RESOUND a QUARTERLY of the Archives of Traditional Music Volume I, Number 4 October, 1982
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RESOUND A QUARTERLY OF THE Archives of Traditional Music Volume I, Number 4 October, 1982 principal contributing puppet masters and their troupes are the Dalang (puppet master) Harnzah bin Awang Amat of I arrived from Rio de Janeiro to take other countries in a variety of ways. Kampung Gerong and the Dalang Yusuf up the Directorship of the Archives of During the next few months I shall Hassan of Kampung Mesira. The Traditional Music just as this issue of be giving considerable thought to ways musical repertoire is as complete as pos Resound was going to press. I am still in which the Archives can be further sible a collection of pieces used for the finding my way around the subterran improved, building on the great con old style of performance of the Wayang ean labyrinth with a bit of difficulty tributions of its previous directors, Siam shadow play in Kelantan today. and have just begun my "applied an George Herzog, George List, and The author's field research was en thropology" of Indiana University and Frank Gillis, as well as those of Acting riched by two additional years of em North American Academe, which Director Ronald Smith. If you have ployment in the Malaysian Ministry of could not seem other than exotic after suggestions about the role of this kind Culture, and it was during this time that seven years at the National Museum in of institution in general, or specific a variety of other traditional Malay Rio de Janeiro. Although new to the ideas for the improvement of this musics were recorded. The additional job, I have long been acquainted with Archives, I would appreciate hearing Kelantanese materials include recordings the Archives, first visiting it in 1968 from you. I may be sought out at the of performances of the berjamu for the and then depositing my field tapes in annual meetings of the American Folk Wayang Siam (a special "feasting" of the 1973. I have already encountered lore Society, the Society for Ethno spirits ceremony), the Wayang Jawa problems of space, equipment, and musicology, and the American An (another type of Malay shadow puppet finances that are quite familiar from thropological' Association. Addition theater also known as Wayang Kulit my chairmanship of the Department of ally, I plan to visit some institutions Melayu), the Main Puteri-Mak Yang Anthropology at the National Museum similar to the Archives of Traditional (the shaman exorcism ritual and the where I was ultimately responsible for Music in order to meet with colleagues Malay dance-drama used together for the cataloging and preservation of over and discuss common issues. I also healing purposes), the Dikir Barat 70,000 artifacts in all areas of anthro welcome letters, tapes, songs, or other (group singing-call and response style pology. forms of communication from anyone. -of popular texts with the accompani The Archives of Traditional Music is Finally, upon my arrival, I learned ment of gong, small rebana drums and an extremely valuable resource for that Resound was started with a small handclapping), the Gendang Silat (music ethnom usicologists, folklorists, grant that ends with this issue. I hope to accompany the Malay art of self anthropologists, and other academics, you will respond to the appeal for defense known as bersilat), the Rebana and is also of interest to musicians and support, not only for this publication, Besar (group singing with the accom interested non-specialists. I believe it but for our activities in general. paniment of drumming on the very large can serve the state, the nation, and rebana drums), and the Manora-Mak Yang (a mixed theater form utilizing the Southern Thai and Malay dance ~..q-.~ From the Field ~~ of Kelantan, Malaysia. Approximately dramas). Other West Malaysian field forty hours of wayang kulit perform recordings include three pi~ces from the ances provided the recorded documen Jaget Gamelan (court dance) tradition of Music from Malaysia tation for the author's doctoral disserta Trengganu and Pahang, and a Wayang tion in musicology which was submitted Siam type of shadow play performed by Some sixty-five hours of musical per to the University of Michigan in an "urban" dalang in Kuala Lumpur. formances constitute a collection of January, 1980. The recorded shadow The East Malaysian materials, col audio tapes recorded in the field by play performances include several com lected in 1978, consist of approximately Patricia Matusky in both West and East plete stories as well as specific portions five hours of music from Sabah on the Malaysia from 1976 through 1978. * This of performances. northeast coast of Kalimantan. Under collection is focused on the music of the The geographical area represented in the sponsorship of the Sabah Cultural Malay shadow puppet theater (known the Wayang Siam collection is limited to Office and the Sabah