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Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 6(2): 101 - III (1998) ISSN: 0128-7702 © Universiti Putra Malaysia Press Malay Traditional Folk Songs In DIu Tembeling: Its Potential For A Comprehensive Study CHAN CHEONG JAN Music Department Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Keywords: Ulu Tembeling, Malay song, musical character, music, Indung ABSTRAK Tujuan penyelidikan ini adalah untuk meneroka potensi muzik di Vlu Tembeling untuk dikaji secara menye1uruh, dan juga untuk menambahkan lagi repertoire lagu Me1ayu untuk digunakan dalam pendidikan muzik. Penyelidikan telah dijalankan di lima buah kampung utama di Ulu Tembeling, dimana lagu-lagu penduduk te1ah dirakam sebanyak yang mungkin. Rakaman diterjemahkan ke bentuk notasi dan dianalisakan. Lebih kurang sepuluhjenis lagu telah ditemui, di antaranya adalah Indung; Saba; lagu dodoi;lagu bercerita;lagu permainan; lagu untuk Tarian Lukah, Tarian Limbung dan Tarian Mayang; dan juga Dikir Rebana. Keputusan analisis menujukkan bahawa muzik Vlu Tembeling kaya dengan melodi dan mempunyai sifat-sifat muzik yang tersendiri. Penyelidikan ini telah menunjukkan bahawa terdapat banyak lagi me10di lagu Melayu tidak diketahui dan adanya kemungkinan besar lagu Melayu pada semulajadinya mempunyai sifat- sifat muzik yang berlainan dengan muzik Melayu yang biasa dikenali di bandar. Kesimpulan penyelidikan ini adalah muzik di Vlu Tembeling perlu didokumentasikan dan dikaji secara menyeluruh. ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to discover the potential of music in Vlu Tembeling for a comprehensive study, as well as to increase the repertoire of Malay songs for music education purposes. A fieldwork had been carried out in the five main villages in Vlu Tembeling where the songs of the villagers were recorded as many as possible. The sound data had been transcribed to notation and analyzed. Around ten types of songs were found in Vlu Tembeling. Among them are: Indung; Saba; Lagu Dodoi; Lagu Bercerita; Lagu Permainan; songs for Tarian Lukah,Tarian Mayang, Tarian Limbung; and Dikir Rebana. The analysis showed the variety of tunes and they have specific characteristics, such as asymmetrical time, the flexibility between down beat and up beat, etc. The result demonstrated that there were more repertoires of Malay melodies, and the original musical characteristics of Malay music may be different from those well known in the urban society. The conclusion of the research is that there is a need to document and study the traditional folk songs of Vlu Tembeling comprehensively. INTRODUCTION The musical value of music can be approached by its natural relation with the language applied together with it, and by viewing music as a record of human expression or response towards a particular environment and the lifestyle in the history. These two views on music should be the main consideration when we talk about the setting of materials for a music curriculum in one country, and they should also be the basis for art music composition and performance activities to build up the musical identity of one country. According to Hoffer (1992), the idea of the importance of the cultural basis of art and music was supported by the sociological view of life with the realization of the wide differences

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Page 1: Malay Traditional Folk Songs In DIu Tembeling: Its ...psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/3204/1/Malay... · tersendiri. Penyelidikan ini telah menunjukkan bahawa terdapat banyak lagi me10di

Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 6(2): 101 - III (1998) ISSN: 0128-7702© Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Malay Traditional Folk Songs In DIu Tembeling: Its PotentialFor A Comprehensive Study

CHAN CHEONG JANMusic Department

Faculty of Human EcologyUniversiti Putra Malaysia

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Keywords: Ulu Tembeling, Malay song, musical character, music, Indung

