Song in the Sumatran Highlands

Context: Weddings and Circumcisions

Lifecycle events, primarily weddings and circumcisions, are occasions that might be celebrated with the performance of saluang. Typically, the main ceremonial event--the baralek--takes place during the day time. This is when guests invited specifically by the host stop by the event to convey their wishes and share in a meal. The images directly above and below are from baralek. In the one above, guests are mostly seated outside to eat. In the one below, guests came inside to eat, sitting on the floor around the spread. 


Saluang performances take place during the evening, either the night before the main baralek when people are up late cooking food all night, or the night at the end of the main baralek. In the case of the former, the performance helps provide samangek (enthusiasm) for the folks cooking. In the case of the latter, it's a continuation of the celebration. I have only witnessed saluang once during the main baralek--see Performance: Padang Panjang, April 10, 2004, and that involved saluang dangdut, a more upbeat form of entertainment appropriate for celebration than the sad, contemplative songs that are delivered late at night. Based on the performances I attended, saluang was more likely to happen in coordination with a wedding than a circumcision. The only circumcision event where I encountered saluang was Performance: Batu Balang, July 17, 2016. 


Economics: The performers for all these occasions are contracted and paid a fixed fee. Pagurau do not pay for requests. 

Space: These performances usually take place in the yards of private homes or perhaps on the street, where a temporary stage has been erected. Seating may or may not be provided for the pagurau. In my experience, seating is provided when wedding guests are likely to sit outside When guests enter the house to eat, smaller more modest weddings, then no seating is provided, like at a wedding Performance: Suayan, August 2, 2015. Note the audience standing in the background of this image. 



Audience: In both cases, those attending are not limited to those individuals formally invited. Anyone in the neighborhood or who has heard about the performance is welcome to come witness. Typically hosts will provide refreshments to these guests, including coffee, tea, and snacks.  

Musical Style: The context does not circumscribe the musical style, though saluang klasik is the most common. The host family choses their favorites, includingThey might even chose a mix of styles, like at Performance: Sariak Laweh, July 25, 2016.

Behavior: Most of these performances followed mainstream Minangkabau standards of decorum. The behavior of the pagurau is at its most respectable on these occasions, out of deference for the hosts. If they make requests for specific songs, they usually do so discreetly, whispering to someone on stage or slipping them a piece of paper. There is not the same interactive back and fro for the most part with the audience. People attend for sociality, as much as the music. Sometimes the pagurau play games, like jeki or dominoes, during the performance. 

This page has tags:

Contents of this tag:

This page is referenced by:

This page references: