Tifa's Musical Instrument, the Mysterious Drum from Papua
Ditulis pada: October 03, 2021
Talking about traditional music, it's incomplete if you don't take a peek at the collection of traditional Indonesian musical instruments.
Tifa is a musical instrument with a drum-like shape from the provinces of Maluku and Papua. In Papua itself, it turns out that this musical instrument has a more magical meaning. There are many things that others outside Papua may not understand.
Traditional Musical Instrument, Tifa
This instrument is a type of traditional musical instrument that is played by hitting it. At first glance, people will think that this instrument is a drum. The drum is a traditional musical instrument from Java, and can usually also be used as a drum to collect and remind people of prayer times.
Tifa herself, at first glance, looks a little like a drum, but still different and has its own uniqueness. This musical instrument is made of thick and tough bark. Then at the bottom made various kinds of amazing carvings.
While in the center of the instrument is discarded and then made to have a hole. While behind it will be given a cover of animal skin, or bark. Most Papuans use deer skin to cover this traditional musical instrument.
The sound of this instrument is quite melodious and stomping. That's why most tribes in Maluku and Papua use it as a tool to complete traditional ceremonies that are usually carried out.
This traditional musical instrument is a mandatory instrument when performing war dances and other ceremonies. Some of the famous types of Tifa are Tifa Jekir, then there is also Tifa Bass, and others.
When certain traditional ceremonies occur, Tifa's musical instruments are the mainstay to enliven the atmosphere. Even at some ceremonies, Tifa became the main instrument in playing the war dance.
Tifa turns out not only to have a unique local culture, even this musical instrument also has unique characteristics during the manufacturing process. As explained earlier, that this musical instrument is made of wood.
To be precise, wood from the linggua tree. The linggua tree is a tree that can produce wood with the number one quality. The price of the wood obtained from this linggua tree can even reach two million rupiah. Quite expensive for a basic musical instrument.
The linggua tree is found in Maluku and Papua. This tree is indeed a little rare, but that does not mean it does not exist. While the manufacturing process will take up to several days. It takes skill to make it.
Other raw materials are rattan wood and goat skin. There are a few variations of making this Tifa tool. However, usually people in the Asmat tribe, or other tribes in Papua, will use materials that are easy to obtain.
Tifa Musical Instruments from Human Skin
It's not really difficult to find Tifa's musical instrument, which is more than 200 years old. Yobeh Village, in Jayapura Regency, has this sacred object.
The Lake Sentani Festival which is organized by the government and the community provides ample space for the public and tourists to stop at the Yobeh traditional village.
The Lake Sentani Festival is a tourism festival that elevates local culture, natural beauty, and at the same time cultural wisdom that is still thick in Papua. Papua as we know it is an island with a magnificent natural panorama.
Raja Ampat, Sentani Lake, Jayawijaya Mountains are some of the beauty of its natural panorama. While the uniqueness and wisdom of local culture is reflected through the customs of the tribes in it.
The ethnic life of tribal communities in Papua is very interesting to study further. Life with the maximum use of nature, and living together with nature is a common characteristic of the life of the tribes in Papua.
Some may still use the koteka as clothes, and there are others who still prioritize sleeping in Hanoi. It is in some of these tribes that the culture is held very tightly and has persisted until this decade.
Yobeh Village is one of the villages participating in the Lake Sentani Festival. This festival carries the theme to pay more attention to local culture such as the culture of the tribes around Lake Sentani.
Lake Sentani Festival is held every year, until now. Interestingly, Tifa is shown as a musical instrument full of magical charm.
In a corner of the Lake Sentani Festival, several festival participants and visitors were huddled around the Chief of the Tribe. The tribal chief turned out to be giving a little information about the Tifa tool used as a special instrument in certain celebrations.
The Tifa being held by the Chief of the Tribe according to his statement was Tifa who was hundreds of years old and made of real human skin.
The Tifa that currently exists is Tifa made of male skin, while in the past there was also Tifa which came from female skin but has been brought to the Netherlands to be stored in the museum.
Most of the visitors, who were not native Papuans, looked surprised and surprised. But trying to restrain himself to be more polite. Until many visitors then asked the Chief of the Tribe to show where the sacred Tifa was kept.
Some visitors also with a sense of relief headed to a place that is part of the traditional environment, there above the ceiling there are two forms of Tifa made of black leather. Maybe this black color arises because the musical instrument is hundreds of years old. Visitors are allowed to take pictures of Tifa.
According to the head of the tribe, this musical instrument is not only used as an instrument when there is a war, but Tifa has become a sacred Tifa. If any of the tribe members will die. So at night, this Tifa will uniquely sound.
Meanwhile, the prospective member of the tribe who will die has characteristics such as having spots on his face and also some of his hair appears to have turned white.
This Tifa is also connected to the human skin Tifa which is currently stored in the Netherlands. When Tifa in the Netherlands rings, Tifa in the Yobeh Village area also rings. Meanwhile, this will also happen the other way around.
In addition to the sacred Tifa, the Lake Sentani Festival also exhibited the spear of death. This spear also has different sexes, male and female. This spear is very magical, and should not be used by just anyone.
The heirloom spear is about 3 meters high, and the name cannot be mentioned, because of its sacredness. On the spear, engraved motifs from carvings typical of the tribes in Papua. As sacred Tifa, it turns out that this spear also has a very old age of about fifteen generations.
All the mysteries of Tifa and the various types of relics in the tribes around Yobeh Village are extraordinary, so that they can bewitch many visitors. Apparently, Papua, besides being beautiful, is also famous for its local cultural wisdom and sacredness.