ABSTRAK

Tujuan penyelidikan ini adalah untuk meneroka potensi muzik di Vlu Tembeling untuk dikajisecara menye1uruh, dan juga untuk menambahkan lagi repertoire lagu Me1ayu untuk digunakandalam pendidikan muzik. Penyelidikan telah dijalankan di lima buah kampung utama di UluTembeling, dimana lagu-lagu penduduk te1ah dirakam sebanyak yang mungkin. Rakamanditerjemahkan ke bentuk notasi dan dianalisakan. Lebih kurang sepuluhjenis lagu telah ditemui,di antaranya adalah Indung; Saba; lagu dodoi;lagu bercerita;lagu permainan; lagu untuk TarianLukah, Tarian Limbung dan Tarian Mayang; dan juga Dikir Rebana. Keputusan analisis menujukkanbahawa muzik Vlu Tembeling kaya dengan melodi dan mempunyai sifat-sifat muzik yangtersendiri. Penyelidikan ini telah menunjukkan bahawa terdapat banyak lagi me10di lagu Melayutidak diketahui dan adanya kemungkinan besar lagu Melayu pada semulajadinya mempunyai sifat­sifat muzik yang berlainan dengan muzik Melayu yang biasa dikenali di bandar. Kesimpulanpenyelidikan ini adalah muzik di Vlu Tembeling perlu didokumentasikan dan dikaji secaramenyeluruh.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research is to discover the potential of music in Vlu Tembeling for acomprehensive study, as well as to increase the repertoire of Malay songs for music educationpurposes. A fieldwork had been carried out in the five main villages in Vlu Tembeling where thesongs of the villagers were recorded as many as possible. The sound data had been transcribedto notation and analyzed. Around ten types of songs were found in Vlu Tembeling. Among themare: Indung; Saba; Lagu Dodoi; Lagu Bercerita; Lagu Permainan; songs for Tarian Lukah,TarianMayang, Tarian Limbung; and Dikir Rebana. The analysis showed the variety of tunes and theyhave specific characteristics, such as asymmetrical time, the flexibility between down beat and upbeat, etc. The result demonstrated that there were more repertoires of Malay melodies, and theoriginal musical characteristics of Malay music may be different from those well known in theurban society. The conclusion of the research is that there is a need to document and study thetraditional folk songs of Vlu Tembeling comprehensively.

INTRODUCTION

The musical value of music can be approachedby its natural relation with the language appliedtogether with it, and by viewing music as arecord of human expression or response towardsa particular environment and the lifestyle in thehistory. These two views on music should be themain consideration when we talk about the

setting of materials for a music curriculum inone country, and they should also be the basisfor art music composition and performanceactivities to build up the musical identity of onecountry. According to Hoffer (1992), the idea ofthe importance of the cultural basis of art andmusic was supported by the sociological view oflife with the realization of the wide differences

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Ch,m Cheong .Ian

among the t)'pes of music found around theworld.

For the purpose of setting the cultural basisfor music education, there is a need to examinethe representative styles of music that has a closerelationship with the local culture, which alsoincludes the relationship between music and thelanguage used. Meanwhile there is also a needto increase the repertoire of the Malay songs formusic education purposes, especially therepertoire of children songs. Many studies thathad been carried out on Malay music, forexample the research by Matusky(l994); Mohd.Anis(1993); Ku Zam Zam (1994); MaIm (1974);were focused on performing art and did hardlyprovide music material for Malay folk songscasually sung in the household such as childrensongs, lullabies, working songs and so on.

The hypothesis of this research is that someof the musical characters of the Malay songs hadbeen transformed along the process ofurbanization, which had become more similarto the present western popular music. Many ofthe Malay songs were sung and were notated inconsistent meter notation; applying the majorand minor scales in western music.

The main aim of the research is to clarifythe musical styles of Malay songs before themusic was influenced by urbanization process; aswell as to increase the repertoire of Malay songfor education purpose. The study will naturallyfocus on the symbolic connections between themusic and the culture, and to examine therelationship between them. This paper will onlypresent findings in the early stage, focusing ona potential region that had not been studiedintensively in the context of musicology.

The Ulu Tembeling region is located in theheartland of Peninsular Malaysia, in the State ofPahang. As reported in \IVan Sabri's report(1991), the e timated number of households ofthis area in the year 1991 is at about 879. Themain economic activities are paddy growing andrubber tapping, while the part time economicactivities include harvest of forest produce.Although mountain path is made available forvehicles recently, the most convenient way toreach DIu Tembeling from the nearest townJerantut is still by boat, lasting between five toseven hours for the entire journey. In WanSabri's report(199l), Ulu Tembeling region isconsidered a 'fringe society' or a populationthat is divorced from the process of development.

