malaysian history & pre-cinematic culture.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
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MALAY(SI)AN HISTORY &
ITS PRE-CINEMATIC CULTURE
Yow Chong Lee
Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
This OpenCourseWare@UNIMAS and its related course materials are licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Learning Objectives:
To be able to:
Make the connection of the cultural interaction of
the past(pre-colonial and colonial Malaysia) with the
film culture established in the 20thcentury.
Capture thefeatures of pre-cinematic culture.
Explain the influences of socio-cultural pastto the
present filmmaking scene in Malaysia.
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PRE-COLONIAL MALAYSIA:THE GOLDEN AGE OF MELAKA
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Cultural Interaction
The dominant cultural flow was from India.
The adoption of Hinduism/ Buddhism as religiouspractices and as models for the conceptualization of
kingshipand the relation of the ruler to the ruled.
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RAMAYANASTORY TIME!
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The Arrival of Islam
The arrival of Islam changed the region
profoundly and its impact started to be felt from
about 11thand 12thcentury.
Melaka became the regions most powerful trading
and cultural centerat a time when Islam was
making a major impact in the region also contributes
to its pivotal role in Malay consciousness.
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Inclusion of Narrative in the Cultures
Those narrative (stories) were reworked, performed
and written for a long period of time.
Examples
Shadow-play/wayang version
Professionalstory-teller
version
Written version:Hikayat Seri Rama
(The Story ofRama)
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Wayang
The Tuah/Jebat story was performed by storytellers
and also by dalangin the Wayang.
Its primary stories were derived from local
versions of the Indian epics.
The Wayang technology screen, leather puppets,light source, commentary, musicarrived in the
Archipelago from South India.
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Interaction of Cultures
The elements employed in Wayangindicate
the intense localisation of Rama stories.
Two distinct audiences: Visible audience
Real audiencethe inhabitant of the spiritual
world
Dalang= director?
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COLONIAL MALAYSIA
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Cultural Development during
Pre-Colonial Malaya
Pre-colonial Malaya is a complex history of
economic, social, political, and cultural interactions,
strongly influenced by a number of waves of
temporary and permanent migration.
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Colonial Malaysia:
The influx of Migrant Workers
Malaysia (previously known as Malaya) was the colony of the
Portuguese, Dutch and British.
It was theBritish that had brought substantial changetoMalaya which includes socio-political and economics aspects.
Malaysiais the name granted to Malaya upon its combination
with Singapore and two other Northern Borneo states namely
Sabah and Sarawak in 1963.
Singapore dispatched from Malaysia and formed its self-
governed state two years later.
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Divide and Rule!
The disparity in the economy was perceived mainly
along the ethnic line, particularly between the poor
indigenous Malay and the affluent immigrant Chinese.
Malay
Indian
Chinese
Tap rubber in the Estates
Work in the Britishs tin mines
Involve in paddy plantation
What Was The Highest Paid Job?
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The Optical Illusion
It is an optical illusion, argues James Puthucheary
(1959: p. 122) by seeing the Chinese as the exploitative
capitalists who dominated the economy of Malaya. In
fact, it is really European capital that dominatesMalayas economy.
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Nationalist Movement?
For those then permanent migrants, nationalism
and national culture were concerns that related
solely to their mother countries and not to the
place they were living.
Malay nationalist interests were inhabited by the
kerajaanpolitical system in which loyalties were
localised and enforced.
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Historical Events
1941 Japanese invasion
1946
Return of the Britishwith theproposal of Malayan Union
1948 Formation of Federation of Malaya
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Invasion of the Japanese
Slogan such as Asia for Asian was instilled among
the Malays; the Indians were supported for their
independent movement; while they were hostile
towards the Chinese.
The Japanese divide and conquer policy served only
to increase the tensionsbetween the Malays and
the Chinese.
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The Return of the British
British returned with the proposal ofMalayan
Unionwhich tried to form a centralised government
that required the Sultans sovereignty to be
transferred to the British crown.
An inclusive citizenship will be given to the non-
Malays who were born in this country onjus soli
basis.
