Rabana drums in cultural life – Case of melayu muslim Malaysia and Cham muslim Vietnam

Abstract

The Cham Muslims in Vietnam and the Melayu Muslims in Malaysia from the past to the present have had close cultural relationships and exchanges, including the exchange of music and ethnic musical instruments. In the community of these two ethnic groups, the Rabana drum instrument is still kept, used in some traditional ceremonies and festivals. Within the scope of this article, by applying the theory of contact and acculturation to clarify the perception that the Rabana drum is a product received by the Cham Muslim people in Vietnam, specifically the Cham people in An Giang received from the process of communication cultural and religious exchange with the Melayu Muslims. Moreover, the theory of cultural areas is applied to show that in each different geographical region, Rabana drums also have very different cultural characteristics, through contrasting and comparing the cultural characteristics of Rabana drums, showing the similarities and differences of this instrument when used in each community