One of the characteristics of this area is theTaman Negara, or the National Park, howeverthe development of Taman Negara did not bringmuch change to the lifestyle of the localpopulation. The five main villages in DIuTembeling which were selected for field surveyand recording are Kampung Bantal, KampungMat Daling, Kampung Gusal, Kampung KualaSat and Kampung Pagi. The isolated locationand the difficult)' of transportation to the UluTembeling area could be considered as animplication whereby the type of music whichhas not been influenced by the present urbanculture in Malaysia may still exist in UluTembeling. However it was discovered by theresearcher later that inspite of difficulty inphysical accessibility of this place, the populationof Diu Tembeling had been in the past decadebeing exposed to the urban music culturethrough radio and telivision, while theauthentic folk music was still in practice in UluTembeling.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective is to explore the musicalculture in Ulu Tembeling, and to determinewhether one should carry a comprehensivemusical study on Ulu Tembeling in future. Thespecific objectives are as below:• to discover the number of types of music• to examine the characters of music• to clarify the practice of music in the past and

present

METHODOLOGY

Intel\!iewing the villagers and recording of theirsinging were the main activities in the fieldwork.A fieldwork for seven days had been carried outin Ulu Tembeling. The researcher had visited allthe five villages. The respondents were thevillagers, mainly the senior villagers who couldsing traditional folk songs. Researcher had alsovisited all the five primary schools, each fromevery village, to record the children's singing.The size of samples had not been determined inthe planning stage, as this was the exploratorysurvey to the area. However about 30 songs wererecorded during the fieldwork. Songs that hadbeen recorded during the fieldwork was thentranscribed into musical notation. A brief musicalanalysis was carried out upon the sound dataand the transcription. This method of analysis isconsidered sufficient for this early stage, with

1()~ PenanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 :\0. 21998

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Malay Traditional Folk Sono-s [n Ulu Tembeling' Its Potentt'al Fat· A C h' S do . onl pre enSlve tu y

the understanding that the western traditionalmusic notation system is not the best approachfor analysis (Lomax,1980).

RESULTS

7)pes of Music in Ulu Tembeling.

The following types of songs which had beenfound existing in Ulu Tembeling are : LaguIndung; Tarian Saba; Lagu Dodoi [lullabies];Lagu Bercerita [story telling song]; LaguPermainan [children game songs]; TarianMayang; Tarian Lukah; Tarian Limbung; andDikir Rebana.

Indung is a set of 36 songs sang by womenwhile working in the paddy field, especiallyduring grass cuting. Indung was commonlypracticed in Kampung Bantal, Kampung MatDaling and Kampung Gusa!. Each song wasattached wi th a specific poem [pantun]. It is agroup singing, in unison, where the form is analternation between a solo singer and the wholegroup. There were no musical instrumentsinvolved in Indung singing. Within the Indungsongs, there are many lullabies. On the otherhand, there are also a few songs that are sungwith dance movements. The singing of Indungbegin with the song Anak Indung, and ends withthe song Pulang Indung, in which both songsshare the same melody but different in theirsong text.

The text of a particular song in Indung isshown as below. This song is normally sung inthe order of number 18, entitled Puteri Bongsu.This text is obtained directly from the leadsinger Makcik Hamiah Haji Ahmad.

[Text for answering phrase sung in group, 111

unison, which is usually called as jawab]

Adik puteri bongsu,tidurlwh jaga adiklah tubuh mu adik.

[Text for solo singer, which is usually called aspantun]

Tuan Puten Mayang rnengurai,Pelangi menyala di daun !Jandan;H ajat hati rnalas bercerai,Selagi ada nyawa di badan.

In Indung songs, one answering phrase isrepeated many times, using the same melodyand text. The solo singer normally sings twostanzas of !Jantun in a song, but she could add

on different !Jantun(s) if she likes to. AIl thedifferent stanzas of pantun sung by the leadsinger in a song share the same melody. AIthoughthere is diversity in the characters of the sono'otexts of the Indung songs collection, many songtexts appeared to be love poems. According toMakClk Hamlah, the spirit of the Puteri GunungBertujuh taught the songs to her ancestorsthrough dreams. Gunung Bertujuh refers to theseven hills in Kampung Banta!. A~ far as IndungIS con,cerned, the performance of KampungBantal s Indung group had been documentedand studied by Norazit Selat (1999), mainlyfrom sOClal-eultural point of view. A musicologicalapproach on Indung song is yet to be carried out.

