Rich Cultural Heritage For Bruneians

Bandar Seri Begawan – Brunei is rich in its cultural heritage handed down through generations.

Each community also has its own unique cultures and traditions and these include musical instruments sourced from the jungle.

One form of musical instrument that is fast on the wane is tubang or the wooden gulingtangan.

Tubang is a traditional musical instrument of Murut and Kedayan ethnics.

It is normally played by children as basis before trying the hands on the gulingtangan.

In bygone days, the gulingtangan was only attainable to the rich and opulent, which explained the emergence of tubang, an alternative to the gulingtangan, where children were taught to play.

Tubang is made from the special wood of timbaran.

Also used are sedaman, pulaei, and balik angina, which are all light wood derived from the jungle.

Initially, tubang was played with the instrument placed at the end of the player's legs.

But its placement has since been modified with 'atan' or a tabletop where the wood pieces or kelinang are arranged accordingly because each kelinang has different pitch of sound.

In those days, tubang were played during merrymaking such as wedding ceremonies.

At present, the beat of tubang could only be heard during cultural performances or be presented as souvenirs. -- Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei

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