Videos of Bangsawan

Introduction

Bangsawan had been a popular culture in the Malay Peninsula from colonial times till post-war period. Through the formative years of Singapore, bangsawan too, underwent drastic transformation from a ritualistic village culture to a pure urban commercial enterprise. Global and regional trends experienced in Singapore had become factors of change for bangsawan. Hence, from the study of bangsawan through these years, one could identify the values and culture of the masses and the impact of bangsawan in people’s lives in those days.

Looking at the appeal of bangsawan which had a strong hold on the audiences in the early days, the conflict between tradition and modernity against the backdrop of an industrializing Singapore was examined. Furthermore, the micro-history of Singapore could be constructed using the unconventional study of bangsawan as a historical text in order to establish the ideologies, politics and the society at large. In the following posts, more of Singapore society would be revealed in relations to bangsawan from its peak popularity in the early 1900s up to its demise in the 1980s.

Hybridization of Cultures

Bangsawan was evolved from Persian theatre (wayang Parsi) and by the time it arrived at the Malay Peninsula, it had become an eclectic mix of cultures and performances. In order to cater to the diverse taste of the heterogeneous crowd in Singapore, it was necessary to amalgamate the diverse elements of performances originating from other ethnical cultures. Bangsawan performances had to draw upon the other popular theatrical forms and incorporate crowd-pleasing musical styles from the Malay, Indian, Arabic and Western cultures to appeal to the urban and suburban population. According to Tan, conventions of bangsawan and stock characters of the plays were adapted to enable the integration of foreign classical narratives such as the Western Shakespearean plays and Chinese romance stories into the established bangsawan repertoire.[1] During the extra-turns (theatre intervals), traditional and trendy songs were accompanied with dances to plug the performance gaps in order to retain the attention of the audiences.[2] The dance performances were often formulated from prevalent Malay cultural dances as well as the most current dance trends. Thus, bangsawan could be seen as a melting pot of cultures where the highly versatile theatre could assimilate well-liked performances from other regions into its exploitation of the many traditional conventions of the Malay ritualistic performance. Bangsawan, which was created by the vernacular population for local consumption, was truly a highly innovative and commercial theatre. From the evolution of bangsawan, one could identify and map the progress of Singapore society. The multi-cultural bangsawan was clear evidence of an urbanizing and pluralizing society due to the influx of migrants into the cosmopolitan colonial port. Singapore then had needed a mass entertainment that could cater to the population made up of different ethnicities and social strata. Bangsawan, which was sensitive to the dynamic preferences of audiences, fitted the bill. Besides being highly adaptive to the transient tastes of the population, bangsawan was also able to leave behind a legacy in musical and cultural interaction.

Since bangsawan was a versatile performance that included traits across the various cultures and ethnicities, the ethnic backgrounds of the recruited performers were naturally of a variety. This was a clear departure from the traditional Malay theatre as performers of Chinese descent; Arab nationality and European origin were often hired to increase the novelty profile and fame of the bangsawan troupes.[3] This also helped to increase the interaction amongst the different races in order to create a multi-cultural bangsawan as the performers learnt from one another while living together in a troupe. Therefore, the accomplishment of bangsawan as a popular culture in Singapore was primarily due to the multi-cultural and ethnicities aspects of the performance and performers that resonated with the needs of the heterogeneous society. From the success of bangsawan, it could be inferred that the Singapore society was also open and responsive to the outside world as they readily accepted the assimilation of the different cultural forms of arts into bangsawan.

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[1] Tan S. B., Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 1-35.

[2] Mohd. A. M. N., Zapin: Folk Dance of the Malay World (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 37.

[3] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 60.

Colonialism at Work

From the change in bangsawan, one could observe the effects of colonialism in Singapore society. The pervasiveness of colonial mentality was visible in the attitude that bangsawan performers had held towards the culture of the colonialists. The western musical instruments used by the bangsawan musicians, such as piano and violin, were seen as affiliation to “modernization”. Furthermore, Western traits such as notation and musical arrangement were preferentially inserted into the bangsawan routines as it was deemed to be superior and honourable to perform and listen to the music of the colonial masters. In adopting the most current trends in Western music, it also had the implication that bangsawan was able to replicate the capability of the Western music.[1] In another instance, special names in English were bestowed upon famous dancers of the bangsawan entertainment world. For example, Minah B who was well versed in the various Latin dances was known as ‘Queen Rumba’. During that period, it was considered prestigious to be bestowed titles in English by the common people due to the mentality of colonial superiority.[2] Hence, one could see that resistance to colonialism had only taken place nearing to Independence as the common people were subtly embracing the colonial ideology initially.

