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Song in the Sumatran Highlands

Choosing Performers

The occasion for a saluang performance and a host's choice of saluang style or styles will in some way structure the choice of performers. For example, if you want an evening featuring saluang klasik, you will want to secure the services of a well-respected padendang who has mastered the classic repertoire. If you want to include saluang orgen, then you will need to ensure you have padendang who are more familiar with the pop material that might be requested.

When a host has solidified a date for their event, they will look for an available singer. Who they choose depends on their familiarity with the scene (those more familiar might choose the most famous singers or those who appreciate the appearance of a certain singer might value that over musical ability) and the availability of a desired singer. Typically, an invitation is offered to a single performer who then invites others to join them. Typically the initial person contacted will be a senior padendang, who is likely to invite other more junior padendang and a tukang saluang with whom they have worked and who are available. More rarely, a host will make all the choices. During the busiest season, Pak Ketua estimated that there might be about 15 performances happening at once. If you choose a popular date for a wedding, you might not be able to secure the services of your favorite or the best singers.

Who the performers are--especially the padendang--will structure the flow of the evening. The following is a list of some of the relevant factors.

A Singer's Background

Singers do not all have the same background and training. Their positionality and experience will influence the course of the evening.

Gender: whether a padendang identifies as a woman or a man has an enormous impact on the nature of the lyrics and the kind of interactions
Age: older singers tend to be a little more reserved and reluctant to engage in inappropriate lyrics or behavior
Religious morals: where a padendang positions themselves relative to personal engagement with Islam also affects their dress and willingness to engage in porno lyrics. Te E, for example, always wears a head covering and refuses to engage in porno lyrics, as does Mila.
Marital status: this may impact the way a padendang engages her audience
Village of origin: this will affect a singer's familiarity with certain repertoire and even some of her linguistic choices
Training: who a singer trained with or learned from will affect their own presentation, the songs and pantun they know, especially when they are less experienced.
Performance experience: padendang with more experience know a broader repertoire, though those younger will be more familiar with the newer, pop repertoire and imports. It also affects their ability to compose spontaneous texts responsive to context.
Hierarchy within the group: who was invited first and is considered the "senior" padendang can affects the order in which the sit on stage (the most senior usually nearest the saluang) and the order in which they sing during a song (the most senior singer almost always sings first)

Skills

While it is desirable that "good" singers are equally versed in musical and poetic ability, singers have different strengths and have mastered different repertoire. The best singers will have the broadest range of repertoire, have memorized many stock pantun, and have the ability to create spontaneous pantun according to structural formalities. Finally, other significant factors include singers' familiarity with pagurau and their ability to read the "room."

Physical attributes

Since women became the predominant singers in saluang, a padendang's physical appearance and perceived attractiveness has become relevant to the male audience members. Some pagurau are able to rank the singers on this level, following their favorites around like groupies. How they choose to dress for an event (tighter vs. looser clothing), how they sit, whether they make eye contact with the audience, and other etiquette factors are also relevant.

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