Download PERFORMANCE, POPULAR CULTURE AND PIETY IN

ULASAN BUKU/BOOK REVIEW
JURNAL KINABALU
PERFORMANCE, POPULAR CULTURE AND
PIETY IN MUSLIM SOUTHEAST ASIA
Editor: Timothy P. Daniels,
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2013
Page: 226 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-137-32002-5
Others: References, contributors, index
Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan*
This book is a collection of essays concerning aspects of contestation
and negotiation between some popular cultures and Islamic practices
from Peninsular Malaysia (or West Malaysia) and Java, Indonesia. Its
narrow focus does not encompass ‘Muslim Southeast Asia’ as such, and
the title needs elaboration. The book grew out of discussions among the
writers that developed into a special panel of the same name that was
convened during the 2012 meeting of the Association for Asian Studies
in Toronto, Canada. It presents six chapters on different topics with an
Introduction by the editor Timothy P. Daniels, who also contributes
two other chapters, and an Afterword by James Peacock who was the
discussant for the 2012 panel.
Daniels’ Introduction contains a couple of well written sections
on theories of aesthetic practices, performance and religion, and the
background to the papers in this volume, but it is marred by many major
factual errors about Malaysia. He attempts to give a political history of
Indonesia and Malaysia as background, but his introduction to Malaysia
is little more than a series of sweeping statements, most of which are
incorrect (see pages 3 and 4). While these factual errors do not necessarily
affect the standard of the other chapters in the book, they present a false
picture of Malaysia at the start of the book and must be corrected here.
Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
Although he discusses Indonesia’s Pancasila, he does not even
mention the Rukunegara of Malaysia, but instead writes “In Malaysia,
the Muslim majority obtained official recognition of Islam as the
religion of the federation and special rights for Bumiputra (indigenous
peoples), especially Malays, written into the Federal Constitution”
[my emphasis]. Actually, under the Federal Constitution, Malaysia is a
secular federation practicing a parliamentary democracy that recognizes
the belief in God and espouses freedom of religion. Islam is the official
religion in matters pertaining to the King (Agong) and hence to the
Governors of certain states who are the King’s representatives, but it is
incorrect to say that it is the ‘religion of the federation’ as if all citizens
must be Muslims and follow Islamic religious codes of behaviour.
Indeed at the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Sabah and Sarawak on
Borneo Island, which comprise two thirds of the geographic area of
Malaysia, did not have a ‘Muslim majority.’ The majority were the
indigenous peoples, who were mainly Christians and were guaranteed
their religious rights under the Constitution.
The gloss of ‘indigenous peoples’ for Bumiputra here is also
inaccurate. While all indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak
(collectively called Anak Negeri) are recognized as Bumiputra, the
indigenous Orang Asli of the Peninsula are not. Similarly, the Malays of
the Peninsula are Bumiputra, but they are not recognized as ‘indigenous
people’ in Sabah and Sarawak. The term Bumiputra is more a reflection
of Austronesian cultural roots, rather than specific indigeneity.
The sentence ‘Malay sultans, though much less powerful than
prime ministers, remained influential symbolic figures viewed as
protectors and leaders of Islam in each state’ [my emphasis] is also
factually wrong. Firstly, the comparison between sultans and ‘prime
ministers’ is illogical. States are governed by elected Chief Ministers
(Ketua Menteri in Sabah, Sarawak, Penang and Melaka, but Menteri
Besar in other states) not ‘prime ministers,’ whereas the Prime Minister
(Perdana Menteri) is the elected leader of the whole nation. Sultans
were the historical kings of certain sultanates on the Peninsula, and
204
Performance, Popular Culture and Piety in Muslim Southeast Asia
today are royalty from a few states and rotate every five years as the
King of Malaysia. Secondly, Penang and Melaka, and Sabah and
Sarawak do not have sultans, but have Governors who represent the
King. Moreover, historically much of Sarawak and the coasts and
islands of Sabah were once under the Sultanate of Brunei. It is absurd,
however, to suggest that today’s Sultan of Brunei, a different nation
from Malaysia, is viewed as the protector and leader of Islam in Sabah
and Sarawak!
The statement ‘Malaysian secular nationalists maintained the
dual judicial system constructed under British colonialism with federal
civil courts presiding over all manner of cases and state-level shari’a
courts only adjudicating Muslim family and personal morality cases’
[my emphasis] is also factually wrong. Malaysia has three main
judicial systems of equal standing – the High Court of Malaysia with
branches in each state, the Native Courts or Mahkamah Anak Negeri
of each District in Sabah and Sarawak (which govern all manner of
cases according to the codified adat of each indigenous community),
and the Syariah Court for Muslims in each state. While the scope of
each court is different, their legislatures are of equal standing.
