At Adau keen to revive dying tradition of ‘selingut’ playing

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Ezra plays the selingut after the interview Tuesday. — Photo by Chimon Upon

KUCHING: Local traditional music band At Adau is determined to revive the Orang Ulu tradition of playing the ‘selingut’ or ‘keringut’ – a flute played using the nose instead of the mouth.

Band member Ezra Tekola said while normal flutes consist of four to five holes, the selingut – made from bamboo sticks – only has three or four holes.

“Unlike the well-known traditional string instrument ‘sape’, the selingut is unknown to many. Also, there are not many Orang Ulu folk playing this instrument.

“As far as I know, I am the only one trying to revive and showcase this instrument to the world,” said the 28-year-old, during an interview following a press conference on this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) here recently.

In a musical sense, Ezra said the notes produced by the instrument is in a pentatonic scale.

He added that he hopes flute players will be willing to learn playing the nose flute in order to keep alive the dying tradition.

The six-member At Adau will be performing during RWMF 2019 at Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong, near here from July 12 to 14.