This recording is one example of songs with jungga accompaniment. Ludu Pambuhang tells us about a couple who likes each other. Ludu (or Ludung) is a word which is used for songs with jungga accompaniment (both two-stringed and four-stringed versions).Â
Pambuhang is sung in Bahasa Kambera which has many variations in the region of East Sumba. The tuning used in the recording is D3, F#3, A3, D4. This instrument doesn't have any fret. The vocal melody is also sung pentatonically (D,E,G,A,B). To count the meter of the song is tricky, because of the suddenly changing meter. Probably, it is sung and played in a 2+2+2+2 meter with a one more beat being added suddenly and without a rigid pattern.
As comparison, these two tracks are played on a two-stringed jungga. Hapu Payuara, the jungga player in these recordings, is a member of the royal musician group of a raja (king) from Pau in East Sumba. The title of the first melody of the first track is Jaka nggiki wanggunggau ambu hada warrungga which means "don't reject what I say". "The second melody is titled kanggiki na ndau pani, "why don't you say it to me?"Â
The second track is a ludu (or ludung), or to be more exact, a hali, which has songs about love, regret, praise, and memory. Other themes, such as narrative, flirting, and jokes, don't fall to hali category. The song sung above is usually for young women, who are leaving their family to marry. The text usually contains advice for young women : control your emotions, hear your husband's parents, don't forget to feed the pigs and the chickens. The scale used in the first track, if we consider that the drone string is C, is C D F G Ab. For the second song, the two strings is tuned in perfect fifth and played in the scale C E F G B.
If you are interested to hear and know more, we recommend two albums which have authentic music of Sumba:
open.spotify.com/album (Track 4 & 11)
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