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Kachapi

Alternate name(s)

Long-neck lute
Kacapi

Maker Batak people

Date1850-1900 ca.

Place MadeSumatra, Indonesia, Asia

Serial No.none

Signednone
Markingsnone
Descriptionhis instrument originates with the Batak, an indigenous people who are divided into five to seven different but linguistically-related groups. They inhabit the northern part of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. This type of lute belongs to the same family as the jungga (see NMM 2591), and similar lutes are distributed throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and the Phillippines. According to Simon, these lutes have Indian roots, brought to the area during the period of strong Hindu-Javanese influence beginning in the 7th century. The name of the instrument varies according to region, but most share a Sanskrit root, also pointing to their Hindu origin. Among the Batak, this lute is called kachapi and is played mainly by the Tobo and Karo. Kachapi generally have metal strings, so the plastic string may be a replacement.
The broad term for the music and musical groups that accompany ceremonies in Sumatra is gendang. These ceremonies are an integral part of life among the Batak, and may correspond with religious rituals, rites of passage, weddings and funerals. The instruments and music of gendangs vary, depending on the ceremony and location. Among the Tobo and Karo, one gendang that utilizes the kachapi is called Gendang Keteng-Keteng. The kachapi generally plays the melody, accompanied mainly by tube zithers. During this ceremony, people become possessed by begu, the spirits of their ancestors. The gendang plays trance-inducing music, characterized by fast tempos and percussive rhythms, and the people communicate with their ancestor via the possesed person and the Guru Sibaso, a trained mediator between the human and spiritual worlds (see Simon, Artur. “The Terminology of Batak Instrumental Music in Northern Sumatra”. Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 17. (1985), pp. 113-145. Accessed through JSTOR, 3 July 2007. http://links.jstor.org/sici?).
According to Grove Online, the kachapi has also been played to accompany story-tellers or to appease the spirits.

Plucked lute with a long narrow neck and elongated oval body, carved mainly from one piece of dark-colored wood. The soundboard is a separate piece of lighter wood, probably glued into place. Both the body and neck are hollow. The end of the body terminates in a rounded end, with a small, raised diamond carved near the edge. The top of the neck terminates in a small, squared box with a wooden tuning peg on either side. There are two strings, one plastic and one metal. They are wound around the tuning pegs from the inside of the box, then move out of the box through two small holes at the bottom. They continue down the neck, which does not contain any frets, and along the soundboard.
Toward the end of the soundboard there is another raised box. Each string runs through a small hole on either side of the box and are knotted at the ends. There is a key-shaped resonance hole carved from the underside of the body.
There is a carving at the top of the neck of a sitting man with square features. He is perched on top of the box with the tuning pegs, and his legs blend into the box at the top of the neck. A cord looped around his neck serves as a handle.
DimensionsLength: 71 cm
Width at the middle of the soundboard: 7 cm
Depth of the body: 4.5 cm
Length of the strings: 46 cm
Published ReferencesSMM Pictorial Souvenir, 1988. Page 29.

Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1978

Object number02368

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