Music of the Shamans

Music of the Shamans
A shaman without music and sound is one without power.

On the East Coast, main Puteri is a popular trance dance accompanied by a makyong ensemble which consist of a rebab (fiddle), two gendang (double headed drums), and a pair of tetawak.

The chief performer, Tok Puteri, entranced by the music of the rebab, communicates with the spirits.

Aided by his attendant, Tok Minduk, who is also the rebab player, he “sucks out” evil spirits from afflicted patients.

A popular form of folk singing is Ghazal mostly in Johor. Ghazal is the vocal rendition of love poems, known as pantun, to the accompaniment of various musical instruments such as the gambus, table, violin, accordian, guitar, and maracas.

Like Nobat, Ghazal came from the Middle East and became an instant hit with the locals especially so because of its Arabic/Persian melody and the romantic lyrics.
Music of the Shamans

Pokok Cekur Manis

Pokok Cekur Manis
Botanically name: Sauropus androgynus is a common vegetable food in Malaysia and consumpotion of the raw leaf or its jucie was a lad for losing weigth.

The superb and unique flavor of these leaves is most similar to peanuts, also similar to snow peas. Then tender tips, the leaves, the flowers and the young berries are all used for food. Older leaves can be eaten raw but are commonly cooked. The young leaves and tips are eaten raw in salads. When cooked all parts of the plant have a distinct agreeable odor and flavor and the leaves and stems retain their dark green color. The leaves have about 6-10% protein content.

The leaves and the top 15 cm of stem tips of the Sauropus plant have a pleasant taste, similar to fresh garden peas, and slightly nutty and are normally eaten raw in salads or steamed, to add to stir-fry, rice and egg dishes, soups or casseroles.

The dark-green leaves provide a rich source of chlorophyll which is a valuable blood building element, cell rejuvenator, and beneficial to the circulation, intestinal flora, and for regular bowel elimination.

An infusion made of the leaves, is used as a poultice to treat fevers and ulcers.
Pokok Cekur Manis

Pokok Sambung Nyawa

Pokok Sambung Nyawa
Gynura procumbens Merr is an herb belonging to the family Compositae. Locally known as Pokok Sambung Nyawa.

Pokok sambung nyawa is herbaceous climber of forest margins and thickets. It is native of South East Asia.

Originating from Myanmar and China, it can live with the height of 1 until 500 meters from the sea levels.

It grows vertically, or sometimes the edge collapse and comes out root, wet stem, branches purplish in color.

The leaves are almost egg-shaped and slightly different shape between each leaf. The size is 3 cm – 10 cm x 0.5 cm – 3 cm. The lower surface is more or less purple.

The leaves serve in Malay peninsular as a flavoring for food, and also widely used for treatment of: kidney diseases, rashes, throat infection and high fever.

In addition, the leaves of the plant have been used in folk medicines and antihypertensive agent.

It has been reported that an ethanolic extract of Gynura Procumbens significantly reduces serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels of diabetic rats.

It can be used to stop bleeding, overcome menstrual cycle problems, improves the kidney function, for animal bite.
Pokok Sambung Nyawa

Music for Storytelling

Music for Storytelling
Storytelling in Malay culture includes the use of stylized, singing, chanting, instrumental, accompaniment, and sometimes drama.

In past generations, professional storytellers related romances, often accompanying themselves instrumentally.

As late as the mid 1900s, the art of storytelling was widespread in the northern Malay states and as far as Selangor. By 1990s, however, both in rural and urban areas, published texts film television and modern drama had begun to hold interest and many of the storytellers had died, taking their art with them.

Regional genres were known by specific names, derived from the main (or root) story, or from as hero in the most popular story of the genre.

In the northwestern states the genres were selampit and awang batil (also awang belanga).

The selampit involved song and recitation, without instrument accomplishment. The awang batil used an overturned brass bowl (batil), on which the storyteller beat out short, repeated rhythms to accompany and complement his recitation.

Sometimes he would wear a mask, representing the character about whom he was speaking.

Probably the most musically complex of the extant traditions of storytelling was found in Kelantan. The storyteller (tok selampit) was often blind man who sang tales as he accomplished himself in a rebab.

The rebab doubles or imitated the vocal part either playing in unison with the voice or repeating the vocal melody.

The part is played on the rebab were melodically dense, with considerable sixteenth, and thirty second not movement.

The melodies were usually ornate, with many grace notes, slides and other embellishments. In both voice and rebab parts, the melodic range was narrow, and microtonal intervals were common.

In many traditions, the music acted as a catalyst to enables the storyteller to develop his story.
Music for Storytelling