Music Spirituality: The Darbuka Drum

 The darbuka, also called doumbek or derbeki, is a traditional goblet-drum known for being the foremost percussion instrument in Middle Eastern music.(Sacred Arts Reasearch Foundation)

It started, like how all magical things started, from a song (imitating the opening line of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. Haha). The song is Dumaan Ako, it was a poem by late Maningning Miclat and then later transformed into a song by Joey Ayala, my favorite song.

What makes a favorite song? I really don’t know. It is a spiritual thing, and maybe, a mixture of the spiritual pleasures the song elements triggers, intrigues, and touches our senses. It’s seeing an elegant tree, a perfect flower, a beautiful morning. A first kiss maybe, a sweet hug in a very rainy night, a smile from a crush. These things are indescribable, as is proclaimed by another song by Pinikpikan “Walang hangganan ang lakbay ng diwa, ‘wag mo na lang pilipiting alamin pa” (our consciousness has no place of limits, don’t force yourself to understand) What I can elaborate now is how the lyrics of Dumaan Ako touched me.

Look at these lines: “Kung mag-isa ako ay ‘wag nang isipin. Sa dilim ay dapat pa akong hanapin. Habang may luha ay ‘wag pang ibigin. Sa pangarap ko ay ‘wag nang gisingin. Kaya kong maghintay sa mga tula mo, at makinig sa awit mula sa kabilang dako. At sa paglalakad sa lilim ng mga puno, matutuklasan ang laman ng pusong malayo” (Don’t mind me when all alone. I am still needed in the dark to be found. I still have tears, so don’t love me. Don’t wake me up on my dreams. I can wait for your poems, and listen for your song on the other side. And as I walk under these trees, you will discover the burdens of this heart that is away.)

Where on earth can I find a poem as lovely as this? It captivated me. It’s a combination of a favorite song and a poem. It’s a budget meal, a Gemini; it’s a feeling of eating your favorite food while in favorite place.

But if there is still an element of this Dumaan Ako experience that is more worthy to note, it is the arrangements and the musical accompaniments.  The simplicity and elegance of Cynthia Alexander’s version of Dumaan Ako soon permanently changed my standard on considering a song beautiful. This performance is what beautiful really means. That was about three years ago, when I first noticed a peculiar percussion instrument, a hand drum played using hands to be specific. The instruments sang to me alongside the violin, a shaker made of goat horns that mimic that sound of falling water (the sound of this shaker when played alongside violin is very eargasmic), keyboard, the voice of Joey Ayala and her sister Cynthia, and acoustic guitar (beautifully and skillfully played by Cynthia Alexander herself). The name of the hand drum is Darbuka. At first I don’t know its name, but by inquiring a player of this instrument, I discovered and searched for it on the internet.

The sound of the Darbuka when I first heard it reverberated in my soul. I am a drummer the time I first heard it, and man, Darbuka satisfied me unlike a typical full-set drum. I now began to think of me playing it, and owning one.

I was informed by researching on internet that the Darbuka is native in Middle East Asian countries specifically Egypt and Saudi.

My father is an overseas worker in Saudi for nearly 6 years so I told him to look out for this specific drum. He said, oo naman sige pangako ko ihahanap kita niyan (sure I’ll find you one). But the search is not that easy as it was expected. He tells everyone he knew for them to help him in finding the drum but majority of these people said “Ay malabo kang makahanap niyan” (You have a very little chance of finding one). But he don’t mind, he looked for it at every corner of the places he went, and even when he sees one - the musicians who owned it don’t want to let the drum be taken away by a Filipino stranger. One day he saw a Darbuka for the very first time. It was owned by a wealthy Arabian man. He happily lifted it for the joy of seeing and the owner smiled at him. He told the Arabian that he is looking for the instrument for a very long time. The man said that he really wants to give it to my father but the Darbuka is very valuable to his family because he inherited it from his fourth generation ancestor.

       [My father holding the Darbuka the day he bought it]

We waited and waited, until one day a man approached him saying that he is selling a used Darbuka. After a very long time of searching, he finally found a darbuka, not a brand new, but a vintage and used one at least.

All the magic of playing this hand drum started. It now became another element of my life as a musician. 

Listen to my songs featuring the Darbuka drum here:

https://soundcloud.com/rommel-bonus

Conyo Culture Bearer

So you listen to Kalayo, or Pinikpikan, Bagong Lumad, Gary Granada, and other cool music you like

And respect Lupang Hinirang so tumigil ka sa paglalakad when you heard it playing, or maybe, like Joey Ayala did, you sang gusto mong magmahal

imbes na mamatay

Popular is no longer an option for you, you define your own alternative; you have your own stream. If the recipe says toyo, you experiment with bagoong. You make plain and simple two words that means magical.

You read first before watching movie adaptation, you listen first before talking and making a point. You are amazed by difference, not by common standards, so natuwa ka when you saw someone at your age carving a piece of wood, playing a different kind of instrument, listening to oldies and unique new music, talking about what is the meaning of life, writing a poem to someone he loves.

You consider your life as a book, you are turning every other page day by day, or pwede rin naman, in most magical moments; seconds by seconds. You keep secrets, for yourself and for the other people, and most of the time, maniwala ka sa akin, you seems very mysterious to other people at iyon ang dahilan why they like to dig deeper on your personality. May sasabihin ako sa’yo, gusto ka nilang makilala.

You don’t tell to other people na magaling ka and they want to be you. Instead you let them notice it, and most naturally, they want to learn what you did. Gumagawa ka ng sariling daan. Umuukit ka ng sariling kasaysayan.

You own an industry, actually; industries. When someone talks about painting, ikaw ang unang naiisip, or in film-making, or drinking coffee, or wearing a very nice shirt, o pwede din naman, ikaw ang naiisip kapag naiisip nila ang mag-isip.

