The Perak royal musical instruments
This short note by R. O. Winstedt describes the royal musical instruments of Perak, their ceremonial use, the musicians who play them, and the associated ritual practices.
Summary
Winstedt documents the occasions on which the Perak royal instruments are played, including the installation of the Sultan, royal marriages and circumcisions, the beginning and end of the Fasting Month, the Feast of the Pilgrims, ceremonial ablutions at the river, and the deaths of the ruler, Raja Muda, or Bendahara (p. 451). Twelve tunes (man) are played, with specific numbers prescribed for the Sultan’s installation ceremony—between four and nine, or between seven and twelve, depending on the account (p. 452). The instruments are part of the original state regalia and are closely associated with the guardian spirits (jin kerajaan); the State magician was responsible for “keeping alive” the instruments and sacrificing to the spirits, with drink poured into the drums and trumpets reportedly vanishing “as though imbibed” (p. 452).
The musicians, termed orang Kalau, are descended from a follower of Raja Suran and are led by a chief bearing the title Dato’ Setia Guna, who guards the instruments in a kiosk encircled by fowl’s feathers (p. 452). Winstedt appends a list of sixteen named tunes from a manuscript note, including processional, war, and prayer-related pieces, and notes that the names of all instruments except the gendang are foreign in origin (pp. 452–453).