KUANTAN: That a 208-year-old gamelan set will feature at the installation of Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on July 30 is a story worth sharing.
This is because the set of instruments, which is synonymous with royal court music, is the first gamelan set to be brought into then Malaya and is of great significance to the Pahang royal institution.
According to Pahang State Museum Corporation director Datuk Ahmad Farid Abd Jalal, the ensemble originated from the Riau-Lingga royal sultanate in Riau and was introduced at a performance in Pekan, Pahang, in 1811.
“A dance and musical troupe brought in the instruments for a special performance to celebrate the marriage of Wan Esah, a younger sister of Pahang ruler Bendahara Tun Ali, to Tengku Hussain, who was the eldest son of Sultan Mahmud Syah III of Riau-Lingga,“ he told Bernama.
Gamelan dance and music, also known as joget Pahang, became popular in the Pahang royal court during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Al-Mu’adzam Shah through Tengku Ampuan Wan Fatimah and his second wife, Che Zubedah.
According to Ahmad Farid, the gamelan set was later taken to Terengganu in 1915 when Che Zubedah migrated to the state a year after Sultan Ahmad’s death to live with her daughter Tengku Ampuan Mariam who had married Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah (son of Sultan Zainal Abidin III).
After the Second World War erupted in 1941 and following the death of Sultan Sulaiman in 1942, interest in gamelan music waned and the instruments were kept safely at Istana Kolam, which was the palace of Tengku Ampuan Mariam.
“The gamelan set was later brought back to Pahang in 1973 with the consent of Tengku Ampuan Mariam before being handed over to the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum in Pekan to be kept only for special performances.
“It is befitting for the gamelan set to be featured during the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s installation as the instrument has been very closely linked to the state,“ he said.
The Malay gamelan set comprises a kromong or bonang, gambang, gendang, saron demung, saron barong, kenong, gong suwukan and gong agung and, usually, five or seven people are required for a performance.
On the music performed at installation ceremonies, Ahmad Farid said it would usually start with a musical composition that relates to battle, followed by songs such as Raja Berangkat, Timang Burung, Togok, Raja Berperang, Kendong Gajah Mati, Lantai Lima, Selantin, Puteri Bongsu and Lambang Sari.
Aminallah Ali, 67, the gamelan group leader who plays the bonang, said great care must be taken in song selection as they must be appropriate for the occasion.
Muhammad Zahari, 57, who plays the gambang, said he is honoured to be given the opportunity to present this unique traditional art form to the international community through the installation ceremony. He has been with the gamelan group for 32 years.
Muhammad, who works at the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum, said the installation would be the second time that the group performs at Istana Negara after a performance held in conjunction with the visit of South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Malaysia in March.
“We may be experts in playing gamelan music but we still need to practise and discuss the songs and rhythm to come up with satisfactory performance. Although we have been performing at numerous palace functions, this will be exceptional as this event will go down in history,” he said. — Bernama