Furthermore, bangsawan was also allowed to thrive in the colonial setting due to the lack of censorship on bangsawan by the British authorities.4 Since bangsawan plays were mostly about classical fairy-tales, they were deemed to be harmless to the pride of the British Empire who sought to protect the prestige of the ruling power. Hence, bangsawan was allowed to chart its own course in the musical and cultural interaction without any restriction from the British authorities.

With greater exposure and embrace of the Western literary works and theatre, people also began to lose interest in the fantasy plots of the archaic bangsawan. Hence, bangsawan responded by shifting towards realism in terms of the acting, stage settings and stories told.[3] In this way, bangsawan was modelling after Western productions but with adaptations to better suit local sensibilities.

Colonialism had also helped increase the variety of the musical composition of bangsawan by introducing the different Western technological innovations. With the introduction of gramophone and radio, bangsawan performers were exposed to popular songs from other inaccessible parts of the world through tuning in to radio broadcasts and gramophone records.4 Furthermore, bangsawan performers also studied and learnt popular Western dances such as rumba and salsa at screenings of foreign films to keep up with the changing tastes of the masses.[4] Hence, one could see that colonialism had played an important role in the transformation of the popular culture of the ordinary people.

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[1] Tan S. B., “From Popular to “Traditional” Theatre: The Dynamics of Change in Bangsawan in Malaysia”, Ethnomusicology 33,2 (Spring/Summer 1989), p. 250-251.

[2] Mohd., Zapin, p. 38, 48.

[3] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 189.

[4] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 67.

Societal Changes: Greater Independence for Women

According to Tan, bangsawan had the precedence of enabling women to come to conspicuity in both commercial performance and cultural participations for the first time ever in the conservative Malay Peninsula.[1] This was a radical social change brought about by the popular culture and urbanization. Previously, men often had to take on the roles of acting as females in traditional Malay folk theatre as women had limited opportunities for activities beyond the domestic domain. This was due to the fact that the society considered it inappropriate then, for Malay women to have open interaction with men on stage and in general.5Through the advent of a changing bangsawan, women gained employment in society as professional dancers and in a way, empowerment as females. This had allowed women to earn a chance at self-expression in the public domain. Furthermore, the inclusion of women in bangsawan also led to a greater independence for the female performers, who could now support themselves and not depend on men for a living. However, female bangsawan performers still had to contend with the social stigma that they were women of loose morals as perceived by the deeply religious and conservative society of that period. They were seen as women of dubious characters who were displayed publicly for men to ogle at and unfaithful ladies who changed spouses often. Despite the undesirable stereotypes attached to female bangsawan performers, the popularity of bangsawan entertainment ensured that they retained the treatment of celebrities and status of stars with a huge following of bangsawan supporters. Due to their fame and talents, these bangsawan stars were still regarded as desirable spouses in spite of the persistent stigma against their stardom.

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[1] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 71-72.

Bangsawan as a Career

Having evolved from ritualistic village performance for propitiation to gods, bangsawan became purely commercial as it shifted to the urban stage. Hence, the bangsawan performers also took on the careers of being professional entertainers. They were promoted as bangsawan stars who had to carry themselves with dignified bearing both on and off the stage to preserve their status as public figures. Furthermore, they were subjected to harsh and strict training routines to stay ahead of the changing nature of bangsawan so that they would be able to sustain the interest of the consumers. The close observance of the rules and customs of bangsawan helped the performers captivate the imagination of the public and ensured the continuing fascination of bangsawan as commercial theatre.[1]

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[1] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 60-73.

