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. Novick, Editor his work in the Pine Barrens, Halpert Resound is issued in January, April, wrote: "A number of versions of other July, and October. Comments, letters, ~cq. From the V ault ~ than Child ballads have been collected. and items of interest are welcome and Some of them are variants of ballads should be addressed to the editor. which it is now agreed might very well Music in the Pine Barrens have been included in the Child canon." (Halpert, 1939:56) Archives of Traditional Music 'There was a feller down here once During August and September of Maxwell Hall 057 takin' down all those songs. He prom­ 1938, Halpert made recordings in New Indiana University ised us our pictures and everything. "1 York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 -Emma Ford Clevenger where he returned to record folksongs (812) 335-8632 and ballads from many of the indi­ Fifty years ago, the Pine Barrens on viduals he had visited in 1937. The Anthony Seeger, Director New Jersey's coastal plain was a barely­ recordings made in 1938, with those of Louise S. Spear, Associate Director tamed back country of pitch pine and 1937, 1939, and 1941 were deposited in Amy E. Novick, Librarian oak forest, cedar swamps, cranberry the Archives of Traditional Music in the Marilyn B. Graf, Secretary bogs, salt meadows, blueberry form of original aluminum or acetate plantings, and pure water. Scant settle- discs or first generation disc copies. * 2 Since 1937 Halpert had been em­ In that summer of 1939, Charles Grant, 1. As quoted by Henry C. Beck (see Works ployed by the Works Progress Admin­ one of Halpert's finest folksingers, and, Cited). Mrs. Clevenger's father, John Wes­ istration, in the Federal Theater Project, as it turned out, an accomplished story­ ley Ford, sang 'The Huckleberry Song" for and eventually became Director of the teller, introduced him to the world of Herbert Halpert in 1941. Folklore and Folksong Department of Jerry Munyhon, ;'Cracky" Wainwright, WORKS CITED the National Service Bureau. The WPA's "Old Joe" Britton, and Jesse Johnson. Beck, Henry C. Halpert's unique recordings of New Jersey folk music capture a moment before 1945 Jersey Genesis: The Story of the the invasion of mass media weakened the oral tradition of the Pine Barrens. Mullica River. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, pp. 143-156. Joint Committee on Folk Arts and the legendary figures of the Pines. Library of Congress sponsored a folk On field trips in 1940, 1941, and 1942, Halpert, Herbert music recording expedition in 1939, and the second sponsored by Indiana Uni­ 1939 "Some Ballads and Folk Songs from chose Halpert to do the actual recording. versity, where Halpert had come to New Jersey," Journal of American From March through June he Itraveled study folklore with Stith Thompson, he Folklore, 52(1939):52-69. through the states of Virginia, North continued to collect legends and tall 1947 "Folktales and Legends from the Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and tales. The 1941 recordings in the Ar­ New Jersey Pines: A Collection and a Alabama in "a surplus army ambulance chives also include songs and some ver­ Study." Unpublished doctoral disser­ converted into a travelling field station." sions of the famous "Sammy Giberson's tation, Department of English, Indiana (Rosenberg, 1980:4) The original Air Tune," played by Ivins McKelvey, University. recordings made on this trip he depos­ who had first told Halpert of the Giber­ ited in the Library of Congress. son legend in 1937. The "Air Tune," Rosenberg, Neil V. 1980 "Herbert Halpert: A Biographical Immediately after completing the which some said had come from the Sketch," in Kenneth S. Goldstein and southern trip, Halpert went to New devil himself, was "a remarkable tune no Neil V. Rosenberg, eds., Folklore Jersey and New York to do further one had ever heard before [Giberson 1 Studies in Honour of Herbert Halpert: researching. His interest at this time played it." (Halpert, 1947:98) A Festschrift. (St. John's: Memorial turned to folktales, a result of a question Halpert's unique recordings of New University of Newfoundland), pp. posed by George Herzog, Professor of Jersey folk music capture a moment 1-30. Anthropology at Columbia University: before the invasion of mass media weakened the oral tradition of the Pine SUGGESTED READINGS When he told Herzog of the folktales he had collected in Tennessee, Herzog Barrens. His efforts represent the last Cohen, David Steven, with Barbara Smith asked if his New Jersey informants great collections of authentic folklife of Irwin. also told tales. Halpert first responded New Jersey. 1982 Folklife in New Jersey: An Anno- that they did not, and then realized tated Bibliography. Trenton: New * Archives accession numbers Pre that he had never asked for tales. Jersey Historical Commission. '54-217-F through Pre '54-221-F (Rosenberg, 1980:4) McPhee, John 1967, 1968 The Pine Barrens. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

