Rebana

Monday, September 29th, 2008 | handicraft | No Comments

Rebana is a traditional single-headed drum.

The rebana was once used as a communication tool. However, it has been able to withstand the test of time and survive as a unique traditional musical instrument.

In Malaysia, rebena is in high demand as souvenirs for tourists as well as for musical performances such as dikir barat shows and traditional performances.

Under the umbrella of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER), the handicraft industry such as batik and rebana are linked to the tourism and manufacturing sectors.

The making of rebana would fall under the ECER master plan’s wood-based cluster, where the upstream segment can be found in the rural hinterland like Kelantan or Terengganu.

However, there are challenges of like the availability of raw materials, high cost of raw material and shortage of skilled workers and designers in Malaysia.

There are four types of rebana, namely rebana pengerum, rebana ubi, rebana penganak and rebana dikir barat. In Johor, there a type which is known as rebana hadrah.

The biggest rebana is the rebana ubi, which is at least 70cm in diameter. Rebana ubi is widely used by the Malays in the east coast, predominantly in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Rebana of various size are sold at Jadi Batek Centre.

Tags: handicraft, musical instrument, Traditional