BELAGA: It was about 8pm and the ‘ruai” section of the longhouse occupied by the Kenyah community at Long Koyan, Batu 6, Sungai Asap, was already full of people.
At one corner of the section, a young woman was seen tuning a ‘sape’, a traditional lute musical instrument of the Orang Ulu or upriver people, before making her performance at a thanksgiving ceremony in conjunction with the ground breaking ceremony at the site for the construction of the Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM) church.
Twenty-two year-old Iyurni Ului admitted she was nervous, but was determined to give the best performance. It was her first public performance with her husband, Donny Bilong, 37.
“I have always been interested to learn to play the sape since a long time ago, but the instrument was not available then. I only learn to play the sape belonging to my husband about two months ago after i quit my job in Bintulu and returned to settle down in Sungai Asap,” she told Bernama recently.
At the performance, the couple, who got married in December last year, entertained the audience with traditional music using their sape. The audience were also entertained to dance performances by the Orang Ulu community.
Iyurni said she had problems reading the music notes initially, but with the guidance and patience of her husband, she was able to do so in a short time.
“My husband is very supportive and has the patience to teach me. My wish now is to have my own sape, because the one I’m using now belongs to my husband, which is heavy,” said the woman, who also plays the guitar.
Donny, who is from Rumah Kejaman Lasah, Long Segaham, and a teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Uma Sambop, said he was happy that his wife shared his interests.
“Iyurni is diligent and practises almost everyday,” said the man, who played the sape since he was five-years-old.
Donny, who teaches music, physical exercise and history, said he now had eight sape.
“Three of them I made myself,” he added. --Bernama