Brunei is a southeast Asian country located on Borneo between the states of Sabah and Sarawak which are part of Malaysia. There is a wide array of native folk music, and dance. Brunei shares some Cultural perspectives and links with the countries of South East Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The strong Islamic influence means that dance performances and music are somewhat restricted.
Adai-adai is a group work song sung by fisherpeople while they fished. Another folk dance is the Benari, or Joget Baju Putih, performed during numerous festivals. It is usually performed by three men and three women.
Aduk-Aduk is an ceremonial dance performing by the Kedayan children before birthdays, especially at the end of the harvest season. Dancers wear traditional warrior's attire, in tengkolok, red belt and black clothing, and dance to the beat of silat, a Malay martial art. [1] This dance is accompanied by percussion instruments, including drums and coconut shells. [2]
The Malay population are known for the Jipin or Zapin dance, performed by six men and women, accompanied by instruments that include the gambus dan biola, dombak and rebana. Gongs like the Kulintangan (a set of small gongs), duck gongs and other styles are played. Malay folk music is played by accomplished musicians at special feasts and celebrations. Responsive singing is sometimes performed at weddings, with the guests joining in. [3] The song "Alus Jua Dindang" is also an important part of Bruneian wedding music; in it, the groom (who, in a traditional wedding does not know the bride beforehand), flatters and declares his devotion to his new wife. [4]
The Brunei Music Society has been organising concerts of mainly Western classical music since its founding in 1972. These concerts are usually held at the Orchid Garden Hotel in BSB.
Silat Melayu, also known as Seni Persilatan Melayu or simply Silat, is a combative art of self-defence from the Malay world, that employs langkah ('steps') and jurus ('movements') to ward off or to strike assaults, either with or without weapons. Silat traced its origin to the early days of Malay civilisation, and has since developed into a fine tradition of physical and spiritual training that embodies aspects of traditional Malay attire, performing art and adat. The philosophical foundation of modern Malay Silat is largely based on the Islamic spirituality. Its moves and shapes are rooted from the basis of Silat movements called Bunga Silat, and Silat performances are normally accompanied with Malay drum assembles.
Music of Malaysia is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres in Malaysia. A great variety of genres in Malaysian music reflects the specific cultural groups within multiethnic Malaysian society: Malay, Chinese, Indian, Dayak, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Orang Asli, Melanau, Kristang and others.
Indonesia is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, and its music is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result traditional music from area to area also uniquely differs from one another. For example, each traditional type of music is often accompanied by its very own dance and theatre. Contemporary music scene have also been heavily shaped by various foreign influences, such as America, Britain, Japan, Korea, and India.
Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. As part of the larger gong-chime culture of Southeast Asia, kulintang music ensembles have been playing for many centuries in regions of the Southern Philippines, Eastern Malaysia, Eastern Indonesia, Brunei and Timor, Kulintang evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sundanese people in Java Island, Indonesia. Its importance stems from its association with the indigenous cultures that inhabited these islands prior to the influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity or the West, making kulintang the most developed tradition of Southeast Asian archaic gong-chime ensembles.
Music of Punjab reflects the traditions of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, associated with Punjabi language. Punjab is currently divided into two parts: East Punjab, in India, and West Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan. The Punjab has diverse styles of music, ranging from folk and Sufi to classical, notably the Patiala gharana. Contemporary Punjabi music has tended to include more modern hip-hop and R&B sounds. While this style of music is obviously most popular in Punjab, it has seen popularity across the subcontinent and areas with large Punjabi diaspora populations, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Dusun is the collective name of an indigenous ethnic group to the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group in Sabah. The Dusun people have been internationally recognised as indigenous to Borneo since 2004 as per the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Dondang Sayang originated in Malacca sometime in the 15th century, influenced by traditional Portuguese folk music. It is a traditional Malay form of entertainment where Baba and Nyonya singers exchange extemporaneous Malay Pantun (poetry), in a lighthearted and sometimes humorous style. The singers are normally accompanied by a violin, two Malay rebana (drums), and a tetawak (gong). These instruments are often supplemented by other available instruments, most notably, accordions, flutes, or an additional violin.
The Kadazans are an ethnic group indigenous to the state of Sabah in Malaysia. They are found mainly in Penampang on the west coast of Sabah, the surrounding locales, and various locations in the interior.
The Culture of Malaysia draws on the varied cultures of the different people of Malaysia. The first people to live in the area were indigenous tribes that still remain; they were followed by the Malays, who moved there from mainland Asia in ancient times. Chinese and Indian cultural influences made their mark when trade began with those countries, and increased with immigration to Malaysia. Other cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic and British. The many different ethnicities that currently exist in Malaysia have their own unique and distinctive cultural identities, with some crossover.