You’re standing up for your own rights, and the rights of others. Meron kang isang salita, and if a circumstance happens, you know how to apologize. You don’t blame others for your mistakes; instead you claim it and use it for your own personal growth. Alam mo ang ikaw, at alam mo ang hindi ikaw.

You don’t copy, you recycle. The result is something new, something you sinasabi man nilang wirdo ang mga gawa mo. You are not dictated by bandwagon and populist politicians. You condemn killings, sexist chuvinism. Hindi mo sinasabing dapat na lang tumahimik, you participate, you post or share, nagbubulatlat ka ng sa tingin mo ay tama, you care for the society which you belongs.

Culture is for you the way of life, not an old concept written in an old textbook. Culture makes you shine in every places you go, culture makes you a light to others.

Culture bearer ka nga. And believe in me, kahit conyo ka pang magsalita, hindi ka nila madidiktahan.

Getting Inside Pinto Art Gallery and Experiencing Authenticity

 a travelogue

Just a week ago, Tine and I think of a whole new place to go, somewhere very unique yet nearer to home. Going to a cool place near your home will not only widen your perspective on your very own place but will make you save budget. Kung baga, pasok sa bulsa. 

You really don’t need to be looking at farther places if you don’t have enough; there are lots of places to go here in Antipolo that are always in want of your attention. And talking about the coolest place in Antipolo, Pinto Art is the perfect place to go. Actually, going to the Pinto Art Gallery is not new for everybody; it is a trend for people whose interests on going to see the place were caught in the mainstream and even alternative media as well. 

They just have glimpse of the real experience in the gallery by seeing photos of things from the Art Gallery that was posted on social media accounts and want to be there. At ayun, gusto na nilang pumunta.

Pinto Art Museum is a place that smoothly getting its fame on social media for being a cool destination for art lovers and enthusiasts. One good thing about Pinto Art getting its fame is that it promotes art appreciation without the people specially the young ones that they are unconsciously having deeper and deeper sense of unity with the Filipino art.

Una, just after entering the place we saw a very antique-looking quasi cabinet-table with chair that resembles one of the tables and chairs that Rizal used when writing. We discovered later that the specific place near the Café Rizal is dedicated to the love of our national hero to Leonor. ‘Di lang iyon ha, we were very astonished to discover that there is a pile of paper with Rizal hand writing design and photo of Leonor  in that table and everyone is free to write to someone they love and put it inside the cabinet. At siempre, papatalo ba ine? 

We wrote something to one another, Tine first and then me. After writing, she attempted to put the letters inside the cabinet but I want us to read first what we wrote. So the sort of poetry reading began.

She reads hers, me gets kilig. I read mine, and she gets kilig. During me reading, I noticed a Pinto Art personnel getting inside the place where we are and looking at us. After we finished writing and putting the letter inside the cabinet he immediately fixed something there, and then a lovely music began to play.  May ganun pa pala iyon.

After that we get to a building meant for Filipino indigenous art.

 My familiarity with her makes me happy seeing a large picture of Wang Od, a native mambabatok (tattoo artist) greets everyone who gets inside. The place is really astonishing; its items are very close to my heart (considering color of the art works: brown, which I refer to as the color of authenticity). 

                                                                                                                           

Kaya sabi sakin ni Tine, hey ikaw na ikaw ang lugar na ito. It is true. But look at her; she looks more bewildered seeing the things we just see in the history textbooks: the Bulul, the putong, everything looks more authentic in the actuality. Nagbubutingting as in!

A rooftop is so peaceful that the bed in really fits in place.

Tine laughed so hard after we saw a parrot whose cage says “don’t stress the bird”.

Everything is very special; from gallery 1 to gallery 3 I won’t describe specific things in order for me not to spoil anyone who wants to see the Pinto Art Gallery.

After we get into the main galleries, we saw a huge toy-horse.

A bonus (oo na, just like my apelyido) awaits for me in the Museum Shop. There lie three of Romeo Lee’s paintings. Oh, my favorite painter, I am dying just to see Mr. Lee’s painting by my actual naked eye. And there it is so small yet colorful piece of art.

To describe the experience is to inevitably mention the words such as special, love-worthy, peaceful, artistic, etc. There is so much words to describe the experience getting there, but you must go there too and just like me and Tine, experience authenticity.

Pinto Art's location is 1 Sierra Madre Street, Grand Heights Subdv. Brgy. San Roque. Antipolo 

What to Like? How to earn?

A sexy post, a sensational travel, a love quote, a statement that makes you laugh, basta any post from crush or a cute person, a picture with a famous personality, a post from mama, tita, kuya, or whosever from the house, if in business – walang kamakamag-anak, it’s different here in FB, it’s a mutual understanding, for sometimes the more you like, the more you earn, it’s give and take. How about when I post about social reality, shall I receive enough likes? How about the art, the humanity, the social responsibility? Have more time to think before hitting the button, for this is the concept; you will be defined by your likes.

 I will not accept that the more likes it gets, the valuable to post is. Likes don’t define values.

 Don’t forget to add Arab, Indian nationals; if you’re desperate enough to earn likes (just like a politician craving for votes) they are sometimes auto-liking machines. Sometimes, I am thinking, to what is really a like means to people. I don’t want to say it means “Hey, I like what happened to you”, how about when people liked a post of a dead love ones? I am thinking as well, to what do it means to people getting lots of likes, an appreciation, fame, ego, personal value?

But I am not forgetting, I cannot eat likes, I cannot feed hungry men by it. 

But it’s like an award, give likes to the deserving!


for more creative works from Rommel F. Bonus, visit his personal blog:
https://sites.google.com/site/rommelfabrosbonus/