Klong yao and the Performance of Minority Identity in the Siamese Community of Perlis, Malaysia

Authors

  • Chayuti Tassanawongwara University of Malaya
  • Hanafi Hussin University of Malaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37134/mjm.vol8.1.2019

Keywords:

identity, klong yao, performativity, representation, Siamese

Abstract

The klong yao performance in the Siamese communities of Perlis was adopted from the Thai community in Central Thailand. Before this adoption, the ethnic consciousness of the Siamese communities was oriented towards a local variation of Thai-ness with similarities to southern Thai people in terms of linguistic and geopolitical references. After the klong yao was actively included in their cultural practices, the Siamese communities began to develop a representative identity that reinforced Central Thai cultural expressions. In this respect, the performance of klong yao reconstructs the identity of the Siamese communities in Perlis, Malaysia toward a Central Thai identity. The shift from a local and marginalised type of Siamese identity to a hegemonic and centralised Thai identity is observed with the choice to use klong yao as a representation of their identity during Malaysia’s various occasions for showcasing cultural performances.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Chayuti Tassanawongwara, University of Malaya

Chayuti Tassanawongwara is a master student in the Southeast Asian Studies programme at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya. He is interested in the music of the Siamese community of northern Malaysia and has completed his thesis entitled “Performing Identity through the klong yao Tradition among the Siamese Community of Perlis, Malaysia. Chayuti obtained his Bachelor of Education in Music Education focusing on traditional Thai music at the Department of Thai music, Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok Thailand. Currently, his focus of research is in the ethnomusicology of Southeast Asia encompasses identity, rituals and performing traditions mainly with Siamese in northern Malaysia and Southern Thai people. He also pays attention at traditional Thai music as his previous background. He was a traditional Thai music teacher, teaching music in countries such as Germany, Philippines, etc.

Hanafi Hussin, University of Malaya

Hanafi Hussin, Ph.D is an Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya. He received B.A and M.A in Southeast Asian Studies with a thesis topic “Philippine Political Theatre during Marcos Regime” and a Ph.D. in Ritual and Performing Arts Studies focusing on ritual and identity of the Kadazan of Sabah, Borneo. He is also researching ritual and performing arts of the maritime communities of Southeast Asia mainly Sama-Bajau and Sama Dilaut of the east coast of Borneo and Southern Philippines. Currently his research and documentation is on tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Indigenous People of Malaysia. Most of his research work published in academic journals relate to regional studies and cultural studies of Southeast Asia. Currently, he serves as Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya.

References

Amnauysuntikul, P. (2008). Musical study and development of making votive offering ceremony of HOUNG POR TO Wat Satue Tharue Pranakornsri Ayutthaya. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Aryuwatthana T. (1974). Thai Nai Malaysia (Thai in Malaysia). Bangkok: Bannakit Press.

Buranakiatsakul, P. (2012). The research on ‘homrong klong yao’ a composition for long drum overture composed by Pra Part Banleng-Rom (Pim Watin) is a case study of Chayuti Tassanawongwara & Hanafi Hussin 17

Kru Songmuang Phanturut group. Unpublished masters thesis. Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Burke, P. J., & Stets, J. E. (2009). Identity theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Chuthawichit, Y. & Yodmalee, B. & Poklin, S. (2014). The conservation and development of Isan long-drum performances to promote local culture. Asian Culture and Histories Journal, 6(2), 91-195.

Eriksen, T. H. (2010). Ethnicity and nationalism (3rd ed.). London: Pluto Press.

Hall, D. G. E. (1981). A history of Southeast Asia (4th ed.). London, UK: The Macmillan Press Ltd.

Johnson, I. C. (2004). The people with two kings: Space, history and mobility in a Malaysian Thai community. Doctoral dissertation. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation & Theses database. (UMI No. 3131877)

Matusky, P. (1993). Malaysian shadow play and music continuity of an oral tradition. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.

Narkseetong, P.& Putthichot, A. (2012). สถานภาพชุมชนและคนเชื้อไทยในพหุสังคม มาเลเซีย:กรณีศึกษารัฐเกดะห์
ระหว่าง พ.ศ. ๒๔๕๒ - ๒๕๕๐ (Satanapap Chumchon lea Kon ChueThai Nai Pahusangkom Malaysia: KoraneeSuksa Rat Kedah rawang p.s. 2452-2550) Journal of Manussayasart Sangkomsart, Thaksin University, 2.

Numnonda, T. (1978). Pibulsongkram’s Thai Nation-Building Programme during the Japanese Military Presence, 1941-1945. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 9 (2), 234-247.

Pitupumnak, K. (2018). Paradigm for the development of a Lanna music curriculum in Higher Education in Northern Thailand. Malaysian Journal of music, 7(1), 38-57.

Ross, L. (2011). The hybrid melodic and textual repertoires of Southwest Thailand’s Rong Ngeng Tanyong.
Proceeding of the 1st Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur: Nusantara Performing Arts Center.

Ryoko, N. (2005). A way of negotiating with the other within the self: Muslim’s acknowledgment of Buddhist ancestors in Southern Thailand, 3. Retrieved from http://www.unimuenster.de/Ethnologie/South_Thai/working_paper/Nishii_Negotiation.pdf

Schechner, R. (2003). Performance theory. London and New York, NY: Routledge.

Winichakul, T. (1994). Siam mapped: A history of the geo-body of a nation. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.

Wirunha, C. (2551). บุหงารายา : ประวัติศาสตร์ จากค าบอกเล่าของชาวมลายู(Bungaraja: Prawattisart Jak Kambork-law Kong Chao Malayu ). Bangkok: Sakdisopa Press.

Wisuttipat, M. (2016). The theoretical concepts on Thai classical music. Bangkok: Santisiri Press.

Downloads

Published

2019-04-01

How to Cite

Tassanawongwara, C., & Hussin, H. (2019). Klong yao and the Performance of Minority Identity in the Siamese Community of Perlis, Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Music, 8, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.37134/mjm.vol8.1.2019

Issue

Vol. 8 (2019): Malaysian Journal of Music

Section

Articles