The Murut, alternatively referred to as Tagol/Tahol, constitute an indigenous ethnic community comprising 29 distinct sub-ethnic groups dwelling within the northern inland territories of Borneo. Characterized by their rich cultural diversity, the Murutic languages form a linguistic family encompassing approximately half a dozen closely intertwined Austronesian languages. Murut populations exhibit dispersion in Malaysia's Sabah and the northern part of Sarawak, as well as in the country of Brunei and the Indonesian North Kalimantan Province. Furthermore, the Murut people have close connections with the Tidung, who historically inhabited Borneo's east coast region that underwent processes of Islamization and Malayalization,
Bisaya is an indigenous people from the northwest coast of East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Their population is concentrated around Beaufort as well as Kuala Penyu districts of southern Sabah, Labuan Federal Territory and in Limbang District, Sarawak. The Bisaya tribe has many similarities with the Dusun Tatana tribe, especially in terms of language. It is evident that some of their dialogical language conversations are almost identical if they have a dialogue with each other. Nowadays the Bisaya living in Sabah are Muslims, while the Bisaya living in Sarawak are mostly Christians. In Brunei, they are referred as Dusun, Jati Dusun and Bisaya. The Bisaya is closely related, linguistically, with the Tatana Dusun of Kuala Penyu, Sabah.
Malaysian folk religion refers to the animistic and polytheistic beliefs and practices that are still held by many in the Islamic-majority country of Malaysia. Folk religion in Malaysia is practised either openly or covertly depending on the type of rituals performed.
Bruneian Malays are a native Malay ethnic group that lives in Brunei, the federal territory of Labuan, the southwestern coast of Sabah and the northern parts of Sarawak. The Bruneian Malays are a subgroup of the larger ethnic Malay population found in the other parts of the Malay World, namely Peninsular Malaysia and the central and southern areas of Sarawak including neighbouring lands such as Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand, having visible differences especially in language and culture, even though they are ethnically related to each other and follow the teachings of Islam. All Bruneian Malays who are born or domiciled in East Malaysia even for generations before or after the independence of the states of Sabah and Sarawak from the British Empire through the formation of Malaysia in 1963 are also considered Malaysian Malays in the national census and were in the same status like the Malaysian Malays domiciled in Peninsular Malaysian states and the central and southern parts of Sarawak. They are also defined as a part of the Bumiputera racial classification together as a subgroup within the Malaysian Malay ethnic population along with the Kadazan-Dusuns, Orang Ulu, Ibans, Malaccan Portuguese, Muruts, Orang Sungai, Bajau, Suluks and the Malaysian Siamese.
Joget is a traditional Malay dance that originated in Malacca in the colonial era. It was influenced by the Portuguese dance of Branyo which is believed to have been spread to Malacca during the spice trade. In Malacca, joget dance is better known as Chakunchak. The dance is one of the most popular folk dances in Malaysia that is normally performed by couples in cultural festivals, weddings and other social functions. Joget gained popularity among the Malay community in Singapore after its introduction in 1942.
The sumazau is a dance performed by the Kadazandusun from Penampang and adjacent areas in west coast Sabah. It is usually performed during Kaamatan. The dance involves male and female pairs who are dressed in traditional clothing. The rhythm of the dance is set by the beat of hanging gongs. It is performed by raising both arms to shoulder height and flapping them.
Ngajat is popular family of dances among the Iban people in Sarawak, Malaysia. It's also popular in Brunei and West Kalimantan, Indonesia. In 2007, Ngajat was recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Malaysia by Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
Malaysian folklore is the folk culture of Malaysia and other indigenous people of the Malay Archipelago as expressed in its oral traditions, written manuscripts and local wisdoms. Malaysian folklores were traditionally transmitted orally in the absence of writing systems. Oral tradition thrived among the Malays, but continues to survive among Orang Asli and numerous Bornean ethnic groups in Sarawak and Sabah. Nevertheless, Malaysian folklores are closely connected with classical Malay folklore of the region. Even though, Malay folklore tends to have a regional background, with the passing of time, and through the influence of the modern media, large parts of regional Malay folklore have become interwoven with the wider popular Malaysian folklore.
Traditional Malaysian art is primarily composed of Malay art and Bornean art, is very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Bruneian, Indonesian and Singaporean. Art has a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art that dating back to the Malay sultanates, has always been influenced by Chinese, Indian and Islamic arts, and also present, due to large population of Chinese and Indian in today's Malaysian demographics.
Adai-adai dance is a traditional dance of Bruneian Malay ethnic group in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Labuan in Malaysia, this dance is based on the life of the fishermen. This dance tells the story of a group of fishermen who go fishing in the sea while the women wait for their return to the beach to help collect the catch that will be obtained.
Alena Murang is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, sape player, visual artist and educator who sings in endangered languages including Kelabit and Kenyah. She is one of the first women to play the sape, a lute instrument from Borneo traditionally (pre-1930s) reserved for male healers.
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