Imam Hj Mansur
Tuan Haji Anuar Wahab (serunai) (al-fatehah).
Terima kasih.
Inilah kali pertama saya bermain serunai untuk kejohanan Tomoi yang berlangsung di Stadium Titiwangsa pada hari sabtu malam yang lepas. Seawalnya Un mengatakan bahawa guru kami, Pakcik Din Guai akan turun dari Pahang. Jadi, mula-mula saya hanya ingin berjumpa dengan beliau, tapi serunai saya standby juga. Manalah tahu pakcik menyuruh saya meniup. Kebetulan sdr Azhar Tekpi agak lapang pada malam itu. Petang itu saya menghantar sms bertanyakan samada dia ada kelapangan atau tidak. Terima kasih saya kepada sdr Azhar yang bersusah payah mengambil saya kerana kereta sudah tamat road tax nya.
Alhamdulillah, malam itu sdr Azhar tiba dalam jam 9.30, lebih kurang. Saya menyangkakan bahawa sudah terlambat. Dengan keadaan kesesakan luar biasa di kawasan tasik titiwangsa, saya malas nak fikir samada sudah lewat atau tidak, yang penting dapat berjumpa dengan pakcik Din. Setibanya di stadium, saya tidak terdengar apa-apa kecuali kebisingan lagu-lagu yang mengiringi peserta Tomoi yang masuk ke gelanggang. Tidak bertangguh, saya membeli tiket dan menuju ke tempat gendang.
Wah! Memang bingit sekali dengan suara penyokong-penyokong yang hadir. Sorak-sorai memenuhi suasana. Saya duduk di sebelah pakcik yang berehat sebentar. Tak lama kemudian saya teringat sdr Azhar yang terpaksa memarkir kereta agak jauh. Sms diterima, saya bergegas mencari sdr Azhar, rupa-rupanya dia sudah masuk menggunakan tiket gendang, chis, percuma!
Ketika itu perlawanan ketiga. Saya hanya duduk dan bersembang dengan pakcik apabila perlawanan dihentikan untuk seketika. Dada saya mula berdebar dan badan naik seram sejuk. Dalam hati teringin sekali bermain serunai mengiringi aksi petinju Tomoi pada malam itu. Tapi perasaan gemuruh menguasai memandangkan suasana yang bergegar, juga kerana permainan gendang Tomoi pada malam itu adalah dari aliran gendang Kelantan. Sudahnya saya diam, tapi perlahan-lahan saya membasahkan lidah serunai. Pakcik Din yang faham debaran hati saya, cepat-cepat menggesa saya untuk menggantikan tempatnya dengan alasan beliau ingin ke tandas.
Dada saya duk, dak, duk, dak… Tapi saya bertawakal, alang-alang serunai sudah menghala ke mikrofon, saya tiup sahaja apabila pengaracara mengumumkan ‘langkah sembah’ oleh petinju Tomoi – perlawanan keempat. Jari-jari saya menari di atas batang serunai, melayangkan lagu Tomoi aliran Kedah, meskipun saya menyedari bahawa lagu gendang Tomoi itu adalah dari aliran Tomoi Kelantan. Saya berserah.
Masuk pusingan kedua dan ketiga, hati saya sudah tenang dan mula memahami rentak dan corak permainan gendang Tomoi Kelantan, telinga saya mencari bunyi gong untuk menyelaraskan dan menyesuaikan serunai Tomoi Kedah dan gendang Tomoi Kelantan. Makin lama, makin laju rentak gendang. Tidak sempat saya mengalunkan bunga lagu Tomoi, hanya ambil yang asas dan sesekali sahaja saya sulamkan bunga lagu Tomoi Kedah. Masuk pusingan kelima dan keenam, gendang semakin rancak, sejajar dengan aksi dan langkah peninju yang semakin agresif.
Apabila perlawanan tamat, dapatlah saya berehat seketika. Pusingan keenam alunan serunai berpindah semula kepada pakcik Din. Saya hanya memerhati dan menikmati perlawanan Tomoi. Sesekali lagak gadis yang naik ke pentas sambil memegang kadbod yang bersaiz sederhana mencuri perhatian penonton. Saya senyum sahaja. Semasa berakhirnya perlawanan ketiga, hadiah dan cenderamata diberikan kepada para peserta sebelum perlawanan seterusnya.
Semasa memerhatikan peninju Tomoi menarikan langkah sembah yang menarik, saya terkenang sambil berfikir kenapakah perlawanan silat olahraga tiada mempamerkan seni yang sebegini sedangkan kita mempunyai pelbagai aliran dan tentunya tari silat yang bermacam ragam dan bentuk itu menarik hati. Di Kelantan, pertandingan Silat Jatuh sudah mempamerkan mutu dan persembahan yang jauh lebih menarik dari silat olahraga yang cuma memaparkan aksi silat yang sudah tidak mencerminkan ketinggian mutu dan nilai seni dan estetika persilatan yang cantik dan murni.