The reference to PAS as ‘the Islamic Party of Malaysia’ during the
1950s long before Malaysia existed is anachronistic, while the statement
“Malaysian Muslim and non-Muslim conflicts over special rights and
symbolic advantages bestowed on Bumiputra persisted and exploded
in the racial riots of 1969” [my emphasis] is also factually wrong. The
racial riots of 1969 were not conflicts between Malaysian Muslims and
non-Muslims, but were between some Chinese and Malays and were
localized around the Kampung Baru area near Kuala Lumpur, in the
state of Selangor. All the other states, including especially Sabah and
Sarawak in Borneo, were not involved. In fact, people from Sabah and
Sarawak at the time knew nothing about these riots. When Daniels’
mentions “a larger share of material resources and benefits for the
Malay Muslim majority” under new economic policies, he ignores
the fact that these benefits also (in principle, at least) extended to the
205
Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak who form the majority of
Christians in Malaysia.
His assertion that “Malaysian Muslims are more unified in
ethnicity” compared to Indonesian Muslims is also highly questionable.
Malaysian Muslims include many different ethnic groups—various
heterogeneous Malay communities on the Peninsula (such as
Kelantanese, Minangkabau, Bugis, Archinese, Javanese and many
others), and in Sabah the Brunei-Kadayan, and the non-Malay Bisaya,
Iranun, Tidong, the Ida’an, most west coast Bajau, most east coast
Bajau (especially the Bajau Kubang), a minority of the Sama Dilaut
and some converts among the various indigenous ethnic groups of
Paitanic, Dusunic and Murutic families, not forgetting old Suluk,
Javanese and others from outside of Borneo, as well as most Melanau
and most coastal Malays (Miri, Tutong and Narum) and some others
in Sarawak. Sabah today also has vast numbers of ethnically diverse
immigrants from Indonesia and the southern Philippines, many of whom
are Muslims. Clearly this great diversity in ethnicity of Muslims in
Malaysia is probably as numerous as that of Indonesia.
Daniel’s concluding statement in this section about “the UMNOled National Front that has controlled the federal government of
Malaysia since political independence in 1957” [my emphasis] is also
factually wrong—Malaysia was only formed in 1963! While Malaya
obtained independence as the Federation of Malaya on 31st August 1957,
Sabah and Sarawak became self-determined nation states on 31st August
1963. Sabah and Sarawak, together with Malaya and Singapore, formed
Malaysia on 16th September 1963, despite objections from Indonesia
and the Philippines at the time.
All these major factual errors show ignorance about the history
and cultures of Malaysia and suggest that Daniels’ comparisons between
Malaysia and Indonesia may not be accurate. Moreover, he seems to
assume that Malaysia is only West Malaysia and ignores Sabah and
Sarawak who, though having smaller total populations, form the much
206
Performance, Popular Culture and Piety in Muslim Southeast Asia
larger geographical and culturally diverse area of the country. The
imprecise map on page 2 also implies this assumption, and seems to
wrongly suggest that Sabah and Sarawak form either parts of Brunei
or the Philippines.
The first chapter “Performing Piety from the Inside Out:
Fashioning Gender and Public Space in a Mask ‘Tradition’ from Java’s
Northwest Coast” by Laurie Margot Ross, focuses on the masked
theatre traditions of Cirebon in West Java. There are a couple of
mistakes—Gestok is the acronym for Gerakan Satu Oktober (‘1 October
Movement’ or ‘First of October Movement’), not ‘Gerakan Sabtu
[Saturday] Oktober’ (endnote 19, page 36), and Taman Mini Indonesia
Indah (TMII) is probably better translated as ‘Mini Park of Beautiful
Indonesia’ or ‘Beautiful Mini Indonesia Park’ not ‘Beautiful Indonesia
Miniature Garden,’ since this huge theme park represents houses from
all over Indonesia; it is also known as ‘Mini Indonesia Park’ and is
not a miniature garden (page 16). Nevertheless, the chapter provides a
detailed discussion of the history, development and symbolism of the
masked dance genre topeng Cirebon.