The Urban Entertainment Park

The development of urban entertainment parks in Singapore by the Straits Chinese entrepreneurs had been instrumental in leveraging bangsawan to a wider public and making it a popular culture in the early twentieth century.[1] These entertainment parks had provided bangsawan troupes with regular performance grounds that were free of charge and also, steady streams of audience every night. Thus, the Worlds could be seen as the venues that transformed bangsawan from an urban entertainment form into a true popular culture of Singapore. The Worlds also became advocators of bangsawan as a social pastime for the common people. Moreover, the vast array of activities within the entertainment parks became a source of creative inspiration for the bangsawan dance choreographers who had to adapt to keep up with the fierce competition for audience from the Western cabarets and revues.[2] Hence, the urban entertainment parks became an establishment for the promotion of new dance styles and musical repertoires for bangsawan, which led to a revolutionary change to propagation of the Malay cultural traditions of folk dance and spiritual practice.

The entertainment parks, which were seen as a common space for all classes and ethnicities, had created a truly multi-ethnic audience that prompted bangsawan to become versatile and innovative to cater to the broader cultural makeup of the audience. Furthermore, the mingling of audience of bangsawan in the common space of the park enabled people to socialize with one another as well as with the performers in an active participation of the occasion. It was observed inside the Worlds that men would sit together while women and children would sit upstairs in the second level of the complexes to maintain the social decorum. This observation had revealed the prevailing conservative nature of the Asian society at that time.

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[1] Wong Y.C., Tan K.L., “Emergence of a Cosmopolitan Space for Culture and Consumption: The New World Amusement Park-Singapore (1923-70) in the Inter-war Years”, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 5,2 (2004), p. 279-301.

[2] Mohd., Zapin, p. 44.

The Japanese Occupation (1942-1945)

In 1942, Singapore officially fell to the hands of the Japanese and this marked the start of a difficult and distressing 3 years and 8 months of Japanese Occupation. This period had especially been trying for the bangsawan troupes. In an interview with an ex- bangsawan performer, Wan had commented that, ‘Arah Bangsawan [had] disbanded and I have to perform odd jobs here and there to earn some pocket money. These are hard times’[1] during the period of the Second World War. The remaining bangsawan troupes were facing much curtailment and had to seek approval from the Japanese authorities to continue performing. Another ex- bangsawan performer, Rahman B. also revealed that his father’s troupe had to obtain the permission in order to continue performing and they were compelled to ‘change the name of their troupe to Ohaiyo Gozaimas Opera and had to perform Japanese propaganda stories that supported the Japanese’[2]. This was an apparent form of cultural propaganda used by aggressors to manipulate the minds of the masses and maintain the prestige of the Japanese Empire. In order to keep bangsawan traditions alive, the troupes had to conform to the strict regulations imposed by the Japanese. To the masses, bangsawan was simply a form of entertainment, something to enjoy in their spare time. However, as seen from the struggles of keeping the troupes and hardships to continue bangsawan performances, bangsawan was the sole source of livelihood for these performers. Furthermore, these ‘performers [had] regarded the troupe of which they are members as a substitute family’[3]. This showed that there was strong cohesion within the bangsawan troupes, and disbanding would not only lose them a job, but a family as well. Seeing the change of bangsawan performances from Malay traditional classics to Japanese propaganda stories, one could observe and imagine the oppression and domination of the cultural arts scene perpetrated by the Japanese military. However, the attitude displayed by these performers portray their determination and the ‘never give up’ attitude from their persistence despite facing harsh treatment from the Japanese authorities.

Furthermore, Japanese officials often harassed the female actresses of bangsawan troupes. This had resulted in many of them abandoning their jobs and returning back to their villages while their husbands stayed on to perform in Singapore. Although female bangsawan performers were known to be empowered and independent with the rise of bangsawan initially, this revealed the inclination of females to depend on their male counterparts in times of needs. This exemplified the gender difference in Singapore society that is patriarchal in nature, where men are the breadwinners and decision-makers of the family. This reflected the conservative attribute of Asian society where the males welded greater responsibilities and power over females both at home and at work place.

Though the Japanese were at war against Singapore, they had been rather lenient towards the Malays as compared to the Chinese. For example, ‘the Military Administration adopted a policy of non-interference in local cultural practices, giving due respect to Islamic and Malay customs’[4], while the Chinese were treated harshly under the Japanese Administration. This might be attributed to the Malays’ non-involvement in communism, and also to their support in driving out colonialism as they felt that the Western colonial powers had ‘failed to ensure the progress of Muslims’[5] while the Japanese government had professed the dubious intention to safeguard Islam. Therefore, bangsawan, being Malay popular theatre, was no doubt controlled but not banished into obscurity by the Japanese, and the performers could continue stage their shows.

