Published On Premiered Apr 16, 2024
Welcome back to A Slice of the Orient! Our journey has brought us to the Perak Region in Malaysia!
This week we are joined by Ronnie Bahari as he masterfully plays the pensol, a traditional Orang Asli musical instrument, for his original song titled "Kinta." Set against the backdrop of the serene Kinta Valley in Ipoh, Perak, Ronnie's melody captures the sorrow of nature in the wake of human-induced pollution and environmental destruction.
Ronnie's inspiration for the melody arose during his exploration of the Kinta Valley for a documentary, where he witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of unchecked development on the natural landscape.
Passionate about preserving Orang Asli traditions, Ronnie sought information from community elders to impart knowledge of making and playing pensol (nose flute), as any form of written documentation was non-existent.
"One characteristic of the Orang Asli community is that if anyone wants to 'learn', the student needs to build a relationship and win the heart of the teacher first. They will not impart knowledge arbitrarily. They will also only demonstrate once, and the student needs to quickly 'grasp' that knowledge."
With the relentless pace of modernisation threatening to erase cultural legacies, Ronnie is determined to take a different step, organising workshops on the making and playing of pensol, striving to impart ancient knowledge to new generations.
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