Songs and Dance

Songs

[Juma’at 2017, p. 158-159]

some songs of the Orang Seletar:

Yok Sang (a type of crab), also called Ketam Bangkang

Ayok… yok sang ke laut dihentam gelombang,

Ke darat melintang-pukang,

mencari ketam bangkang,

ketam bangkang dalam bakau,

hoop…

ayok… yok sang,

ke laut dihentam gelombang,

ke darat melintang-pukang,

mencari ketam bangkang

ketam bangkang dalam bakau

hoop … hop … hop …

The songs Yok Sang (0:57-1:17) & a variation (19:32-21:44) can be heard in the video below

Ketam Bongai (a type of crab)

Lok Bongai,

ketam bongai masuk ungai,

ketam renjong masuk tanjung,

ketam batu sorang satu,

te kedek, te kedek, te kedek

Lok Bongai,

ketam bongai masuk ungai,

ketam renjong masuk tanjung,

ketam batu sorang satu,

te kedek, te kedek, te kedek

Ketam Bongai (1:18-1:53)

can be heard in the video below

Kejang Kokol (a type of mussel)

Kejang Kokol kaki gonggong,

mengirai di atas batang

ku senteng layarnya

tembelok tiangnya

kung kepah pauknya

tembelok dayongnya

ooi….

Kejang Kokol kaki gonggong,

mengirai di atas batang

ku senteng layarnya

tembelok tiangnya

kung kepah pauknya

tembelok dayongnya

ah… ah … ah … ooi

ah… ah… ooi…

Kon Kian (lit. people come)

Bertemu dengan ai,

ang senang ati

bila ai kian

am suka ati

kenak ai sudi jan kian

tengok kami sika

ailah sedak kamik semun

ooooi….

kon jan kian he ha….

Kon kian can be heard from this clip (0:53)

Otah Ceceh

Kayuh ke huluk,

Kayuh ke keler,

pergik ke utan mencari otan,

pergik mencari otan butu

otan ceceh am tik tik

otan batu tersepit kayuk

di tik tik batang kayuk,

hendak menebang,

si anak kayuk,

mana am sodok

mana am lepas

mana am pegik

mana am rempat

mana am ngaduk

[Juma’at 2017, p. 158-159]
Ever since olden times, they liked the songs and dances of the Malays
- This is because they had a close relationship with the islander Malays since long ago
- It is not a surprise that a lot of the songs, music and lyrics are in bahasa malay
most popular songs are Yok Sang, Kejang Kokol and Ketam Bongai
Yok Sang is a particular crab: ketam bangkang/ ketam bakau (mud crab); Kejang Kokol is a type of clam*; Ketam Bongai* is a type of crab: the Malays call it ketam renjong

The dances to the songs can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8hDReyNmzw&ab_channel=UncFriday

The group performed (in order)
- Yok Sang (2:29-4:36), (a more elaborate version can be seen here)
- Enjit-enjit Siput (4:38-7:01)
- Ketam Bongai (7:34-8:46)
- Kupang Tali (8:47- the end)

[Samsur 2015, p. 152]

All songs are in Malay (Johor Bahru Malay)
But some words are in Bahasa Seletar (e.g. the pronouns am ‘I’, ai ‘you’, kon ‘people’)
The contents of the songs are about their livelihood, looking for catch and the hardships of life (e.g. during WW2 Japanese occupation)
The songs are passed down through generations with modifications, owing to oral transmission
- results in change or lost of certain words or sentences
Popular songs: Yosang, Ketam Bongai and Seringgit Dua Kupang
the only song sung in bahasa Seletar is Jamu Roh
- sung during every night of Hari Raya Puasa
- on Hari Raya Puasa nights they would gather, bring food and put the food in trays. Then they would light candles in the surrounding. After that they will sing together. The ritual(?) is performed by the Shaman/Pawang of the village. This song is sacred and cannot be recorded, written or asked to be sung
- note: probably related to buang ancak (see Rituals), more of a mantra than a song?

