AFTER the famous Sarawak longhouse, the traditional abode of the indigenous Dayaks of Sarawak, music and art have probably become the next popular draw for tourists from near and far to the shores of Sarawak.

Like in many other countries where music and art have become a big draw to pull in participants and spectators, both from local and abroad, the just-concluded and highly successful Rainforest World Music Festival held in Santubong, outside Kuching, from July 13-15, managed to attract a record 21,000 visitors.

There were 1,500 musicians, performers and officials from many countries who contributed their share of music and art to the festival.

The tenth in the series, it brought together on the same stage performers who took part in previous festivals as well as those taking part for the first time.

The Kelapang Kelabit Bamboo Band from Bario, Sarawak, who serenaded the crowd with hymns played on bamboo instruments was the biggest group to perform with 30 members. It started the ball rolling on the festival's first night.

Then, Canadian multi-instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch displayed the range of his skills by playing various ethnic instruments from around the world. He was accompanied by Sarawak's father-and-son percussion duo, Tabuh Pak Ainal .

Screaming for more

The popular Black Umfolosi from Zimbabwe received one of the loudest cheers of Friday evening when they came on stage to sing a cappella. They also performed their trademark dance called the ingquzu in gumboots and hard hats, while their rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight had the crowd on their feet and screaming for more.

The Shooglenifty band from Scotland, which played infectious Celtic dance music on the fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass and drums also thrilled the crowd.

The Doghouse Skiffle Group from Britain entertained the crowd with English folk songs while the Foghorn Stringband from the United States played country music from the Appalachians and the Mid-West.

Latin and Afro-Cuban music came from Mas Y Mas , another British band, and Middle Eastern-inspired melodies from Lebanese group Fady .

At this year's festival, one of the smaller workshop venues, Iban Longhouse, saw audiences enraptured by the workshop titled Tabla Talk , featuring Afghanistan-born Ahmed Seiar Hashimi of Ensemble Kaboul and Russian Gena Lavrentyev of the group Malerija chatting furiously with their tablas (Indian drums).

It was a chance for the novices to observe closely the dexterity of the musicians who created infectious rhythms that got everyone clapping in appreciation.

A similar workshop dealing with percussion instruments was the Rhythm in the Rainforest conducted by a very animated Marck Kwadrans from the Polish group, Shannon , at Dewan Lagenda, at the Sarawak Cultural Village, venue for the festival..

These workshops allowed the audience to see another side to these musicians; besides the ability to play musical instruments with precision they are also natural performers. They had the audience well entertained at each of their workshops, while ably showing off their fascinating instruments and musical skills.

Very successful event

The festival came to a close in the early morning hours of last Sunday with the World Group on stage and the audience calling for an encore.

As they say, all good things must come to an end, and it's au revoir till next year when an even better festival will be in store, according to the organisers the Sarawak Tourism Board.

A foreign participant told the local media she hoped there would be some changes to the next festival's programme "to provide for the difference with the last one."

As the name implies, the festival is to showcase the rainforest peoples and ethno-music from around the world. Sarawak is a natural setting with its vast tropical rainforests where many indigenous groups live with their different types of music, art and dances.

It has become one of the most successful events in the tourism calendar of Malaysia and can be expected over the years to be bigger to attract many more performers from more countries as well as tourists from far and near.

Next year's festival is scheduled for July 11-13.

Photo credit: Valentino Chan and Sarawak Tourism Board