Stambul fajar is a string band tradition played by just a few groups on the tiny island of Mendanau, between Bangka and Belitong. This post focuses on just one of those groups called Pengekar Campo. The ensemble consists of two ukulele-like instruments called kruncong, a guitar, a violin, a
vocalist, and a bass. In the past, there were two guitars, one playing the role of the bass and the other playing a more melodic role. Vocalists use pantun, a style of rhyming Malay poetry that is often improvised. The violin is a more recent addition as this melodic role used to be played with a bowed instrument called jihan, similar to the rebab, which is a kind of spike fiddle found in varying forms throughout Indonesia and Malaysia.

Although now the music is often played at government-sponsored events as a show of local culture, historically this music would have been played to pass the time as members of the community prepared for weddings and special events, with men playing instruments as women took turns singing pantun while they prepared food.

This is a collaborative guest post from Jabink Suherman, Iqbal Saputra, and Hannah Standiford. Check out their full post complete with recordings, pictures and more at: https://www.auralarchipelago.com/aura...