Standardizing and Exoticizing the Main Jo’oh : The Tourist Gaze and Identity Politics in the Music and Dance of the Indigenous Mah Meri of Malaysia

Chan, Clare Suet Ching

doi:10.1353/amu.2015.0018

Cited by 16 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In the Malay zapin folk dance of Malaysia, the siku keluang (“flying fox's elbow”) step represents humility and restraint from unnecessarily displaying power, referencing how flying foxes fold up their enormous wings when roosting (Nor 2007). Flying fox behavior also serves as inspiration in the Mah Meri song and dance kuang kuwait , mimicking their flight movements (Chan 2015; Maznah Unyan, pers. comm., September 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bane or Blessing? Reviewing Cultural Values of Bats across the Asia-Pacific Region

Low¹,

Hoong

Shen

et al. 2021

Journal of Ethnobiology

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Chiroptophobia, or the fear of bats, which encompasses negative perceptions of bats as disease vectors, pests, or harmful creatures associated with evil spirits, represents an important barrier to bat conservation globally. Derived largely from the influence of Western cultural perceptions, it ignores the diverse cultural perceptions of bats from other regions, which have been largely overlooked. To better understand local beliefs and cultural perceptions regarding bats across the Asia-Pacific region, and how they may help design culturally grounded conservation strategies, we conducted a review of publications in the English-language literature documenting cultural value of bats in Asia-Pacific traditions. We discovered 119 bat cultural values in 60 different cultures from 24 countries across the region and found a wide spectrum of reports, which we categorized according to five wildlife value categories and further categorized these values according to positive, neutral, and negative. We found that 62% of the cultures had only positive values, 8% had only neutral values, while 10% had only negative values. This suggests that the Asia-Pacific region and its cultures contain far more positive associations with bats than most Western societies and, as such, offer promising examples and opportunities to promote human-bat coexistence. However, we also discuss how local belief systems may not always align with daily practices or conservation objectives. We suggest employing targeted, culturally grounded and locally contextualized outreach strategies in order to carry out more effective bat conservation and education in Asia-Pacific countries.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bane or Blessing? Reviewing Cultural Values of Bats across the Asia-Pacific Region

Low¹,

Hoong

Shen

et al. 2021

Journal of Ethnobiology

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“…I have only conducted one research to examine the music pedagogy of a Semai musician through a non-interventive research approach. I discovered that the Semai musician practiced teacher-student mobility, freedom of choice, intuitive responses, integration of cultural concepts, flexibility, and adaptability in response to the children's character (Chan, 2015).…”

Section: Statement Of Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demystifying Knowledge on Music Transmission, Creation, and Succession Among the Indigenous Semai of Malaysia

Clare Suet Ching

2023

MJM

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The Semai are a group of indigenous minorities, collectively known as the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia. They are well-known for their dream songs or jenulak that is taught by gunik (spirit guide) to halak (shaman). The knowledge of how jenulak is transmitted, created, and succeeded becomes important today when researchers collaborate with culture bearers to sustain their musical heritage. This knowledge is integral to the sustainability of Semai musical heritage, indigenous concepts, and values. This article examines (1) how jenulak is transmitted from one generation to the next generation; (2) how Semai musicians create music; and (3) who can succeed as the next generation of Semai musicians. It utilises the revisiting ethnography methodology in which the researcher re-examines case studies through data from past transcribed fieldnotes and interviews with Semai musicians over a span of 10 years. In this article, I argue that the learning of jenulak is not limited to the transmission from gunik to halak—it can be learned by anyone who has strong interest in the music. Second, Semai musicians do create new jenulak devoid of supernatural transmission after learning to sing those with spiritual origins. Third, the potential for being a Semai musician, creator, and successor is “achieved” rather than “ascribed”.

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“…The impact of foreign (Euro-American) missionization on beliefs and practices of indigenous peoples throughout the world are specifically examined by several scholars. For example, Clare Chan (2015) writes about significant impact of the "tourist gaze" (neocolonialism) on Mah Meri musical customs in Malaysia. Guillermo Wilde (2018) employs archival research methods to explore the Jesuit missions to South America during the colonial period.…”

Section: Indigenous Traditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Music and Religion: Trends in Recent English-Language Literature (2015–2021)

Wiebe

2021

Religions

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This article reviews recent (2015–2021) English-language publications that focus on music in/as/about religion (broadly defined)—including world, folk, and indigenous religious traditions. While research related to Euro–American-based Christian music accounts for more publications than any other single tradition examined, this review intentionally foregrounds religions that are not as well represented in this literature, such as Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, and folk and animistic traditions from around the world. Recurring trends within this literature elucidate important themes therein, four of which are examined in detail: (1) race and ethnicity, (2) gender and sexuality, (3) music therapy (and medical ethnomusicology), and (4) indigenous music. Broadly speaking, recent (2015–2021) publications related to religion, music, and sound reflect growing societal and political interests in diversity and inclusion, yet there remain perspectives, ideas, and ontologies not yet accounted for. The list of references cited at the end of this article represents only those publications cited in the review and a more comprehensive bibliography is available via an open-sourced Zotero group.

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Standardizing and Exoticizing the Main Jo’oh : The Tourist Gaze and Identity Politics in the Music and Dance of the Indigenous Mah Meri of Malaysia

Cited by 16 publications

References 27 publications

Bane or Blessing? Reviewing Cultural Values of Bats across the Asia-Pacific Region

Bane or Blessing? Reviewing Cultural Values of Bats across the Asia-Pacific Region

Demystifying Knowledge on Music Transmission, Creation, and Succession Among the Indigenous Semai of Malaysia

Music and Religion: Trends in Recent English-Language Literature (2015–2021)

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