Jam sudah menunjukkan angka 12, tapi perlawanan masih diteruskan. Dalam pemerhatian saya, perlawanan kedua terakhir adalah yang paling menarik kerana aksi dan agresif dipamerkan. Tumbukan dan sepakan saling bertukar dan menyulam pula dengan buah-buah Tomoi yang selalu saya perhatikan dalam filem-filem aksi dan purba
"I feel something is amiss if I go through the day without once playing the gendang (drum) - just like a forlorn person pining for his missing loved one," quipped a cheerful-looking Hamid Abdullah, to the rapturous guffaws from all those within earshot.
The affable 48-year-old Hamid, whom residents of Kampung Kuala Lanjut affectionately call Pak Tih Mid, was all smiles as he related his experience at playing the gendang silat (traditional Melayu drum which usually accompany a silat demonstration) to journalists, at his home here.
Grabbing the 53.3 cm-long drum that hung on the wall of his house, Hamid placed the musical instrument on his lap, his fingers caressing the skin as he strike forcefully onto the drum face, letting out a staccato of thumping beat.
Occasionally adjusting his headgear, Hamid related his gendang-playing legacy.
Among the 15 siblings, Hamid is the fifth and only child who took up the cudgel from his father and is carrying on with the musical tradition, which has been in the family's patriarchal lineage for the past three generations.
"I started playing the drum at the age of 14 and have never stopped to this day," claimed Hamid, who still keeps the first drum that he made some 30 years ago. He also keeps the drum his father made some 70 years ago.
Earning a living playing the gendang
Hamid, who formed his own musical ensemble called Gendang Budaya Warisan Pak Tih (Hamid's Cultural Drum Heritage) 20 years ago, said playing the gendang silat has enabled him to support his family.
Besides playing at silat demonstrations, he also gets invited to perform at wedding receptions as well being a regular act at government functions like the Merdeka celebrations and VIP receptions.
Hamid charges from RM600 to RM2,000 depending on the location, time, the nature of the function and whether other traditional instruments would be required.
Hamid demonstrated his musical prowess by playing five drums simultaneously.
"The thinner the leather used, the better and sharper would the sound of the beat be," said Hamid.
He said the quality of the beats produced by a drum depends on the tautness of the leather used for the drums surfaces.
Usually, cowhide leather is used to form the bam or inferior surface of the gendang that emits low-pitch beats while sheepskin leather is used for the superior surface or cang that emits high-pitch beats.
"Rattan is used to reinforce the tautness of the bam," said Hamid who keeps 10 pairs of various Melayu drums used for silat and joget routines.
For Hamid, even though the task to create a gendang is really meticulous, the interest in keeping his father's legacy alive keeps him going on.
"A good gendang is that made from either the jackfruit, coconut or cempedak wood. I would usually seek out the wood from the jungle", said Hamid who also teaches the art of self defence, Silat Gayung Melayu.
He said the ideal length of a gendang is around 55cm as it would not strain the arms and can be comfortably held.
Such gendang may cost up to RM800 and making one, takes about one month, he said.
Assistance from Kraftangan
Hamid felt as if he was over the moon when the Kedah-branch of Kraftangan Malaysia offered him RM5,000 assistance.
Hence, from the money, Hamid built a workshop next to his home in an effort to conserve the Melayu drums heritage.
Apart from the gendang-making work, the workshop also doubles up as a kind of a showroom for those who wish to view the finished products.
Kraftangan Malaysia also channeled RM20,000 worth of cowhide leather and machine for Hamid's gendang-making effort.
Fifth generation
Now Hamid is a relieved man as three of his children have shown that they are keen to follow his interest.
Hamid's sons Mohd Sabri, 25, Mohd Shabi, 17 and Mohd Faizal, 16, frequently follow their father and his Gendang Warisan Pusaka troupe to their performances.
According to Mohd Sabri, ever since he first started to hear the performance of the gendang when he was a child, his interest in the tradition has built up.
"I started to play the gendang when I was in standard three, and now I work fulltime to make them. If not my brothers and I, who else would continue this legacy, furthermore performing with the gendang is able to give us a good income.
"Sometimes, we have our hands full in meeting the invitations to perform", he said.
Mohd Sabri is also learning how to perform with the serunai like his father who is adept at performing the traditional tunes like Mak Inang Lama, Layang Mas and Didikku.
This was proven when Hamid charmed the journalists when he performed the Ayam Didik tune with the serunai.
Written by Nurul Halawati Azhari
Sourced from http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_features.php?id=361283
Sumber dari laman web : Suefami's foto
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