Tarian Saba is a set of healing songs withdancing in Kampung Ban tal and probably in theareas nearby. It was performed to celebrate therecovery ofa patient. When a patient is recovered,the family would hold an open house dinner,and the villagers would dance the Tarian Sabain that house. The length of the dance wasdecided according to the seriousness of theillness that the patient had. The more seriousthe illness was, the longer the dance would be.The senior villagers in Kampung Bantal informedthat in the past, Tarian Saba had been carriedout until the cock crowed in the next morning.The bornoh, or the Malay shaman would lead theceremony and dance. A gending, or the specialaccompanist of the shaman would accompanythe dance with his singing while playing therebana. Other villagers would participate,dancing in a circle surrounding a tree-likedecoration made out of young coconut's leaves.Saba is in fact the name given to this tree-likedecoration. As Saba is a part of the traditionalcuring, the text has many special terms used inshamanistic charms. No documentation had beendone for Tarian Saba in Ulu Tembeling, althoughMohd Yusof Abdullah decsribed the Tarian Sabaperformed in place other than Ulu Tembeling.(Mohd Yusof, 1983)

Lagu Dodoi and Lagu Bercerita are songss~ng by ~arents to their children at home. Manyvillagers 111 their fifties or so admitted that theirparents used to sing lullabies and tell stories tothem during their childhood. A few of thesevillagers sang some Lagu Dodoi for theresearcher. Among them was Makcik Sum ImamMassah from Kampung Mat Daling who sang thesong shown in Fig. 6. Some senior villagers sanaLagu Bercerita for the researcher and th~

PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998 103

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Chan Cheong Jan

duration of each of these Lagu Bercerita was atleast 40 minutes. Among the story texts areCerita Raja Terkukur, Cerita Musang BerjanggutPandai Membaca Kitab, and Tudung Periuk.Lagu Dodoi and Lagu Bercerita are essentiallythe types of songs sung within households. 80years old Makcik Sum Imam Massah fromKampung Mat Daling recalled that when she wassmall, each household had its own songs of LaguDodoi and Lagu Bercerita. One family wouldnot know the Lagu Dodoi and Lagu Bercerita ofother family. This is not surprising if weunderstand the variety and individuality of thesesongs due to the creativity and preference ofstories by different family members who sangthe songs at that time.

Lagu Permainan [children game songs]includes the old game songs that were shared bythe senior villagers in their childhood days, andthe present game songs that are taught in theprimary school. Primary school children arefound to be able to sing both the old gamesongs of their grandparents and some other newgame songs including the game songs that useEnglish song text. Tarian Limbung, Tarian Lukahand Tarian Mayang were songs with dancepracticed during celebration events like wedding,as entertainment. Dikir rebana, the songsapplying Islamic texts, did not particularly belongto the Ulu Tembeling people, and could befound in other places in the State of Pahang.

Musical Characters oj Songs

Most of the songs in Indung are in simplestructure: binary form, repetition of two phrases.The single melody was ornamented frequently.The texture is heterophony when it was sung ina group, due to slightly different ornamentationby each singer.

Most of the songs in Indung songs collectionhave a consistent pulse but not necessaryconsistent meter. For example, the openingphrase of Anak Indung (Fig. 1), has a consistentpulse, though it is difficult to distinguish a senseof meter here. Another example, Buai AdikDendang Sayang(Fig.2) , has a melody which isnatural with the intonation of the song text. Itgives the impression of being in a free tempo,even though it is actually consistent in pulse.

Other than those songs with dancing, thesongs in Indung were in a rather slow tempo.The sense of strong beat and weak beat (downbeat and up beat) in Western Classical Art Musicdoes not seem to apply here. A song for dancing,Burung Berlatuk (Fig. 3) has seven basic pulsesin a phrase. The beat that falls on the left footduring dancing will eventually fall on the rightfoot when it is repeated.

