Children of Bangle hamlet play the unique Terompong Beruk ensemble. The ensemble exists only in this area, where the locals strive to preserve the heritage tradition. (I Wayan sunarta)
As the group of men walked down the hilly path into the tiny hamlet of Bangle, the soft sounds of music drifted past them like a gentle breeze.
The sound was coming out of an open hall filled with children, who were playing a set of traditional music instruments with such enthusiasm it brought smiles to the faces of the adult onlookers.
"This is Terompong Beruk ensemble," I Nengah Suparwata said, pointing to the musical instruments.
Suparwata, an village elder affectionately called Pan Wati by the local residents, teaches local children how to play Terompong Beruk, a unique heritage feature of the hamlet.
This type of ensemble exists only in Bangle hamlet, which is located in Bunutan village, Abang district, Karangasem. The hamlet is in a hilly region 400 meters above sea level with Lempuyang Luhur temple, one of the most important places of worship for Balinese-Hindus, located to the south.
The original Terompong Beruk ensemble was a simple set of wooden xylophones. Unlike the majority of the island's traditional metallophone instruments, which comprise a single row of bronze bars arranged atop resonating tubes made of bamboo, Terompong Beruk's main instruments comprise wooden bars set atop resonating bowls made from coconut shells.
In Balinese language, beruk means coconut shell. The gong of Terompong Beruk is made of dried and stretched gourd.
Sounds are produced by striking the plates with wooden mallets.
In an attempt to produce stronger sounds and longer tones, the wooden bars were replaced with the metal ones in the contemporary set of Terompong Beruk. Yet, coconut shells are still used as the resonating bowls.
The people of Bangle cannot recall the origin or the history of the ensemble.
"I don't know since when this hamlet had this ensemble. All I know is that the ensemble is the legacy of our ancestors," Pan Wati said.
Local school teacher Ida Made Giur Dipta wove the information he received from several Bangle elders into a story about the origin of Terompong Beruk.
The story begins with the construction of Pemaksan Bangle temple. When the construction was completed, a major religious festival was held to sanctify the shrines and dedicate the temple. The festival required the presentation of various sacred art forms, including a sacred ensemble.
It is said that the people of Bangle used everything they had around them, including farming tools, to develop a simple musical ensemble later called Terompong Beruk.
The contemporary Terompong Beruk ensemble usually plays a set of compositions comprising Gelagah Manis, Nem Cenik, Nem Gede, Kutus Cenik and Kutus Gede.
The ensemble usually performs during the anniversary of the Pemaksan Bangle temple, which falls on the full moon of the third month on the Balinese calendar.
Previously, the existence of Terompong Beruk was known only to the Bangle people. But this changed when Bangle's Terompong Beruk troupe played to a much larger audience during the 1979 Bali Arts Festival.
Since then, Terompong Beruk has became the pride of the hamlet.
"We are very proud to inherit this ensemble and we keep encouraging our youngsters to learn to play this ensemble," head of Bangle's traditional neighborhood association, I Nyoman Panda said.
A recent Terompong Beruk course saw as many as 30 children participate to learn to play the ancient instruments.
"We want to continue our ancestors' legacy," participant I Wayan Suastama said.
