Mak Yong The Ancient Malay Dance-Theatre

Mak Yong is an ancient dance-theatre form incorporating the elements of ritual, stylized dance and acting, vocal and instrumental music, story, song, formal as well as improvised spoken text.It is performed principally in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. Many theories have been advanced to explain the genre's origins. Its roots obviously sink deep into animism as well as shamanism.


To day the genre is performed in three basic styles:
(a) as non-ritual theatre for entertainment per se,
(b) as ritual theatre associated with healing and done in combination with the shamanistic main puteri, and
(c) as urban commercial theatre.


Briefly early in the present century, an unsuccessful attempt was made in Kelantan to create a palace version of mak yong. The mak yong orchestra is made up of a three-stringed spiked fiddle (rebab), a pair of double-headed barrel drums(gendang) and a pair of hanging knobbed gongs(tetawak) while the genre's musical repertoire consists of approximately thirty pieces, most of them accompanied by singing and dancing. No stage-properties and few simple hand-properties are used.

In mak yong, the male lead role (pak yong) is conventionally played by female performers. In addition there are the following roles: the female lead (mak yong); a pair of clowns (peran), a pair of female attendants (inang) as well as a wide range of lesser roles including those of gods and spirits, orges or giants, palace functionaries and animals.

The mak yong repertoire consists of a dozen or so stories, still existing in the oral tradition, dealing with the adventures of gods or mythical kings. The principal, and earliest story in the mak yong repertoire, entitled Dewa Muda, has tremendous spiritual significance. Mak yong performances last between about 9.00 p.m and midnight, and a story is generally completed in several nights.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

The Kelantan Malay Shadow Play

Four varieties of shadow play are active in the Malay peninsula:

(a)Wayang Kulit Siam,
(b) Wayang Kulit Gedek,
(c) Wayang Kulit Purwa and
(d) Wayang Kulit Melayu.

Wayang Kulit Siam is the most indigenous of these styles. It is principally performed in the state of Kelantan on the east coast of the Malay peninsula. Wayang kulit siam makes use of a local version of the Indian epic, Ramayana. Existing only in the oral tradition, this version is known as Hikayat Maharaja Wana. The Hikayat Seri Rama provides material for the principal story (cerita pokok). Local extensions of and accresions to the epic have resulted in the creation of a large number of Ramayana branch stories (cerita ranting). These have traditionally been more popular than the pokok story.

The wayang kulit siam orchestra consists of a pair of double- headed drums(gendang), a pair of single-headed goblet-shaped drums known as gedumbak, a pair or vertically standing drums (gedug) hit with beaters, a pair of hand small cymbals, (kesi) and a pair of inverted gongs canang), also beaten with sticks. and, finally, a pair of hanging knobbed gongs(tetawak).


Wayang kulit siam peformances are done in two varieties:
(a) those done purely for entertainment and
(b) those intended for ritual purposes such as the salutation of teachers (sembah guru).


Ritual performances,known as wayang kulit berjamu,are extremely rare.They incorporate a host of ritual acitivities as well as trance.

Further information regarding traditional Malay theatre genres may be obtained from:
The Asian Centre, Penang

Recent Materials related to the Kelantan Malay Shadow Play:

Matusky, Patricia. Malaysian Shadow Play and Music: Continuity of an Oral Tradition. Penang: The Asian Centre, 1997(Reprint).

Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof. The Malay Shadow Play: An Introduction. Penang: The Asian Centre, 1998.

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