Every Indung song has its own melody.Although some of the songs have the pitchrange of an octave, most songs do not have widerange of pitch. In most cases, the average pitchrange is only a perfect 5th

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104 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998

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Malay Traditional Folk Songs In Ulu Tembeling: Its Potential For A Comprehensive Study

Fig. 2. Buai Adik Dindang Sayang

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PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998 105

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Chan Cheong Jan

apply scales is that are very close to the westernmajor and minor scales. The last note of a songis always Tonic, or the first degree of the scale.Other than Tonic, the 3rd degree of the scalewas frequently used; as observed in Buai AdikDendang Sayang (Fig. 2) [The usage of the noteC# in the key A] The 3rd degree was used at theending of one phrase in songs like TimangLandak(Fig.4) [The usage of the note A in thekey F], Buai Limau Manis (Fig.5) [The usage ofthe note C in the key A ]. The usage ofsubdominant or the 4th degree of Western musicwith a strong implication of the dominant chordis not shown in these songs.

The characters of Tarian Saba, TarianMayang and other dances were yet to be clarified,due to the limited number of villagers who cansing a substantial length of samples for

investigation during the time when the fieldworkwas carried out. The analysis on the one songand phrase from Saba that were recorded showeda quicker tempo and more rhythmic charactercompared to Indung. The Lagu Dodoi [lullaby]sung by a senior villager that starts with thewords gerl1lln geram (Fig.6), has a charmingmelody, with rhythmic diversity [the triplet] anda wide range or pitch [an octave]. The musicalrichness of this melody is competent to those ofart music composition.

Lagu Bercerita [story telling songs] tells thestory by repeating the singing of the same melodyfor numerous times, but each time with differentwords. The melodies used are short and usuallyconsist of two phrases, musically speaking, in acalling and answering structure. Every story has aspecific melody. Improvisation may playa role here

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106 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998

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Malay Traditional Folk Songs In elu Tembeling: Its Potential For A COlllprehensi,-e Stud)

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Fig. 6. Lagu Dodoi starts with the words 'Cera germn'

PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998 jl)7

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Chan Cheong Jan

as the singer may not sing exactly the same words orhe may slightly modifY the text every time he sings.

Lagu Permainan [children game songs] alsoapplies simple melodies. The children proceedthe game by repeating the singing of the melodyin unison. As far as the traditional childrengames are concerned, similar melody is appliedto different games. The melody applies a flattenedleading note, creating a mode different from thenormal scale, which is uncommon to the othertypes of songs in Diu Tembeling. For example,the melody of Selebu Seleba in Fig. 7 consists of, in a relative notation, musical notes of A, C, Dand F, with D as the tonic of the scale. Theconclusion could possibly be made for the musicalcharacteristics of the folk songs in Diu Tembelingat this early stage of research, is that each type of

music eviden tly has a particular characteristicand there is a rich diversity in the music of thisregion.

The Practice of Music

Indung is originally songs for women when theycut the grass in the paddy field. It was meant tohelp and facilitate the worker to work in apleasing manner, through singing and dancing.With the introduction of machine and use offertilizer in the Diu Tembeling's paddy work,the work of cutting grass by hand in a largegroup is no more necessary. Presently Indung isnot functioning as paddy work songs. MakcikHamiah who is in the age of 70, claimed that thelast time she played Indung in the paddy fieldwas when she was still a young mother. The

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Fig. 7. Samples of Lagu Permainan

108 Pertanikaj. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998

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Malay Traditional Folk Songs In Ulu Tembeling: Its Potential For A Comprehensive Study

present active singers are the group that sings asperformance upon requests such as to theaudience of the Sultan of the State of Pahang,or for Pesta Minggu Seni Pahang in UniversityMalaya in 1993. The estimated average age ofthese singers is around 50 years; the othervillagers who can sing Indung were at aroundthe age of 80. There were nearly no youngerpeople who can sing Indung with the propertune and text. None have tried to sing these oldsongs. Four young girls were once trained tosing Indung for a request of a performance in1996. However, the efforts in training them hadbeen halted as the girls moved to town to workas factory workers.

According to the villagers, Saba had notbeen sung for 20-30 years in Kampung Bantaland recently the leader of the singer group whohad shifted to other village is not practicing themusic. The Lagu Dodoi [lullabies] and LaguBercerita [story telling songs] collected weresung by 3 villagers, both were at the age of 80.Story telling is no more an active entertainmentat home in Ulu Tembeling. The commonentertainment style of the villagers presently arewatching movies through video, by sharing thevideo tapes that some villagers brought backfrom town. Makcik Sum Imam Massah inKampung Mat Daling, recalled that when shewas small each family had its own lullabies andstory songs. Singing of these songs was a commonpractice at home then. She used to play Indungwith her peer group. She also mentioned thatthe younger generation nowadays is notinterested to learn singing from their parents,resulting that none could sing any of the songsthat she used to sing in the past. It is observedthat the youth in Ulu Tembeling are now

listening to popular songs through radio andcassette players.

The only tradition that remains active inUlu Tembeling is Lagu Permainan [childrengame songs]. Out of five primary schools thathad been visited by the researcher, half, but notall of the children, could sing and play thetraditional children games, although every songvaried slightly from those recorded from thesenior villagers. One or two children can evensing some phrases from Indung. They said thatthey learned it from their grandmother. Thismay tell the difference between young childrenand the youth in terms of their relationship withtheir parents and grandparents.

CONCLUSION

One would be amazed by the number of types ofMalay traditional folk songs that exist within asmall population like Ulu Tembeling, which hasless than 1,000 households. Music functioneddifferently in many of the activities of the UluTembeling people, like the paddy works, healing,entertainment and children games. However suchrich tradition of folk songs are no longer playingany significant role in the Ulu Tembeling societytoday. Only a small group of the senior villagerswho can sing these folk songs and these songsseemed to be an unknown culture to the UluTembeling youth. The changes of lifestyle in thecommunity, with the introduction of the usageof machinery, fertilizer for crops, westernmedicine and drugs used, radio and televisionhave caused the traditional folk songs disappearfrom the people's life.

This paper has only discussed a few of thefolk songs of Ulu Tembeling. It is obvious thatthere are many more folk songs in Ulu

TABLE 1Types of music in Ulu Tembeling, its functions and present practice

Type of music

IndungSabaMayangLimbungLukahLullabiesSongs in story tellingChildren game songsDikir rebana

Function

WorkingCuringCelebration/EntertainmentCelebration/EntertainmentCelebration/EntertainmentFamilyFamilyPlayingCelebration/Entertainment

PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998

Presen t Practice

When requestedNoneNoneNoneNoneby elder villagersby elder villagersby elder villagers & childrenIn occasions

109

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Chan Cheong Jan

Tembeling left unstudied. A documentation ofall the folk songs in Ulu Tembeling could providevaluable musical resources; these resources couldbe applied for historical study; cultural study;musical study; music composition and musiceducation. Although the traditional folk songsin Ulu Tembeling are no longer actively practicedas in the past, there are villagers who can stillsing these songs.

Every type of traditional folk songs in UluTembeling has its own musical characteristic.Music educators could consider applying UluTembeling's folk song as the cultural basis formusic education, as the musical characters ofthe songs are closely related to the intonationand rhythm of the language text. Indung, Sabaand Lagu Dodoi are treasury of short melodies,which are suitable for elementary musiceducation. The Lagu Permainan [children gamesongs] are of great value for early childhoodeducation.

In applying these traditional folk songs inmusic education, however, there are problemsrelated to the song texts that need furtherconsideration. This is mainly due to the songtexts of Tarian Saba and Mayang, in which thecontent is based on animism believing. Thiscontent is no longer reflective of the presentlifestyles in Malaysia and would not be of anyeducational value, especially as a text to be sungand practiced. As a way to solve this problem,one may consider composing other text that ismore suitable to our present lifestyles upon theTarian Saba's melodies. On the other hand, thismay break the natural relationship of the musicand the language. The musical value willdecrease when it looses its original context.

