Iman Rahman, A "Karinding" Tale

Tatang Mulyana Sinaga

· 7 minutes read

The first time Iman Rahman Anggawira Kusumah, 41, heard a karinding in 2003 it made no special impression on him. Five years later, amid reports of the disappearance of the karinding he sought information and slowly his love for the Sundanese musical instrument grew.

His memory goes back to a time when he was still an elementary school teacher in the city of Bandung, West Java. At that time, Iman was accompanying his students on a field trip to Taman Kupu-Kupu in Bogor. He saw someone playing a karinding.

"The students were interested and approached the person. I was not interested," recounted the man more usually known as Kimung, amid his busy activity organizing the Karinding’s Day Out festival in Bandung on Sunday (21/7/2019).

Five years later, Kimung heard from his friends that the karinding, a local musical instrument, was dying out. Curious about the news, he surfed social media.

There, he gave me a karinding. I asked myself, if it\'s already disappeared, why at that time have I received the karinding? Was there a problem that meant it faced extinction.

Through his network of metal music lovers, the graduate in history from Padjadjaran University also looked for information about karinding players and learned that the number of karinding players was getting smaller, the karinding was being forgotten and crushed by the times.

"From the metal music network, I met Abah Olot, a karinding craftsman from Parakanmuncang, Sumedang. There, he gave me a karinding. I asked myself, if it\'s already disappeared, why at that time have I received the karinding? Was there a problem that meant it faced extinction?" he said.

He then cofounded the Karinding Attack music group in 2009. This group often combined the karinding with other types of music. His activities with Karinding Attack enriched his musical experience, from concerts in Bandung to tours of a number of countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands and France, in 2017.

Kimung then proposed research into the history of Karinding Priangan when participating in the Rujak Foundation program in 2015. Receiving Rp 97 million in funding for the program, he used it to collect information about karinding. On a motorcycle, he and a colleague traveled around West Java. They met with karinding players and craftsmen in Bandung, Karawang, Purwakarta, Cianjur, Sukabumi and Garut.

His eyes were increasingly opened. The karinding was not simply a musical instrument. In its form and voice, the karinding contained a philosophy about life and how to manage it.

According to the former bass player with Burgerkill, a well-known metal band from Bandung, the karinding evolved its role in society. For children, the karinding was a kaulinan (toy). Then, it became a social musical instrument for teenagers and adults.

The karinding was also played during work in the rice fields. However, land use changes saw the size of agricultural land shrink. As a result, there were fewer people playing the karinding as the intensity of farming activities also declined. So, to preserve it, the karinding is no longer only used as a musical instrument for agriculture, but also for something more universal.

The meaning of philosophy

Although it is only 10-15 centimeters long and 2-3 millimeters thick, the karinding encapsulates many values, including the meanings behind the three sections of the karinding, which is divided into segments. The first part is called the pancepengan, the part to hold the karinding, not always tightly, but comfortably and steadily. The player must be confident in what he is holding or doing.

The second part is the cecet ucing, which is a thin bamboo section in the middle. The bamboo piece trembles and makes sounds when the third section, the paneungeulan, is struck. There is no need to rush to beat it, and neither too heavily nor too lightly. It needs a feel to find the rhythm balance. "It takes patience when beating the karinding so that its voice is as steady as the way we hold it," he said.

Kimung says many people think the instrument is used to repel pests but this is not entirely correct. The karinding is actually an effective means of communication between humans and other creatures. When the karinding is played, it is a sign that humans are planting crops and cultivating the crops until harvest.

According to Kimung, this reinforces the philosophy of the karinding relating to the balance of nature. This means that in addition to humans, there are other living things that also need nature so communication is needed to share time in utilizing nature.

The karinding is also related to the division of mountains into particular areas according to use. In the Sundanese community the forest is known by its various types, namely leuweung larangan (protected forest), leuweung tutupan (reforestation forest) and leuweung baladahan (agricultural land). "There must be good management. If leuweung baladahan and leuweung tutupan encroached on leuweung larangan, there would be a disaster," he said.

According to Kimung, the philosophy of the karinding is beneficial to human life. However, he realized that not everyone easily understood the philosophy. So, music is needed to inspire interest in the karinding. Moreover, the vibrating and ringing hum can be combined with various other types of music.

In the Karinding’s Day Out festival, the karinding’s harmonious sound was accompanied by contemporary pop, metal and ballad music. Its rhythm was not buried by the sound of other musical instruments, such as guitars, drums and harps. "To save it, the karinding must be played. Music becomes a medium so that the karinding can be better known, especially for young people," said Kimung.

At that time, I thought, how come I like to play ‘foreign’ musical instruments while at the same time I don’t bother with local music instruments?

Kimung\'s words have proven correct. The karinding players at the festival were dominated by young people under the age of 30. One of them was Aldi Renaldi, 22, a member of Sukmaraksa\'s band. He fell in love with playing the karinding six years ago. At that time, his brother\'s friends came to the house to practice music using the karinding while Aldi went to the studio with his friend.

"At that time, I thought, how come I like to play ‘foreign’ musical instruments while at the same time I don’t bother with local music instruments?" he said.

Aldi acknowledged that the karinding is still less popular than modern musical instruments. Not infrequently the karinding is considered old-fashioned because many older people play it in the village.

According to Kimung, in addition to music, literature is no less important in introducing younger generations to the karinding and passing down the philosophy of the karinding. So, he wrote History of Karinding Priangan which was launched in conjunction with the festival. The 979-page book is divided into 23 chapters. In addition to recounting the history, the book also explores stories of the use of the karinding in 16 regencies/cities in West Java and Banten and Jakarta. It took 11 years to complete, starting with independent research in 2008.

Springing forth from curiosity 16 years ago, Kimung has increasingly understood the music and philosophy of the karinding as outlined in his work. He refuses to stop working because the karinding must continue to be played so that its voice becomes louder for the present generation.

Iman Rahman Anggawira Kusumah

Born: Bandung, 28 February 1978

Education: Bachelor in History from Padjadjaran University

Books:

1. Myself: Scumbang, Beyond Life and Death (2007)

2. Memoir Against Forgetful (2011)

3. Jurnal Karat: Karinding Attack-Ujungberung Rebels (2011)

4. Ujungberung Rebels: Panceg Dina Galur

(2013)

5. History of Karinding Priangan (2019)

Editor:

kompascetak iman rahman anggawira kusumah