FOLK AND SYNCRETIC MUSIC
Stamps issued by the postal authorities in 1987 commemorating traditional Malaysian musical instruments such as the sapeh, serunai, rebab and sompotan.
Folk and syncretic music is distinguished from other types of music by the fact that folk songs and music are a product of the common man who usually lives in a world dictated and ordered by an oral tradition. Here a writing system may or may not exist, but the principal means of transmitting knowledge is by word of mouth and by rote teaching.
In Malaysia, many types of music have existed and evolved for centuries in this oral tradition, passed down from one generation to the next by example and other means of outward expression. In such a tradition change in a musical style occurs very slowly because the community which produces the music takes great care to preserve the main characteristics and how it is produced. A good example is the music for the shadow puppet play as well as dance drama in the Malay theatrical arts.
Wayang Kulit Siam, Mak Yong, Mek Mulung, Rodat, Hadrah, Gendang Tarinai and other arts have existed for several centuries within an oral tradition, with no written scores, song lyrics, scripts or other documents. These forms are found primarily in the rural areas of the country, particularly in the northern peninsular states. It is only in the last two decades of the 20th century that the music of some of these forms has been notated, most notably Wayang Kulit Siam, Mak Yong and Hadrah. Although musical instruments may have been borrowed and absorbed into these genres from outside sources (such as the Middle East or India) many centuries ago, the method of using the instruments and the musical material have changed and evolved into a uniquely Malay musical tradition with little or no connection to past usage in their original cultures.
In contrast, syncretic (or acculturated) music is found in both the urban and rural areas. It combines elements of folk and classical music of a given culture group with outside elements. In Malaysia, some aspects of folk and classical music have combined with Arabic, Persian, Indian, Chinese and Western musical elements. In most cases, the outside elements are borrowed, but are still recognizable as to their place or culture of origin, and in some cases there is little true synthesis of these elements into the root culture.
Early syncretic musical forms in Malaya were originally disseminated through the Bangsawan theatre and the dance halls (pentas joget) where Arabic, Hindustani, Chinese, Javanese, Western and Malay pop tunes were heard. Bangsawan music was the first popular music in Malaya. Ghazal, Dondang Sayang, Lagu Melayu Asli, Keroncong, Zapin, Inang and Joget are examples of music which combine native and foreign musical elements, and which developed along with other syncretic music forms during the past two centuries and longer to project a rich and varied expression of a multicultural society.