Ross discusses the use of the dalang’s face and the intricate
symbolism of the various masks, costumes, and the characters
represented. She shows how over time the traditional Hindu elements of
the genre have been Javanized and adapted to mystical Sufi expression,
with the rise of female dalang. She also discusses how in recent years
the performance space of the genre has moved from village squares to
the context of the Universitias Al-Zaytun arena framed by schedules for
Muslim prayer times, along with the elevation of the genre as Indonesian
national heritage. Although constrained by length, this chapter is packed
with analytical detail and presents important firsthand information by
a researcher who learned to live and perform as a dalang topeng from
a senior dalang herself.
Chapter 2 ‘Islamic Revivalism and Religious Piety in Indonesian
Cinema’ by Eric Sasono, a leading Indonesian film critic and organizer
207
Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
of the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFEST), discusses the
rise of Islamic-themed films in Indonesia. The discussion analyzes
five films as examples in the wider context of such films: Al Kaustar
(1977), Titian Serambut Dibelah Tujuh (1983), Nada dan Dakwah
(1991), Perempuan Berkalung Sorban (2008), and Sang Pencerah
(2010). Each film presents a different aspect of Muslim piety, with
themes ranging from rejecting the manipulations of Islamic teachings
by corrupt ulama, to defending the rights of women under Islam, and
Islamic revivalism. The author views piety as a part of contemporary
sociopolitical life and attitudes, rather than as religious formalism. Apart
from a couple of minor printing errors (‘the Netherland’ instead of the
Netherlands on page 50, and ‘for a Muslims’ instead of ‘for a Muslim’
in the second paragraph of page 66), and some minor grammatical
peculiarities (‘emphasize on moderation’ page 57, ‘obsession on the
event’ page 64, and others), this chapter contains important analyses
on the issue and is worth reading.
Chapter 3 “Embodying the Divine and the Body Politic: Mak Yong
Performance in Rural Kelantan, Malaysia” by anthropologist Patricia A.
Hardwick briefly traces the development of the traditional Malay drama
Mak Yong of the Pattani area of Kelantan and south Thailand from its
pre-Islamic roots to the officially recognized version as Malay cultural
heritage. Setting aside the official version, Hardwick focuses on the
traditional genre from rural Kelantan where she conducted her doctoral
research. Since 1991, Mak Yong has been banned in Kelantan by the
state PAS government because, it is said, its performance encourages the
worship of spirits and objectifies women. The ritual healing genre Main
Puteri (which she calls Main ‘teri), however, is permitted. Hardwick
notes the irony that in the early 20th century, the principal character Pak
Yong, traditionally played by men, began to be performed by women in
under the Islamic requirements of the then Kelantanese Royal Court,
where Mak Yong was performed, that unrelated men and women should
not touch in public. This led to women performing all the main roles,
while men served as clowns and musicians. The writer elaborates on
the traditional worldview behind the drama, its performance practice
208
Performance, Popular Culture and Piety in Muslim Southeast Asia
and gestures, and why Mak Yong was traditionally used for spiritual
and psychological healing. She explains the tale of Dewa Muda which
she mistakenly writes is “a story indigenous to northern Malaysia and
southern Thailand”—she means northern Malaya, since this story and
its Hindu-Buddhist cultural origins are largely unknown in northern
Malaysia or Sabah—and links this to Kelantanese concepts of the body
and healing. Of particular interest are her transcribed interviews with
performers and practitioners that show them to be pious practicing
Muslims. Today, Mak Yong is performed together with Main Puteri,
whereas thirty years ago these genres were separate. Previously, specific
spirits were believed afflict individuals, whereas today performers say
these spirits are merely metaphors for certain illnesses. The performers
now claim that Dewa Muda and his consort Puteri Ratna Mas are
symbolic representations of Adam and Eve. Hardwick’s research is
important, because it provides a link with previous studies over the past
century and shows how practitioners have negotiated and reinterpreted
their roles as performers and as Muslims in Kelantan.
This chapter by Patricia Hardwick forms a Malayan counterpart
to the east Javanese study by Laurie Margot Ross in Chapter 1. Ideally,
Timothy Daniels’ Chapter 4 “’Islamic’ TV Dramas, Malay Youth, and
Pious Visions for Malaysia,” should provide a Malayan balance to Eric
Sasono’s Javanese study of Chapter 3.
