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From Folk to National Popular Music: Recreating Ronggeng in Malaysia 1

2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 24; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01411890500234054

1547-7304

Tan Sooi Beng,

Diverse Musicological Studies

Abstract The Malaysian social-dance music known as ronggeng underwent changes in style and performance contexts from the early twentieth century until the turn of the millennium. Ronggeng has been transformed from a folk genre of the Malay and Baba communities—performed by lower-class women who danced publicly with men and were, thus, looked down on as common by some sectors of the population—to a national form promoted by the Malaysian State, performed by and attracting audiences of different ethnic groups and classes. As ronggeng has become national, it has been “reconstructed” and “sanitized”; certain elements have been selected while other undesirable ones have been omitted, so that the music and dances of the new national ronggeng have become divorced from their folk forms and settings. An early version of this article was written when I was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the School of Music-Conservatorium, Monash University, March–May 2001. Thanks are due to Professor Margaret Kartomi for her comments on this article and for the help and hospitality she extended to my family during our stay at Melbourne. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Kartomi for bringing together an extraordinary group of music postgraduate students under her supervision when I was completing my doctoral dissertation at Monash University in the late 1980s. I benefited greatly from their sharp insights and intellectual support. It was through my interaction with them that I am able to adapt a multidisciplinary approach to ethnomusicology. Special acknowledgements are also due to Pak Mat Hashim, Pak Wan Pekak (deceased), Pak Aziz, Mak Ramlah, and June (deceased) who allowed me to follow them when they performed folk ronggeng in various parts of Penang. They taught me the music and allowed me to perform with them. Notes An early version of this article was written when I was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the School of Music-Conservatorium, Monash University, March–May 2001. Thanks are due to Professor Margaret Kartomi for her comments on this article and for the help and hospitality she extended to my family during our stay at Melbourne. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Kartomi for bringing together an extraordinary group of music postgraduate students under her supervision when I was completing my doctoral dissertation at Monash University in the late 1980s. I benefited greatly from their sharp insights and intellectual support. It was through my interaction with them that I am able to adapt a multidisciplinary approach to ethnomusicology. Special acknowledgements are also due to Pak Mat Hashim, Pak Wan Pekak (deceased), Pak Aziz, Mak Ramlah, and June (deceased) who allowed me to follow them when they performed folk ronggeng in various parts of Penang. They taught me the music and allowed me to perform with them. The term ronggeng also refers to the dance joget, which forms part of the ronggeng repertoire. In recent times, the ronggeng repertoire is more commonly referred to as asli (meaning original, traditional). The ronggeng ensemble is also found in North Sumatra. See David Goldsworthy, Melayu Music of North Sumatra, Ph.D. dissertation (Monash University, Melbourne, 1979) and Margaret Kartomi, “Kapri: A Synthesis of Malay and Portuguese Music on the West Coast of North Sumatra,” in Cultures and Societies of North Sumatra, ed. Reiner Carle (Hamburg: University of Hamburg, 1988) for discussions of the musical instruments and repertoire of the ronggeng asli and other similar ensembles in Sumatra. Baba are Chinese men who have adapted to Malay culture. They speak a version of Malay and adapt certain features of Malay dress, cooking, and music. Women are called nyonya. Both baba and nyonya are also known as Peranakan in Malaysia. In Penang, ronggeng troupes also perform at the birthday celebrations of deities such as the Datuk Gong who are worshipped by the Chinese but considered to be of Malay origin. It is believed that these deities prefer to watch ronggeng or the menora (Thai popular theater) rather than Chinese opera, as they are of Malay origin (see Tan Sooi Beng, “The Thai Menora in Malaysia; Adapting to the Penang Chinese Community,” Asian Folklore Studies 47/1 [1987], 19–34). The Datuk Gong is indigenous to Malaysia. Malaysia has a population of 18.4 million. According to the Population and Housing Census of 1991 (Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics, 1993), 60.6 percent are Bumiputera (Malays and other indigenous groups such as the orang asli, Kadazan, Bajaus, Bidayuh, Melanau, Penan, etc.), 28.1 percent Chinese (of different dialect groups), 7.9 percent Indians (originating from different parts of India), and 3.4 percent others (which includes Arabs, Eurasians, Indonesians, etc.) Margaret Kartomi, “The Processes and Results of Musical Culture Contact: A Discussion of Terminology and Concepts,” Ethnomusicology 25/2 (1981), 227–249; Margaret Kartomi and Stephen Blum, Music-Cultures in Contact: Convergences and Collisions (Sydney: Currency Press, 1994). 