SIJOBANG: SUNG NARRATIVE POETRY OF WEST SUMATRA Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London by Nigel Godfrey Phillips ProQuest Number: 10731666 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731666 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346 ABSTRACT In the sphere of Malay and Indonesian literature, it is only re­ cently that students of oral narratives have paid attention to their character as oral performances, and this thesis is the first study of a West Sumatran metrical narrative to take that aspect of it into account. Versions of the story of Anggun Nan Tungga exist in manuscript and printed form, and are performed as dramas and sung narratives in two parts of West Sumatra: the coastal region of Tiku and Pariaman and the inland area around Payakumbuh. Stgobang is the sung narrative form heard in the Payakumbuh area. It is performed on festive occasions by paid story-tellers called tukang s'igobang,, who le a r n th e s to r y m ainly from oral sources. The story is usually sung in part, not in full. However, a recital of the complete story by one tukang stgobang was recorded, and a full summary, about 40,000 words in length, is given in chapter II. The plot differs somewhat from one story-teller to another, the greatest differ­ ences being in the least-performed parts. Chapter III contains transcriptions, about 1200 lines in length, of two sung performances of stg o b a n g, with translations and notes. This is preceded by a discussion of the various tunes and their uses; metre; phonetic differences between the Payakumbuh dialect and standard Minangkabau; literary features such as formulae, themes, parallelism and repetition; and the forms and uses of pa n tu n in S'igobang. Chapter IV examines the ways in which a tukang S'igobang's performance of a scene varies from one occasion to another. An outline comparison of three pairs of scenes shows that a scene remains largely stable in structure (i.e. number and order of speeches and sections) and in content from one per­ formance to another. A more detailed analysis of two pairs of trans- scriptions (about 360 lines) shows that speeches, like scenes, are basic­ ally stable in structure and content, but that details of expression are fluid. The evidence also suggests that, compared with a novice, an experienced tukang S'igobang relies less on the repetition of stock phrases and more on substitution within formulaic patterns. Being in some respects exploratory rather than exhaustive, the thesis points the way to a number of potentially fruitful fields for further re­ s e a rc h . CONTENTS Page Preface Chapter I S'igobang and other forms of the story of Anggun Nan Tungga 1 Manuscripts and printed versions Oral forms Tiku and Pariaman The Payakumbuh area Chapter II The story of Anggun Nan Tungga in Lima Puluh Kota today 18 Introduction Characteristics of the story Obtaining a version of the story Authenticity of Munin's version Divisions of the story Nature of the summary Summary Differing versions Local attitudes tos'igobang Chapter III Two performances ofs'igobang 139 Introduction Musi c Metre Dialect Literary language Recurrent elements Parallelism Repetition P antun Transcriptions Transcription A Transcription B Chapter IV Variation between performances 242 Outline comparison Detailed comparison Transcriptions C and D Transcriptions E and F Stability of structure Fluidity of expression Variation in language Reasons for variation between performances Glossary of Minangkabau words 285 Works cited 294 Maps 1 West Sumatra 2 Area around Payakumbuh Photographs Cassette (in pocket inside back cover) PREFACE Although a number of editions of Minangkabau kaba (stories) have been published during the past 100 years, the editors have not in general paid much attention to the fact that such stories were and are performed orally. Consequently very little has been written on such topics as the story-tellers who perform them, the circumstances in which they are sung, and the musical aspect of their performance. The only exception I know of is the brief discussion in the foreword to van der ToornTs edition of Mang'au A ri (van der Toorn, 1891a, pp 3-4), where the style of singing, improvisation, the variability of the story, and the audience’s reactions are all touched upon. Variability, a common feature of oral literature, is also mentioned in the same author's edition of Kaba Sutan Manangkevang (van der Toorn, 1885, p 267, footnote 1) , but not discussed at any length - the equipment needed for