Record of Silent Craftsmanship in Lhokseumawe

Two workers are busy holding wood, others are busy preparing rattan. That's where the central of making Rapai musical instrument, a kind of tambourine, in Aceh. Traditional musical instrument was legendary to the corners of the archipelago.

From this instrument comes the art of Rapai Debus, Rapai Uroh, and others. Played by drumming.

Now, lamat-lamat musical instrument was almost gone. The craftsmen have trouble getting raw materials. For example, craftsmen find it difficult to get the best quality wood like merbau wood. "Rontan also difficult to get," said one craftsman, Suniadi.He mentioned, for the leather drum used goat skin. Usually obtained from local farmers. However, for timber, purchased from communities in the forest areas of Bener Meriah Regency and Central Aceh.

"If using other wood, the sound will be different. Not loud and not beautiful when played, "he said.

Currently, the craftsmen have difficulty fulfilling orders from a number of areas in the country. In fact, they confess sometimes do not work for a week because of difficulty obtaining raw materials.

For the price, craftsmen membanderol Rp 1.2 million to Rp 5 million per unit. It depends on the size of the grasp.

According Suniadi, to produce rapai takes one or two days. "In a week at least eight units we can make. That too with wood records available, "he said.

Business rapai pioneered since 2002 ago was now cultivated by three people. Entirely Sunniadi family. They labeled the project as Keneubah Nanggro.

However, on the other hand, Suniadi regretted the lack of art performances in Aceh rapai lately. Thus, it is rare for people to order a large quantity.

"If the art performance will be crowded, the owner of the sanggar will also be enthusiastic, from there it will be booked up and down again," he said.

He worried, one time the younger generation of Aceh will not be able to enjoy the art of hereditary tradition.

In fact, continued Suniadi, rapai many booked by people outside Aceh to foreign countries. "I hope that the Acehnese traditional art is preserved by the young generation, certainly with the support of all parties including the government," he said.