From anthropological point of view, one ofthe potentials for research on music of UluTembeling is the study on the relationshipbetween musical characteristics and lifestyles. AspecifIc rhythmic character may link with aparticular action in working and so on. Forexample, the fact that many of the songs inIndung are slow in tempo and not consistent inmeter, may relate to the body movement ofgrass cutting in the paddy field. The movementof grass cutting using knives with the bendedbody, if one has ever expereinced it, woulddefinitely disturb the consistent meter of themusic.Unless it is done by purpose as in thewestern classical opera, it is difficult andunnatural to sing a rhythmic and up tempo song

with this movement. Studying the relationshipbetween musical characteristics and lifestyles willalso help to bring closer understanding uponthe lives of a peasant society before urbanization.For example, one could study the villagers'believing system in the past through the study ofthe collection of healing songs in Tarian Saba.

As for the villagers themselves, the UluTembeling community is experiencing a processof change in their music culture. The authenticmusic is disappearing and the imported popularmusic through mass media is becoming moredominant in the villagers' life. Music, which hasplayed various functions in the past has nowbecome solely as a means of entertainment.

The traditional folk songs have no longerbeen supporting their life in the way they did inthe past, but recently have found a new contextto survive. The traditional performing art is nowa subject for tourism. The cases of Indung beingrequested to be performed as a culturalperformance in the past few years are exampleswhere the traditional folk songs have become astage performance. If the performance oftraditional folk songs can bring income to thevillage, the youth would want to learn andperform the traditional folk songs. In this way,the traditional folk songs may be revitalized. Asfor the researcher, it is worth studying andobserving this whole process of change of musicalculture in Ulu Tembeling, not only from theview of cultural preservation, but also from theviews of tourism and cultural revitalization. Inalmost every other place in Asia, changes intheir musical culture are happening as in UluTembeling. The case study on Ulu Tembelingcould help us to determine the appropriatedirections in evaluation, conceptualization andapplication of traditional performing arts in anyAsian society in the future.

REFERENCESHOFFER,VHARLES R. 1992. Sociology and music

education. In Handbook of Research on MusicTeaching and Learning, p. 713-723. New York:Schirmer Books.

Ku ZAJv[ ZAM Ku IDRls. 1994. Alat-alat muzik nobat:satu analisis tentang simbolisme dan daulat dalamkesultanan melayu. Tirai Pan~e;ung 2: 1-10.

LOMAX, ALAJ'i 1980 Factors of musical style. TnThem) and Practice, p. 29-58. Netherlands:Mouton.

110 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 6 No.2 1998

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Malay Traditional Folk Songs In Ulu Tembeling: Its Potential For A Comprehensive Study

MOHD YUSOF AnDUI.L-\H 1983. Tarian Saba In Pesaka,Monograf Lembaga Muzium NegeriTerengganu.

MAI.M, W.P. 1974. Music in Kelantan and Malaysia:some of its cultural implications. Studies inMalaysian Oral and Musical Tmditions. MichiganPapers on South and Southeast Asia 8: 1-46.

MATUSKY, P. 1994. Music of the Mak Yong theater ofMalaysia: a fusion of Southeast Asian Malayand Middle Eastern islamic elements. In To theFoul" Comel:S, a Festschrift in Honor of RoseBrandel, ed. E. Leichtman, p. 25-53.

MOHD fu'\IS MD NOR. 1993. Zapin folk dance of theMalay world. Singapore: Oxford UniversityPress.

NORAZIT SELAT 1999. Indung: Lagu Rakyat dari HuluTembeling, Pahang. In Seminal" Lagu RakyatTmdisional Nusantam, 6 August 1999 KualaLumpur :Ministry of Culture and Tourism,Malaysia.

\iVA" SABRI W.M., AHMAD SHUIB, ABDULLAHA MOHDand ZAHID EMBI 1991. Socio-economic status oj thelocal population in upper Tembeling, Taman Negam.A survey report by the Research ThrustOutdoor Recreation, Urban Forestry andTourism Development. Department of ForestManagement, niversiti Pertanian Malaysia.

GLOSSARY

Ulu Upper, inner

Lagu Song; instrumental music

Pennainan Games; performance. Example:permainan Saba; permainan Indung

Dodoi Lullaby

Berce/ita Story telling

Tarian Dance

Puteri Princess

Saba The tree-like decoration used in theTarian Saba

Gending The accompanist for the shaman inSaba performance. Gending singsand plays the rebana.

(Received 13 January 1998)

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