a thorough study (tape-recorders and so on) was anyway non-existent in those days. These and other topics, which have become commonplace in the study of oral literature in other countries, and were first seriously investigated in the field of Malay literature by Sweeney (1972, 1973, 1976), are intro­ duced into the discussion of Minangkabau kaba in this thesis. Although earlier writers largely disregarded the oral aspects of Minangkabau literature, they did at least produce editions of complete stories, and in that respect this thesis may be thought deficient. However, the story of Anggun Nan Tungga, as told by tukang S'igobang, i s far too long for a complete edition to be presented here. Instead, the thesis includes a full summary - the first in English - of the entire story as narrated by a tukang s'igobang, followed by transcriptions and translations of s'igobang performances totalling about 1,560 lines. Just as my aim in recording the full story was to acquire some of the back­ ground knowledge needed for an understanding of S'igobang, so the summary of the story in chapter II w ill, I think, help the reader to appreciate the s'igobang performances transcribed and translated in chapters III and IV, as well as being of interest on its own account. I hope that the preliminary steps taken in this thesis w ill be followed by further research into questions of music, metre, the learning process, the tole of formulae in composition, and many other aspects of s'igobang and other forms of Minangkabau literature. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am much obliged to the School of Oriental and African Studies for granting the research leave, and to the Central Research Eund of London University for the supplementary funds, which made my research in West Sumatra possible. I am indebted, too, to the Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Sciences) for its permission to do re­ search in Indonesia, and for its efforts to facilitate my wcrk while I was there. To the staff of the Lembaga Bahasa Nasional (National Language Institute) now the Pusat Pembinaan dan PengembanganBahasa (National Centre for Language Development) - I also owe my thanks, especially to Dra Rujiati Mulyadi, Drs Lukman A li, and Drs Julius Habib. My research in West Sumatra was made easier by the helpful attitude of many government officials, especially those in the Governor's Office in Padang, the offices of the Walikota, Bupati and Police in Payakumbuh, and offices of the Department of Education and Culture in various parts of West Sumatra, particularly in Payakumbuh, and I am most grateful to them. Many people in different parts of West Sumatra, but especially in and around Payakumbuh, gave me various kinds of help for which I am very thank­ ful. For reasons of space I can mention only a few of them here: Dr Yakub Isman, Drs Tamsin Medan, Drs Rizanur Gani, Dra Yusna Yusuf, Drs Boestanoel Arifin Adam and his staff at ASKI, Padang Panjang, R M Dt Rajo Panghulu, Dr Mochtar Naim and Ibu Asma, Sdr M A rifin, Sdr A Damhoeri, Dra Ellyza Noerhan, Sdr Naspi Rusli and his staff in the Kabin Kebudayaan, Payakumbuh, and the following tukang s'igobang: As, Bakaruddin, Buyueng, Jasa, Juran, the late Mins ah, Nurman, Rustam, Sabirin, Suhir, Sutan and Syaf. I owe an especially large debt of gratitude to Haji M Sawi Z.A. and Haji Armaini Z.A. and their families for their generous hospitality; to Sdr Syamsuhir Burhan of the Payakumbuh office of the Department of Education and Culture, for his unflagging help in the work of recording and transcription; and to the tukang s'igobang Munin, for his patience and kindness towards his outlandish p u p il. Outside West Sumatra I have benefitted much from advice and help of various kinds from Professor Stuart Simmonds (the Head of my Department), Ruth Einnegan, Amin Sweeney and B ill Watson. In particular, my thanks are due to my supervisor, Dr Russell Jones, for his constant encouragement and his helpful criticism of my drafts; and to Dr Khaidir Anwar, whose clear and careful guidance in matters of Minangkabau language and culture has been of the utmost value. Finally, I thank my wife and children for their patience and en­ couragement during the past four years. I SIJOBANG AND OTHER FORMS OF THE STORY OF ANGGUN NAN TUNGGA The purpose of this chapter is first to place s'igobang in the con­ text of other forms, w ritten and oral, of the story of Anggun Nan Tungga, and then to describe in outline the background and training of the tu ka n g S'igobang.