78 RPM recordings of ronggeng songs of the 1930–1950s that have been transcribed and analyzed in this article are from the personal collection of music enthusiast Naina Merican of Penang. Her 78 RPM recordings are now kept in the National Archives of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. The other folk ronggeng examples are transcriptions of my own field recordings, which were made in the late 1980s. Peter Manuel (with Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey), Carribean Currents: Carribean Music from Rumba to Reggae (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995), 15. Paul Austerlitz, Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997). Peter Wade, Music, Race, and Nation: Musica Tropical in Colombia (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 8. Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983). Joel Kahn, “Class, Ethnicity and Diversity: Some Remarks on Malay Culture in Malaysia,” in Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia, eds Joel Kahn and Francis Loh (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1992), 158–178. Barbara Kirshen-Gimblett, Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums and Heritage (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). A similar type of dance-song is found in Sumatra and is known as sinandung (Goldsworthy, Melayu Music of North Sumatra). See Mohd Anis Md Nor, Zapin: Folk Dance of the Malay World (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1993), for an in-depth discussion of the origins and development of zapin in Malaysia. The village zapin ensemble in Johore comprises a gambus (derived from the Middle Eastern ud), a violin (or accordion or harmonium), three or four marwas handdrums, and a dok (cylindrical drum). Since zapin was incorporated into the bangsawan theater and ronggeng performances, the form has been recreated and transformed. See Tan Sooi Beng, Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1993), 143–160; and Patricia Matusky and Tan Sooi Beng, The Music of Malaysia: The Classical, Folk and Syncretic Traditions (London: Ashgate, SOAS Musicology Series, 2004) for in-depth discussions and transcriptions of the various types of social dance music in Malaysia. The rhythmic patterns written here are basic patterns on which musicians improvise more elaborate patterns. See Mohd Taib Osman, Warisan Puisi Melayu [Heritage of Malay Poetry] (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1975) for details about pantun and other Malay verse forms. The term Malaya refers to Malaysia prior to 1963. See Tan, Bangsawan, for an in-depth discussion of the development of bangsawan in Malaysia. See Tan Sooi Beng, “The 78 RPM Record Industry in Malaya Prior to World War II,” Asian Music 28/1 (1996/97), 1–43. This article looks at the development of the gramophone industry in Malaya prior to World War II and analyzes the different labels used by the foreign and local recording companies in Malaya. Bangsawan adapted to popular music trends in Europe, America, and Latin America to attract audiences. The tango and foxtrot were also popular. (See Tan, Bangsawan, chapter 8). Peter Manuel, Cassette Culture: Popular Music and Technology in North India (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1993), 58. This standard ensemble had great staying power in Malaya, as the recording industry was monopolized by The Gramophone Co. In 1931, with the formation of the Electric and Musical Industries Ltd. (EMI), the Gramophone Co. merged with Columbia and brought under one umbrella other companies such as Pathe and Carl Lindstrom A.G., which also owned Beka, Odeon, and Parlophone (Roland Gelatt, The Fabulous Phonograph: The Story of the Gramophone from Tin Foil to High Fidelity [London: Cassel & Co., 1976], 198). Most Malay records of the 1930s were produced by EMI and were manufactured at the Gramophone Co.’s factory at Dum Dum, India, even though they used different labels. Recordings were made in the studio of the Gramophone Co. in Singapore by HMV engineers. Even though the Gramophone Co. had allowed local dealers to start their own companies, such as Chap Kuching, Chap Singa, and Chap Grand, all recordings and manufacture of discs were handled by HMV engineers in the Gramophone Co.’s studio and all records were pressed at the factory at Dum Dum, India (Tan, “The 78 RPM Record Industry”). Tan, Bangsawan. Daud Hamzah, “Aliran Muzik Malaysia, Khasnya Jenis Suka Ramai dan Cara-cara ke Arah Yang Lebih Sihat dalam Konteks Keperibadian Malaysia” [Trends in the Music of Malaysia, Focusing on Popular Music and the Ways Towards Making It More Healthy in the Context of Malaysian Identity], in KKBS, Asas Kebudayaan Kebangsaan [Basis of National Culture] (Kuala Lumpur, 1973), 237. As the popularity of bangsawan faded in the 1950s, many bangsawan performers switched to film which paid better and allowed performers to settle in one town. Those who could not make it in the film world turned to pentas joget (see Tan, Bangsawan, 169). By the 1930s, British amateur wireless associations had sprung up in the main towns of Malaya, such as Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Johore, and Singapore. These private radio stations played recorded Western popular music as well as selections of popular music of other ethnic groups in Malaya. A selected group of elites had access to it. Radio Malaya was officially formed after Independence. By the 1960s, the radio had become more accessible to the general public. