Rueba: The Three Stringed Fiddle of Southern Frontier

Abstract

The Rueba, Kueba, Rebab, or Rerbab is a bowed instrument with an independent bow. Influenced by the Arabian musical culture called “Kamanche”, the Rebab was distributed across Southeast Asia. Although the Rueba was found in many countries—Thailand, Malaysia,Indonesia, and Cambodia—they have different shapes and string numbers. In Thailand, especially in the three border provinces, the Rueba consists of three strings used to be accompanied by Mayong performance. There are 11 parts of Rueba : 1) Top-piece of shaft or Bu Ngo La Na 2) Shaft or Tu Lae Ba Gae 3) Piece of Rueba for tightening or loosening the strings or Pu La Ta Lee 4) Sound resonator made of coconut shell or Pa Pae Pu Ngong 5) Surface of sound resonator 6) End piece of Rueba or Khaki 7) Weighting or Zuzu 8) Fiddle bow or Pa Tae Gae Sae 9) Fiddle string or Ta Lee Pu Sa 10) Rud Ok or string used to adjust sound and to hook fiddle string and shaft 11) Bridge or Pa ja. To play this three-stringed fiddle, keep the Rueba parallel to the ground and place it on the left side in front of the musician. Hold the shaft with the left hand and handle the fiddle bow with the right hand.  Sound of the Rueba is tuned in 4 pairs of strings. The first string matches with Do (C). The second string matches with Sol (G). The third string matches with Re (D). The sound of the Rueba is usually tuned by comparing with the voice of Mayong performers to sing conveniently. For the succession of Rueba, the research shows that learning from the musicians through the back door or self-learning is the way to learn how to play this three-stringed fiddle. There is no formal course or curriculum of Rueba at the present. For the occasion of playing Rueba, the research shows that performing for entertainment purpose is playing less. However, there are still ritual occasions to play the Rueba, such as paying respect ceremony for musician teachers or making a votive offering. Thus, before fading away in the near future, government and private sectors, including members of community network and society, should expedite the process of Rueba knowledge capturing.