14 research outputs found
Heterogeneity in the musical acquisition of Orang Asli children from the Mah Meri and Semai groups
No full textThe music acquisition and aesthetics of children in two Orang Asli villages, the Mah Meri of Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island, Selangor, and the Semai of the Kampung Ulu Geroh, Gopeng has shifted from an oral tradition trasmitted from ancestral lineages to institutionalized learning acquired from a teacher outside the Orang Asli cultural tradition. The interaction of Orang Asli Children\u27s music from multicultural backgrounds, exposure to the mass media, and the evangelization of religious groups has also increasing dislocated Orang Asli children\u27s music from a place-based and ethnic heritage to one of "deterritorialized" space and time. These phenomena emerged due to the nation\u27s hegemonic policies of assimilation development and globalization since Independence in 1957. This article discusses the variables that influence and determine the music acquisition of Mah Meri and Semai children today. These variables includeissues of identity, worldviews and religion, tourism, locality, the mass media, and multiculturalism. I posit that there is growing heterogeneity in the music acquisition of Orang Asli groups conglomerated into specific ethnic categories. I argue for the construction of multiple Orang Asli identities in a developing country constantly exposed to national and global aspirations. These emerging identities transcend the stereotyped categories of Orang Asli groups originally constructed to administer control and surveillance over Orang Asli movements during British governance in the 1900s
Song text composition in pinloin among the indigenous Jahai of Peninsular Malaysia: a local postmodernist approach?
No full textHands Percussion of Malaysia: Performing Cosmopolitanism Built on Shared Philosophy and Artistic Values in Global Musical Alliances
No full textHands Percussion is a percussion ensemble in Malaysia that integrates percussive rhythm,
creative movement and spectacular choreography with diverse musical sounds. Founded in
1997, Hands Percussion has evolved from a Chinese drumming ensemble to a contemporary
performing arts ensemble that embraces a myriad of local and global musical styles and
movements. This article explores Hands Percussion\u27s identity from local to cosmopolitan
musicians, whose opportunities for musical alliances are enhanced through international
connections and collaborations. While Hands Percussion is exposed to diverse global
musical styles, I argue that their choices for global musical alliances are founded upon three
shared philosophies and artistic values including: (1) virtuosity and skill, (2) philosophy of
life and artistic values, and (3) openness, flexibility and passion toward learning. Through
interviews with Hands Percussion artistic directors and performers, this article examines the
shared philosophies and artistic values that enable successful global alliances, consequently
constructing the "cosmopolitanism" in their performances
Hegemony and agency in staged Mah Meri indigenous music and dance performances for tourists in Malaysia
No full textSongs to revitalise community solidarity among the indigenous Mah Meri of Malaysia
No full textMah Meri musicians in Malaysia are calling for a revitalisation of community solidarity by adding fragments of new song text to their traditional songs. Intrinsic to the new song texts are narratives of working together, sharing and unity in the community. Through a reexamination of my personal interviews and fieldnotes with these musicians over the past two decades, I posit that their new song texts address social issues that emerged as the village adopted values of modernisation introduced by policies to integrate these people into mainstream society. Rather than outwardly protesting these policies, I argue that Mah Meri musicians challenge top-down hegemonies through a subtle approach of metaphor, rhetoric, and sympathetic appeal in their songs. They direct their efforts inward to their community to rejuvenate and sustain their indigenous values of egalitarianism
Sustainability of indigenous folk tales, music and cultural heritage through innovation
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Purpose
The aim of producing Bah Luj Production, four folk tales books accompanied by a compact disc of its narration, dialogs and music is to revitalize the folk tales, music and cultural heritage of the indigenous Semai by condensing them into an innovative resource package, tailored to appeal to the current generation’s consumer interests and lifestyles. The targeted audiences for the product are Malaysians, in particular the Semai community, as well as other local and international consumers. The purpose of this paper is to examine a practice-led approach toward considering the empowerment of selected culture bearers assisted by the intervention of researchers from the academia in facilitating the sustainability of indigenous cultural traditions in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
This approach is practice-led – Bah Luj Production was developed based on action, reflection, review and revision. This paper provides visibility to the research process, enabling readers to understand the issues, challenges and decision-making processes. The practice-led approach that was used for this project provides a realistic practical guide, bridging the gap between theory and practice. In the conclusion, the authors also bring forth ideas for improvement through reflection, on suggested approaches in ways this research did not manage to pursue.
Findings
This paper proposes three approaches in advocating for cultural sustainability through innovation: collaboration between selected culture bearers and researchers in the academia; indigeneity of cultural expressions and illustrations; and adaptability and relevance to current interests of indigenous people and consumers of indigenous music and literature. This paper argues that it is important for the researcher to navigate research with relevance to the context and situation.