Foundation several as Wayang Kulit Siam or Wayang Siam) the Tumpat District of Kelantan, and the types of music were recorded in the northeast coastal and island areas of tape recorder was not a foreign instru ments were already growing less and less Kudat and the Kinabatangan Districts. ment. Nearly all the performers repre dependent on the traditional trades of They were performed by different ethnic sented in the present collection had some making charcoal, gathering salt hay and groups including Ubian, Suluk, Kadazan knowledge of the tape recorder. Regard working the bay for shellfish. Today (Maragam dialect), Brunei and Idaan less of the performers' experience, that wilderness, barely 60 miles from (Orang Sungei) peoples. The types of however, they were always delighted to New York, and 30 miles from Philadel music from Sabah include a sampling of hear themselves on tape after a re phia, still covers a quarter of the state of kulintangan (gong and drum ensemble), cording session. New Jersey-despite its reduction during kulintangan kayu and gabbang (wood During the past year the author, as the last two decades by developments of xylophones used for solo and ensemble Fulbright Lecturer in Musicology at the suburban subdivisions, shopping malls performance, respectively), gambus and Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, has and retirement villages. sundatang (plucked lutes), suling (flute), been able to conduct research projects in Herbert Halpert went to the sparsely sompotan (mouth organ), and bungkau the West Malaysian states of Kedah and populated Pinelands to collect folksongs (jaw's harp) music. Perlis along with the Asian theater from the residents, a varied population of the descendents of American patriots, The musical repertoire is as complete as possible a collection of pieces used for Hessian deserters, Quakers and Tories the old style of performance of the Wayang Siam shadow play in Kelantan to seeking refuge in the wilderness. day. Beginning in the summer of 1936 and continuing for several summers there Almost all tapes were recorded in scholar Dr. Ghulam Sarwar. As a result after, and many week ends through rural areas where no electricity was of these recent projects several hours of out the years, I had criss-crossed the available. Therefore a Uher 4000 L tape both audio and video tape have now Piney country of Southern New Jersey recorder was powered by D cells or by documented important theatrical by bus, on foot, hitchhiking, or nickel-cadmium batteries. The perform musical genres such as the berjamu for driving cars of ancient vintage, which ances of the various musical events were the Wayang Siam, the Selampit and had the disconcerting habit of coming recorded in their natural environments, A wang Batil (storytelling with music to a dead stop somewhere in the sandy and the placement of performers in rela accompaniment), the Gendang T erinai wastes." (Halpert, 1947: 1) tion to the microphone usually could not (music for the T erinai court dance of On his earliest trips, Halpert pains be dictated. The author's presence at a Perlis), the Mek Mulong (Malay dance takingly transcribed song texts by dicta given village location usually generated drama of Kedah), and the Manora tion from forbearing informants, but in much interest, and at recording sessions (Southern Thai dance-drama). The the summer of 1937 he borrowed a many people stopped by to watch the audio recordings of these performances portable disc recorder from Columbia proceedings. It was generally not possi will be added to the present collection of Universi!y's Anthropology Department lJle to control the influx of people ~ the Malaysian materials in the Archi;es. and continued the dictation method noise and clatter. Thus, any extraneous This new data as well as the shadow only for interviews and tales. In a car sounds present during the various per play and other materials of 1976-78 borrowed from Ruth Benedict, he jour formances are also present on the tapes serve as permanent documentation of neyed through the. Pines and recorded including casual conversations, crying the various musical forms and will be several locally composed songs such as babies and clucking hens. With the used as the basis for future research and "Mt. Holly Jail," still popular with Piney widespread distribution of radio, tele publication on Malaysian traditional musicians, and "Potatoes They Grow vision and cassette recorder/players in performing arts. Small in Shamong," a bawdy piece, most parts of Malaysia, the author's along with fiddle tunes, sea shanties, * Archives accession number 81-049-F and children's rhymes and game songs. Halpert's greatest interest lay in the old Resound Patricia Matusky, Muang Yala , South English ballads known by the Pineys; A Quarterly of the ern Thailand one elderly woman, Lydia Gyderson, Archives of Traditional Music obliged Halpert by singing 25 such songs. In his first published article about Amy E.