Music of Maluku: Halmahera, Buru, Kei

Music Of Indonesia (Smithsonian Folkways Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B00001ZWCQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,554 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #58 in Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > Indonesia > General

Editorial Reviews

Musically, the vast province of Maluku ("the Moluccas") is one of the least known regions of Indonesia. Here we present music from three islands: Halmahera in the north, Buru in the center, and Kei Besar in the south. From Halmahera comes togal, entertainment music played on stringed instruments plus flute, drums, and a singer. From Buru we offer a varied selection: men's songs with drumming, an excerpt from a night-long sung narrative, jew's harp pieces, and a gong ensemble. Aside from two ensembles of flute and percussion, our recordings from Kei Besar are mainly vocal; solos, a duo, and choruses offering advice, recounting history, and asserting territorial boundaries (an important use for songs in Maluku); there is also a rowing song sung by children. Finally we return to Halmahera and present selections from a dabus performance accompanied by singing and frame drums. In dabus, a Muslim ritual derived from Sufi practice, men stab themselves vigorously with iron awls, but the spiritual power of the ritual leader protects them from serious injury. 74 minutes. 32-page booklet with map.

The published liner notes, along with corrections and supplementary materials, are available here.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Collection, November 14, 2003

By 

Laszlo Wagner (Hungary) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Music of Maluku: Halmahera, Buru, Kei (Audio CD)

Maluku today is one of the most modern and forward-looking parts of Indonesia, where Poco-Poco (local pop) is far more popular than traditional music, which is rarely heard unless during special traditional ceremonies (except among the Makianese).
In Maluku itself I failed to find any commercial recordings of tradtional music available apart from Makianese Togal.
All the more interesting to have a collection like this on a quality CD!
The accompanying booklet about traditional Malukkan music is almost worth the price alone.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Response to above, January 11, 2008

By 

G. Murer (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Music of Indonesia, Vol. 19: Music of Maluku: Halmahera, Buru, Kei (MP3 Download)

I can recommend in particular two collections of Baluch music (music of ecstasy and healing and Instrumental music of Baluchistan) recorded by Jean During. And a double cd Abdorrahman Surizehi put out in Norway. Also, in general, music from the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan is excellent for same purpose. And dotar music from Torbat-e Jam region of Iran (some examples appear on Jean During's Masters of the Dutar collection; more is available from the Mahour label in Iran) and tashmol from Bakhtiari areas of western Iran (Ali Akbar Mehdipur is great), among other things.