The Bidayuh Language Yesterday, Today and ... - SIL International

Artistic pursuits such as singing and writing songs need creativity and discipline. Singers also
normally command a number of languages, besides having pleasant, soothing and melodious voices
when they sing. Singing involves a good sense of rhythm, and a lot of stamina. It is not easy to be a
singer.
The singers we speak of here did not come from the traditional music of the Bidayuh, which features
chanting by Bidayuh priestesses, and also courtship and harvest songs by male and female singers.
Popular singers developed through a different route.
Since the days of the Brooke raj, there have been some Bidayuh who stamped their mark as
musicians and singers. One such group was the Quop band. In 1930 this group, together with the third
Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke, visited Kampung Skra (sic). The people of that village were
so impressed by the Rajah’s visit and the band’s performances that a number of talented youngsters
formed their own musical band in 1938 (The Star, 28 April 2002). These early singers performed
Western music in English, as well as keronchong music.
The advent of pop songs and pop singers in the 1960s attracted a number of budding Bidayuh singers
and song writers, who for the first time began writing pop songs in Bidayuh. A number of them shot to
fame in the music industry. This was made possible through the recording and playing of their songs in
the RTM studio, especially in the lagu pimite (song requests) program of the Bidayuh service of RTM.
Some lucky singers caught the attention of owners of recording studios, who then invited them to cut
albums.
Some of them also got themselves invited to local functions such as concerts and wedding parties,
where they were normally invited to spice the evening with their rendition of Bidayuh, English, Iban and
Malay songs.
Today, there are a number of digital recording studios in Kuching and other towns in Sarawak,
where talented singers and music-makers have the opportunity to sing and record their songs on cassette
tapes and VCDs. These VCDs sell well in regional towns such as Serian. Bands playing Bidayuh joget
music are also popular, being invited to provide entertainment and dance music at many village
functions.
Over the years, some Bidayuh songs have achieved popularity beyond their home dialect areas. In
the 1970s, for example, Richmond Allan Morsidi’s rendition of “Bua Pŭtŭk Para” was heard not only in
Serian but also in many other areas, including non-Bidayuh areas, in Sarawak. Similarly, today, Fiona
John’s song “Adat Bidingan” is popular not only in Bau but also in Serian, Kuching and Kota Samarahan.
The Bidayuh singers play a very important role in promoting and preserving the Bidayuh language.
Even if there were many books in the Bidayuh language, chances are that not many young Bidayuh
would buy them. But many of them, and even non-Bidayuh, buy cassette tapes and karaoke VCDs of
good and pleasant songs in Bidayuh. The Bidayuh lyrics found on the VCDs are widely read and sung—
far more so than any non-church Bidayuh books. As such, they are influential in teaching reading and
spelling in Bidayuh, as well as passing on Bidayuh words to a new generation.
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