Unfortunately, Daniels begins Chapter 4 with yet another
sweeping generalization “Islamic proselytizers—Muslim nongovernmental organizations, the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS,
Parti Islam SeMalaysia), and the UMNO (United Malays National
Organization)-led federal government—have exerted a major influence
on the public sphere over the past three decades.” Regardless of what
Muslim NGO’s do, PAS is a political party and the Barisan Nasional
that forms the federal government is a coalition of political parties,
who cannot be called ‘Islamic proselytizers.’ Islamic affairs are
handled by certain civil service departments in the states (such as,
for example, JHEAINS or Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri
209
Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
Sabah), they are not the under the purview of political parties. The
federal Barisan Nasional government includes UMNO and a range
of parties, from multicultural ones like Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS)
to largely monocultural ones such as various Indigenous, Indian and
Chinese parties. Considering that a few UMNO members and most
members of these other coalition parties are non-Muslims, with many
from Christian and other religious backgrounds, it is not correct to
suggest that they are ‘Islamic proselytizers.’
Daniels compares and contrasts some of the films of the late
Yasmin Ahmad, which are regarded as ‘liberal’ with more recent TV
dramas that are said to be ‘Islamic.’ He has apparently interviewed a
few youths regarding some of these films, but their simplistic answers
show a lack of depth and seem to reflect West Malaysian notions of
ethnic separation (pages 116-118). His comparisons do provide a
correlation with those of Sasono’s in Java, but Daniels goes too far when
he claims that the film Nur Kasih ‘presents polygamy as an integral
part of a pious Muslim way of life’ (page 121). Polygamy, or more
correctly polygyny, has nothing to do with piety but, as most Muslims
agree, is a social way to control certain men’s nafsu (lust). Most married
Muslim men in Malaysia are monogamous, and piety among Muslims
is seen in living morally upright lives and, as usual, giving alms to the
poor, praying five times each day, performing the annual fast and, if
possible, performing the haj at least once in a lifetime. The notion that
‘polygamy’ is ‘integral’ to a pious Muslim way of life is very offensive,
and Daniels needs to rethink his interpretation of polygyny in the film
Nur Kasih.
Chapter 5 “Complicating Senses of Masculinity, Femininity, and
Islam through the Performing Arts in Malang, East Java” by Christina
Sunardi looks at the east Javanese transvestite dance genres Ngremo,
Beskalan and Tayub in which men may perform as men or as women,
and women may perform as women or as men. She asks how performing
on stage as the opposite gender can be reconciled with practicing Islam,
210
Performance, Popular Culture and Piety in Muslim Southeast Asia
and looks at the different ways in which different performers negotiate
gender-based performances, religion and sexuality.
Chapter 6 “Social Drama, Dangdut, and Popular Culture” by
Timothy Daniels, reproduced from his earlier book Islamic Spectrum
in Java (Ashgate, 2009) uses Turner’s theory to analyze the social
drama surrounding Inul Daratista, the Indonesian pop star and dangdut
performer. Maligned as a bad influence on public morals by many Muslim
clerics, yet strongly supported by the Nahdlatul Ulama, one of the largest
Muslim organizations in the world, Inul’s performance style is discussed
in the context of dangdut as a contemporary Indonesian popular art form
that is used by a variety of secular and political organizations. This chapter
is of a better standard of scholarship from the others by Daniels in this
book, because it largely avoids sweeping generalizations, and uses a
valid theoretical framework to discuss the genre.
The Afterword by James Peacock aptly brings together the
themes of the chapters (and avoids generalizing about Malaysia from a
purely Malayan perspective). He points out that the traditional folk and
theatre genres discussed in the book have proved more resilient than
the electronic dramas in preserving cultural genius while negotiating
the restrictions of Islamic orthodoxy. These live and electronic genres,
however, all confront the forces of globalization that threaten local art
forms. He thinks that Islam, although a special global form in itself,
can also prove to be a force to stem globalization. He suggests that
Islamic and local cultures, and local and global cultures, can compete
and be syncretized for cultural survival.
It is hoped that this book will be revised and updated, with
Timothy Daniels’ lopsided misrepresentations of Malaysia corrected.
Perhaps new chapters concerning other parts of Southeast Asia can be
included in a new edition, so that the book is not confined to just the
Malay Peninsula and Java.
211
Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
Notes
*Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan is Professor of Ethnomusicology in the Faculty of
Humanities, Arts and Heritage, and Holder of the Kadazandusun Chair, at UMS. She has lived
in Malaysia for over 33 years, and first came to Sabah in 1977 having married a member of
Sabah’s large indigenous Kadazan Dusun community in 1976.
212