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[1] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 165.

[2] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 165.

[3] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 69-70.

[4] Ahmad A. T., “Japanese Policy Towards Islam in Malaya During the Occupation”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 33,1 (Feb 2002), p. 107.

[5] Ahmad, “Japanese Policy”, p.111.

The Malay Intelligentsia (late 1930s and 1940s)

Bangsawan, with its integration of popular art forms from various cultures, had its appeal to the masses across the socio-economical spectrum. With greater education opportunities in those days, there was an increase in the numbers of Malay intelligentsia. However, these better-educated “elites” had always criticized bangsawan especially for its use of informal Malay language and the adulteration of Malay culture in bangsawan. According to Za’aba, a well-known Malay writer and teacher, ‘there are many ridiculous anachronisms in costumes and scenes, the strong bias for magic elements and fairy tales in the stories enacted, and the hybrid, often dull song interludes between scenes’[1]. This had clearly displayed the rising sense of displeasure over the evolution of the bangsawan amongst the educated Malays.

Criticisms of bangsawan from the Malay intellectuals became stronger and the call to revert bangsawan to its pure Malay cultural form became an avenue for the rising Malay nationalist sentiment. This sentiment had largely originated from the British colonial rule in the Malay Peninsula that had ‘unified the Malay states and created a large territorial and political state called “British Malaya”’[2]. Furthermore, there was additional tension to the Malays from a growing Chinese community in Singapore. The influx of Chinese immigrants would come to dominate the local economy and also, gain power in the political scene. As bangsawan had previously diversified to integrate Western, Chinese, Indian and Arabic musical elements into its repertoire, the Malay intelligentsia wanted bangsawan to return to its Malay roots. This reminder of their Malay identity would serve the purpose of uniting the Malay community. The Malayan Orchid had also declared that, ‘whatever culture we have must be our own, characteristic of our Malayan soil, genius and atmosphere’[3].

The Malay Intelligentsia then attempted to redeem and strengthen their own cultural values and identity through the protection and preservation of their own cultural form. Similar mechanisms to protect and maintain cultural and social relationships had been employed by the Chinese and the Europeans through their setting up of social clubs and associations. This act of community preservation could be attributed to the indigenous Malays feeling threatened by the influx of migrants into their homeland. Therefore, there was a need to have proper channels for Malay nationalist movement to reinforce the special status of Malays in society. Bangsawan, being a popular culture at that time, became a convenient tool for the nationalist movement.

The better-educated Malay intelligentsia had wanted bangsawan to become a more relevant form of arts for the community. Hence, the irrelevant and archaic classical bangsawan was transformed into a more realistic form of bangsawan known as sandiwara. The latter featured realistic and historical stories with interweaving themes on race, nation, religion and history. This revised form of bangsawan soon became the popular theatre in the towns of Malaya. The crowds were probably attracted and supportive of this new form of theatre because it was a way to show the other races, especially the British, the strength of their unity. Furthermore, nationalist thoughts and values were being cultured and shaped through the construction of a realistic bangsawan theatre in this period.

As this revised form of bangsawan gained fame, political groups began to tap on its popularity. An example of this could be seen in a move made by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which ‘called on bangsawan troupes to campaign for the party during the first national elections’[4], just before the Independence in 1965. These political and nationalistic groups had converted bangsawan from a pure entertainment form of theatre to one that had to infuse political messages into their plays. Politicians made use of bangsawan as a form of media to convey political messages just like how politicians now use television as a channel to garner the support of the masses. The politicians’ act of employing bangsawan to amplify their messages indicated how widespread bangsawan was.

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[1] Tan, “The Dynamics of Change in Bangsawan”, p. 252.

[2] Cheah B. K., “The Erosion of Ideological Hegemony and Royal Power and the Rise of Postwar Malay Nationalism, 1945-46”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 19,1 (Mar 1988), p. 5.

[3] Yeo K. W., “Student Politics in University of Malaya, 1949-51”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 23,2 (Sep 1992), p. 372.

[4] Tan, Bangsawan, p. 253.