[Chan et al. interview]

Songs about spirits, lagu nurun, must be sung properly and cannot be sung playfully

Dances

[1947 newspaper]

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19470623-1.2.23?qt=seletar&q=seletar

Some Orang Seletars worked as dancers
(last paragraph) Orang Seletar staging ronggeng (dance)

Temah’s interview with Mariam Ali 1987

Names of dances: giler, pisa, meriah, kancik
Gebeng? A term for a dance or the act of dancing in general. Seems to be dances which are paid or invited by the Sultan are called gebeng

Asiah and Suradi 1977, p. 16]

They have the ‘joget’ or dance occasionally in the weekends
Joget is an activity copied from the Malays. The songs and dances are all Malay. The three important persons for the joget are the violinist, the drums or tamboh beater, and the gong player. The musicians are all self-taught
Joget was not possible during their days on the boats
Drinking usually precedes the joget sessions
These joget are held for entertaining visitors. The visitors referred to here are the Chinese traders. Nowadays, the list includes people from neighbouring villages, friends from town and any other visitors

A dance performance at Kampung Sungai Temon for visitors

Jamilah, 2014, p. 181

Nek Mai said there were no particular annual religious dates to celebrate among Seletar animists and if they ever felt like socialising they would just gather among themselves and have fun sharing their food, smoking tobacco, drinking alcoholic beverages and indulge in communal singing and dancing. At these events, their women folk and children would perform various cultural dances which are akin to the Hawaiian sway while the men played their musical instruments

[Jumaat 2017]

The lyrics depict the conditions of daily life and the dance movements mimics the behaviours and movements of the animal
Elements of flora and fauna from their environment for example the mangroves, the sea, the wind, the waves, the crabs, the mussels, the shellfish etc. are sung
Ever since older times, they liked the songs and dances of the Malays
- This is because they had a close relationship with the islander Malays since long ago
- It is not a surprise that a lot of the songs, music and lyrics are in bahasa malay
Respected dancers in the community: Wak Ki, Mak Besah, Pak Mat, Pak Awang, Pak Beting, Yang Seri (whose mother is Mak Yam? In the Temah interviews)
The group ‘Kumpulan Ketam Bangkang’ from Kampung Bakar Batu are the more well known dance group, sometimes representing the community to perform in public events in and out of the Johor state
Another group is from Kampung Sungai Temon
- their songs and dances are more modern compared to the Bakar Batu group
- (see Cai’s point later for discussion on this)
Team of dancers participating in competitions and performances

The Orang Seletar performing their songs and dances at the Orang Asli festival

[Cai 2017, p. 125]
- Interview with Ah Chek, a Chinese man who has run a provision shop in the village for almost 20 years: 10 to 20 years ago, the Orang Seletar villagers would hang out and dance every evening – those were the authentic Orang Seletar dances. To understand their lives in the past, you should consult the oldest Orang Seletar women, who are still alive in Kampung Bakar Batu. The cultural dances performed at Kampung Sungai Temon are not authentic; they were recently invented.
- As Ah Chek rightly highlighted, the Orang Seletar cultural dances currently performed by the villagers of Kampung Sungai Temon are created by an Orang Seletar man who act as a songwriter-cum-dance choreographer for the villagers. These cultural performances speak of the current experiences of Orang Seletar people in twenty-first century Malaysia, and of a sense of community spirit and resilience to cope with the raft of changes they have experienced through the years. There is, for example, a performance about their plight as a community faced with dwindling resources due to rapid urbanisation and land reclamation on their ancestral lands. There is another piece of performance that speaks of the carefree lifestyle they once had, based around the sea, interacting with sea creatures, which were and are still so central to their lives. Intricately connected to their contemporary vernacular lifestyles, these staged performances are actively embraced as a part of the Orang Seletar villagers’ evolving cultural heritage and communicate their resistance to the broader marginalisation they face within the contemporary politics of Danga Bay.
- Musical instruments and dance movements are also frequently revised by the songwriter and dance choreographer. Although the Orang Seletar cultural performances are contemporary creations, this has not stopped them from winning first prize in the national dance competition at the Orang Asli Entrepreneur Carnival 2014, suggesting that these are generally accepted as an authentic expression of Orang Seletar culture by JAKOA, which is the organiser of the carnival.

Instruments

[Asiah and Suradi 1977, p. 16]

Violins, the drums or tamboh, and the gong
The musicians are all self-taught

[Juma’at, 2017]

Pak Mat Inder is (was?) the head of the musical group, playing the tamboh drum

[Notes]

More recently, harmonicas were added to the repertoire, replacing the violin
It is also common to have bamboo sticks and wooden boards as percussive instruments

[Jamilah 2014, p. 167]

For their musical past time in the village, they could construct a musical instrument, called a Dang Kong (like a violin) which accompanied a dance entertainment