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM) also began to broadcast new local music composed by its resident composers that was based on asli, joget, inang, zapin, and other ronggeng rhythms and melodies. Examples of such new compositions include Asli Lama dan Baru by B. Ortega, Rampai Ghazal by Johari Salleh, Asli Abadi by Alfonso Soliano, and Inang Pulau Kampai Piano Concerto by Gus Steyn. Known as muzik klasik or muzik seriosa, these new compositions were written for the Orkes RTM, which had developed along big band lines, incorporating violins, trumpets, trombones, saxophones, keyboard, bass and rhythm guitars, Western drum set, and other percussion instruments. The Orkes RTM was seen as an extension of the big band used in the Malay film (James Chopyak, “The Role of music in Mass Media, Public Education and the Formation of a Malaysian National Culture,” Ethnomusicology 31/3 [1987], 431–454.). RTM promoted these compositions as national music that portrayed a Malaysian identity. In 1971, the national culture of Malaysia was formulated and is defined as the following: 1) being based on the culture of the people indigenous to the region; 2) incorporating elements from other cultures that are suitable and reasonable; 3) and including Islam as an important element. In their study of the music and culture of Sweden, Tunisia, Trinidad, and Tanzania, Roger Wallis and William Malm (Big Sounds from Small Peoples: The Music Industry in Small Countries [London: Constable and Co., 1984], 15–16) found similarities in the four countries in the 1970s. As a result of the value systems spread through the European education system and changes in the political and economic systems in the four countries, there were two main directions of change. The first involved the formulation of cultural policies and the setting up of national institutions to create national music styles and forms; the other involved the development of national styles of pop and rock. National folklore groups that featured and amalgamated the music traditions of different ethnic groups were formed. These changes also occurred in Malaysia. Today, the dancers and musicians form the performing arm of the newly built National Theatre known as Istana Budaya (Cultural Palace). Other Malay forms of traditional theater and music, such as wayang kulit, makyong, and joget gamelan, also were promoted. Nor, Zapin, 84. Sunday Star, 18 February 2001, Section 2, Entertainment Page. For in-depth discussions of the characteristics of “world beat,” see Veit Erlmann, “The Politics and Aesthetics of Transnational Musics,” The World of Music 2 (1993), 3–15; Deborah Pacini Hernandez, “A View from the South: Spanish Caribbean Perspectives on World Beat,” The World of Music 2 (1993), 48–69; and Tony Mitchell, Popular Music and Local Identity: Rock, Pop and Rap in Europe and Oceania (London and New York: Leicester University Press, 1998). For a discussion of how “world beat” has helped to establish a musical language of syncretism in which local musical elements and local concerns are combined with global musical idioms in Malaysia, see Tan Sooi Beng, “Negotiating Identities: Reconstructing the ‘Local’ in Malaysia Through World Beat,” Perfect Beat 5/4 (2002), 3–20. This article discusses the works of five musicians—Zainal Abidin, Raihan, M. Nasir, Ah Gu, and the BM Boys—who try to construct and articulate their “modern” Malaysian identities and a pan-Asian identity by incorporating Malaysian and Asian percussion, string, and wind instruments, musical elements, languages, and dialects. New Straits Times, 27 February, 1998, Life and Times Section, 1. Mahathir Mohamad, “Malaysia: The Way Forward.” Speech delivered at the Inaugural Meeting of the Malaysian Business Council, Kuala Lumpur, 28 February 1991 (Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Business Council, 1991). To symbolize Malaysia’s aspirations to the world, there has been a rush to create modern buildings and other structures characterized by height and magnitude, but that include Asian elements in their design (such as the Petronas Twin Towers). Similarly, certain traditional and folk cultural forms that are patronized by the elites and receive sponsorship from the government have been recreated grandiosely as spectacles. See Tan Sooi Beng, “Multi-Culturalism or One National Culture: Cultural Centralization and the Recreation of the Traditional Performing Arts in Malaysia,” Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore, Special Issue on “Cultural Policy and Traditional Performing Arts in Asia” 141 (September 2003), 237–259, for a discussion of cultural centralization and the transformation of selected traditional performing art forms into spectacles. Record consumption statistics are not reliable as cassette and compact disc pirating is rampant and fewer originals are sold than the pirated copies. The popularity of ronggeng is gauged through observation of how the repertoire is performed and listened to by audiences of various age groups, class, ethnicity, and location, as well as interviews with individuals of different age groups and from different sectors ofthe music business, including musicians, producers, and nightclub owners.