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.