Research limitations/implications
While many articles focus on presenting the outcomes of a research project, this paper guides the reader toward understanding the limitations, constraints and negotiations made by the research team during the research and production stages. Transparency in the process of decision making will enlighten readers on realistic, practical approaches as opposed to idealistic theoretical methods.
Practical implications
This paper argues for sustainability through innovation and posits that cultural heritage practices that continue to be performed are those that are adaptable, flexible to change and open to innovation – therefore maintaining relevance to time, context and consumers. This paper posits that researchers should be flexible and practical in their research actions and avoid generalizations that come out of recent and popular critical theories as the most, or only suitable, approaches for diverse communities.
Originality/value
The development of an alternate approach, theory/concept and guidelines toward sustainability through innovation make this study the first of its kind. This approach integrates tradition with creation.
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24 Jie Ling Gu (24 Festive Drums): imagining the 24 Jie Ling (Phenomena) of China in enacting cultural solidarity among the Chinese diaspora of Malaysia
No full textThe 24 Jie Ling Gu (24 Festive Drums) is a drum ensemble that consists of 24 lion drums (shigu) played by twenty-four drummers who move to spectacular and dynamic choreography in synchronization with the rhythmic patterns struck on the shigu. It is an “invented tradition” created by the Chinese diaspora of Malaysia. In response to the 1970s National Cultural Policy (NCP) which aimed toward the construction of a homogenized national identity, the Chinese founded the 24 Jie Ling Gu ensemble to enact cultural solidarity and unify the people toward a sense of belonging to their distant motherland in China. They created the music and movements of the 24 Jie Ling Gu to manifest the 24 jie ling (phenomena)—the weather changes, agricultural activities, and natural phenomenon inherent in the 24 jie qi (jie: joints; qi: breath) or seasonal periods. Due to the fact that the Chinese of Malaysia have not physically experienced China but are connected to it through literature and media technology, I argue that the 24 Jie Ling Gu performers utilized their imagination and localized experience of Malaysia to manifest the 24 jie ling in China. This article is based on ethnographic fieldwork and ongoing revisits to this genre through a span of more than 20 years
Mah Meri onstage: negotiating national policies, tourism and modernization in Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island, Malaysia
No full textMalaysia's transformation from a colony to an independent modern nation-state has implications for its indigenous minorities. Examining three eras, the early 1900s, late 1900s, and early 2000s, I explore the internal and external variables shaping the construction of the Main Jo'oh, the central Mah Meri music and dance tradition. While its historical development shows continuity and change, I focus on ways in which the Mah Meri currently construct the Main Jo'oh in response to national policies, tourism, and modernization. The Mah Meri reinventions of their performing traditions seek to recapture a past, reclaim a place, and perpetuate an identity shaped by their former ecological niche and communal society, which have experienced rapid transformation in the last few decades. The musical constructions of place and people are composed in various ways. First, the Mah Meri appropriate old cultural practices or symbols and give them new meanings. Second, they combine ideas from various generations of the opoh (extended family), including the memories of the mengge (elders), the nostalgia of the adults, and the imaginations of the young into new compositions. In challenging hegemony, the Mah Meri reconnect the past and present, resulting in a colorful inter-generational pastiche. Propelled onto the national stage to promote government and tourism agendas, the Mah Meri experience the forces of various power structures that seek to reshape performances for their own ends. While the Mah Meri accommodate these hegemonies by complying, negotiating, or resisting through their performing traditions, they remain clear in their own aspirations, engineering their performances toward an assertion and affirmation of Mah Meri identity.Ph.D
Max as a Digital Platform for Noise Music Performance
No full textThis article explores Max as a digital platform for performing noise music through a practice-led research method. The practice-led research method was used to explore the possibilities of building Max patches, while content analysis method was used to analyse the outcome of the patches. Several Max patches were created to explore the potential of Max as an alternative approach for performing noise music. Findings show that Max can replicate the audio processing methods used in conventional performance. Due to Max capabilities, some of these methods could be automated and arranged prior to the performance. In addition, Max patches featured changing sound, random pitches, mixture of pre-recorded audio source and live instrument, and drone sound combined with automatic constant real-time audio self-processing and automatic audio panning, a feature that seldom appears in the local noise music scene. In conclusion, this research argues that Max has much potential for creating a variety of digital sounds that are harsh and dissonant to the ears, therefore contributing to the musical diversity in noise music performance. These sounds are the results of the features of audio self-processing, random pitches, automatic audio panning object and self-changing pitched drone audio signals relying on random MIDI values that appeared in Max
Advocating Contemporary Traditional Indigenous Semai Music through an Exploration of Youth Interest
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