Peel, Bonnie A. 1980 The Pine Barrens: A Bibliography. Research Report Number 4 (March). Trenton: New Jer~y State Museum. Air-conditioned, humidity­ controlled, dust-free storage Roberts, Richard, and Richard Speedy. vaults in the Archives of 1981 "Don't Call It The Barrens,''' Traditional Music house Audubon 83(4):72-83. sound recordings of music and oral data from through­ Marilyn B. Graf, Archives staff out the world. The vault pictured contains over 7,000 rare and valuable cylinder recordings col­ The Sound Chest lected between 1895 and Treasures from the Archives 1938. Other storage vaults of Traditional Music hold discs of various sizes, Staff members and visitors alike often wires, open-reel tapes, and feel as though the Archives is a sound cassettes. chest filled with treasures of aural Photo by Verlon L. Stone heritage. We at the Archives collect preserve, and provide access to sound recordings of music and oral data from throughout the world. The recordings represent musical and verbal forms which are perpetuated through the oral tradition rather than through the printed page. We are particularly strong in 3 recordings from Africa, Afro-America, trate the variety in our hol'dings: The Colonial Publishers collection Asia, Latin America, and Native Amer­ encompasses 3,000 78 rpm discs of The Edward S. Curtis collection con­ dance, folk, and popular music from ica. From the United States we also have tains nearly 300 cylinders of tradi­ the Caribbean and South America. such genres as ballads, blues, country, tional music from Plains, Plateau, The discs were produced by a variety gospel, and jazz. From many cultures, Northwest Coast, and Southwest Na­ of record companies between 1940 and there are folktales, oral histories, and tive American groups. Collected in 1965. interviews. Some of the recordings are, 1907-12, the recordings represent or were at one time, commercially Curtis' lifelong interest in the games, The Dennis Duerden collection, de­ produced. Other recordings were col­ myths, sacred rites, music, and demo­ posited by the Transcription Centre in lected in the field by individuals or graphy of Native Americans. London, consists of 199 open-reel tapes of interviews with African groups. The present holdings consist of The Erich M. von Hornbostel col­ authors, performers, political figures, lection is a compilation of recordings 7,000 cylinders, 50,000 discs, 100 wires, and social leaders. Also included are selected by von Hornbostel, who was 25,000 open-reel tapes, and 2,000 cas­ literary readings and musical per­ the director of the famous Berlin settes. formances. The recordings were made Phonogramm-Archive from 1905 to Earlier issues of Resound featured the between 1956 and 1970. Bogoras and Jochelson cylinder collec­ 1933. As the earliest anthology of traditional music ever issued, the col­ The Terence R. Bech collection in­ tion recorded in Siberia in 1900-02, the lection is considered an historical cludes 400 open-reel tapes of music Natalie Curtis Burlin cylinder collection monument in the development of the and oral data from seventy-five recorded at the Hampton Institute, a discipline of ethnomusicology. culture groups in Nepal. The tapes, Black college in Virginia, ca. 1917, and recorded in 1965-70, are accompanied The Melville J. and Frances S. Her­ the Berthold Laufer cylinder collection by 3,500 photographic negatives, skovits collection of African and Afro­ recorded in Peking and Shanghai in 7,500 song texts, 200 music transcrip­ American music resulted from their tions, 120 musical instruments, 41 life 1901-02. expeditions to West Africa, Trinidad, history texts, and a 435-page com­ Although it is impossible to list all the Surinam, and Brazil. Between 1928 prehensive index. unique and important collections in the and 1942, the Herskovits' cut well Archives, we would like to briefly over 300 cylinders of religious and Louise S. Spear, Archives staff mention a few recordings which illus- secular songs and instrumental music.

Archives of Traditional Music Non Profit Org. Maxwell Hall 057 Bulk Rate Indiana University US Postage Paid Bloomington, IN 47405 Permit No.2 Bloomington, Ind.