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Malayan Union
and Malays Opposition
The Malaysunder the leadership of Malay
nationalists like Datuk Onn Jaafarwere mobilized
under the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO) with the aim of bringing the plan down.
As a result, the Malayan Union plan was never
implemented and was replaced with Federation of
Malayaon 1 February 1948.
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Federation of Malaya
The position of the Malay rulers was restored and
the special position of the Malay was guaranteed.
The immigrants had to undergo stringent citizenship
provision:
be competent in Malay and English
to reside in the peninsula for at least 15 years and
willing to declare his/her permanent settlement
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The Untold History
The coalition ofPUTERA-AMCJAwas the first
collaboration that reached across ethnic or
communal linesto demand for a self-govern state.
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People Constitution
The PUTERA-AMCJA coalition urged for
Peoples Constitution which comprises of
issues such as: nationality and citizenship,
the provision of a system ofparliamentary
democracy
the agreement that the new state would besymbolically identified withMalay culture
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Sorry, We Cant Accept People
Constitution: British
Why?
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CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTDURING COLONIAL
MALAYSIA
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Parsee Theater and Bangsawan
Parsee Theater Bangsawan
The Parsees were ofPersian origin, which was
brought to Mumbai, India
and performed in the
middle of the 19th
century.
Bangsawan is thedominant pre-cinematic
cultural form that became
very popular in Malaya at
the end of the 19th
century.
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Parsee Theater Came to Malaya
Parsee theater troupes traveled through India and
to the Malay Archipelago. It was called Wayang
Parsee.
The first performance was in the 1870s in Penang.
However, the popularity of Wayang Parsee
eventually waned because of the absence of new
materials and the local company collapsed.
Why?
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The Beginning of Bangsawan
A Penang businessman bought the theatrical
materials and thus began the first Bangsawan
group.
Bangsawan literally means of noble birth and
referred to the fact that theplays dealt almost
totally with royalty.
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How the Bangsawan Became Popular?
Its songs wereavailable onrecords andplayed onradio
A centralisedvenue forentertainment
Owned by ShawBrothers
Accessibleto mostpeople
During HariRaya,Deepavali andChinese New
YearUrban
substituteforFestivities
The use
of Malaylanguage
Commodifi-cation of
Bangsawan
Theintroduction
of
amusementpark
Amusement parks
offered Bangsawan,
opera, Parsee &
European theater,
gambling halls &
dance parlour
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The Influence of Bangsawan
on Early Malay Films
Influenceson Early
Films
Stylisedacting
Colourfulcostume
Inclusion ofsong-and-
dance
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Conclusion
The influx of millions of migrant-workers altered the
demographics of the region and led to major changes in the society.
It inevitably created sudden interactionculturally (socially)
between communities of different backgrounds.
It is the time when those stories/histories of the past (e.g. HHT,
Golden Age of Melaka) to be written and performed in the narrative
of nation.
The example of Bangsawan highlights the consequences of cultural
interactionin the construction of a localised hybrid cultural form.
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References
Andaya, B. A., and Andaya, L. Y. (2001).A History of Malaysia. U.K.: Palgrave.
Baker, J. (2008). Crossroads: A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore(2ndEdition). Singapore:
Marshall Cavendish.
Cheah, B. K. (2002). Malaysia: The Making of A Nation. Singapore: ISEAS.
Puthucheary, J. (1959). Who Owns Malaya? in Dominic Puthucheary and Jomo K. S. (eds.) (2010).
No Cowardly Past: James PuthuchearyWritings, Poems, Commentaries(Second edition).
Selangor: SIRD.
___________ (1977). Significant Changes in Ownership and Control in the MalaysianEconomy in
Dominic Puthucheary and Jomo K. S. (eds.) (2010). No Cowardly Past: James PuthuchearyWritings, Poems, Commentaries(Second edition). Selangor: SIRD.
Syed, H. A. (2008). The Malays: Their Problems and Future. Selangor: The Other Press.
Heide, W. v. d. (2002). Malaysian Cinema, Asian Film: Borders Crossings and National Cultures.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.