nose flute for close to 30 years,” said Salomon.
In 2008, Salomon and his sape teacher Michael Arang Jalong emerged champions at the Borneo Sampe’ Festival, a sape competition.
The friendly man is among a handful of Kenyah musicians who are actively promoting Sarawak’s rich culture and heritage to a larger audience, both locally and abroad.
In the last decade, Salomon has showcased Sarawak’s traditional performances such as ngajat and saga’ (Kenyah traditional warrior dance) as well as traditional instruments at cultural shows in Switzerland, France, Norway, and Hong Kong.
“I started to dance at a young age. I learned ngajat and poetry singing from my late father and grandpa when I was four years old. A year later, I did my first performance. What I like most about the Kenyah culture, especially its dances and music, is the meaning behind the songs.
“The belian dado (a melodious Kenyah dance and song) is an expression of love, respect, togetherness, and unity. The more I perform at events, the more I appreciate the meaning of the lyrics. And, somehow, it has made me more humble and helped me have better relationships with others. This is the best part of our ancestral tradition,” said Salomon, born and raised in Kampung Long Ikang, in Lower Baram.
The father of five has spent close to 40 years understanding and practising his craft, whether dancing, singing, or even making the traditional instruments. He wants to share his culture and ensure its continuity for the generations to come.
He is also a performer and trainer with the Tuyang Initiative, a social enterprise that hopes to preserve the cultural heritage of indigenous communities and provide sustainable economic opportunities for these communities.
Salomon wants to teach the younger generation of Kenyah youth to play and make traditional instruments.
“I’ve trained my son, daughter and nephew to play the sape. I’m proud that they have performed with me. I’m in the midst of properly documenting a syllabus for the future generations. I also hope more people will come forward to learn to make instruments like the jatong utang, nose flute and sape.”
Though live performances were halted for about two years during the pandemic, Salomon participated in the New Zealand High Commission and Education New Zealand’s Cultural Appreciation: Perspective – Malaysia X New Zealand virtual show and also the United Nations Development Programme’s virtual performance at Youth Co: Lab Summit.
Bornean Xylophone
The jatong utang has 13 wooden bars (frets) of different sizes (measuring about 5cm in width and between 30cm and 43cm in length) in a ladder-like layout. The instrument – played using a pair of round wooden mallets (similar to drum sticks) – is used as an accompanying instrument to the sape and gong.
Salomon first laid eyes on the instrument in 1985, during his cousin’s wedding reception in Kampung Long Ikang. The jatong utang performers at the event were his relatives from Long Nawang in Kalimantan.
“It was fascinating to come across a wooden instrument that can produce different pitches simply by hitting the bars with a mallet. I was already a sape musician by then, and I was interested to learn to play and make the jatong utang too,” shared Salomon, who learned to make the instrument from Ngau, a Kenyah.
The jatong utang is made from different types of wood, known as kayu jelapa, kayu ela, kayu kelalai and kayu nyerapong among the Kenyah community. Salomon explained that these types of wood aren’t too hard or soft, making them the perfect choice for quality-sounding jatong utangs.
But sourcing for raw material isn’t a walk in the park (or woods), the craftsman added.
“These species of wood are only found in Upper Baram. They do not grow in my village which is situated at Lower Baram.
“I hire locals to get the wood and they must journey by boat and four-wheel trucks to reach the dense forests. From there, they’d have to travel by foot for several hours to hunt for the specific wood,” he said.
Villagers can only chop down the trees at a specific time each month (depending on the moon phase) as we believe this will keep the wood weather resistant and prevents them from being attacked by insects. It’s a tough job, and Salomon pays them extra pocket money to cover their meals during the trips.
From there, the wood is transported to Salomon’s home, which is an eight-hour drive from Upper Baram.
The most challenging part about making the jatong utang is splitting the log into specific thickness and width and cutting each stick to a particular length. His must-have carpentry tools include spokeshave, machete, ‘pu-e’ (a handmade local knife) and chisel.
And then there’s the task of carving the wood correctly to get the right tone and pitch. This involves the meticulous job of carving and then refining it multiple times until it produces the perfect pitch. Only then is the bar lightly sanded.
“I usually use two or three sticks to make one wooden key (on the instrument). This is because the wood’s outer, inner, lower, and upper parts all produce different sound qualities,” he said.
Tuning the instrument is also a tricky process. It is tuned at different times of the day: morning, afternoon, and night and also in an air-conditioned room to ensure that the pitching is spot on.
“This is because the contraction and expansion of the sticks could influence the tune,” he explained.
“My handcrafted jatong utang and sape are pitched according to the Kenyah traditional scales, following the tunes of Belian Dado’ songs like Lileng, Lan E’, and Meno’ Mesai Muwit,” said Salomon, who takes about three days to assemble the jatong utang.
However, the orders for his handmade instruments are a few. It could be due to the intrument’s lack of popularity and also the rather high price of an instrument which is driven up because of the difficulty in obtaining the wood to make it.
“Many people do not buy this instrument because it is expensive. For example, a sape costs about RM1,500 while the starting price of a jatong utang is RM1,200.
“Due to the challenges in getting the wood, I now create jatong utangs of a different quality. These are for beginners as well as for professional players. I’m trying to adjust the pricing to appeal to a larger target audience,” said Salomon, who has also made a jatong utang for Alena.
His wish is that more Kenyah youth will pick up traditional instruments to ensure the continuity of traditional music and culture.
“My dream is to pass on our rich traditional culture. Hopefully, our community can document our rich culture for generations to come,” he concludes.
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