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• 1 media/Rumah Gadang.jpeg media/Rumah Gadang.jpeg 2020-10-31T12:19:18+00:00 Performance: Kampung Jambak, December 2, 2003 28 Malam Bagurau image_header 2021-09-03T19:58:57+00:00 -0.45938, 100.40413 12/02/2003 Date: December 2-3, 2003
  Place: Kampung Jambak, Padang Panjang, just outside the gates of the institution now known as Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI)
  Style: Saluang Klasik
  
  Occasion: Halal-bihalal (which means asking for forgiveness), in this context a community gathering to celebrate Lebaran, the week or so of celebration following Ramadan, the month of fasting in the Islamic calendar. All households in the neighborhood received a letter of invitation, something similar to this one. 
  
  Performers:
  • Padendang:
    • Erni Batu Balang (f), the senior singer 
    • Meri Batu Balang (f)
    • Mila (f)
  • Tukang Saluang: Mak Lenggang
  • Janang: Martis
  Set up: This performance took place on a temporary stage set on the side of the road, opposite the house pictured above. The stage involved a raised platform made of wood, some of it covered with loose carpets. There were plastic walls on three sides of the stage, sheltering the performers from the wind. The padendang sat on stage, each with an energy drink and a pillow on their laps. The event, like most saluang performances, was heavily amplified   so the music could be heard clearly throughout the neighborhood. I have a note that as the evening wore on, the volume was adjusted to a more moderate level. Performers and audience members were also provided with refreshments. 
   
  Audience: I don't have notes about the size of the audience, but I did recognize a number of faculty members and student from ISI in attendance. Many faculty members live in this neighborhood and while affiliated with it, there were also unofficial ties with ISI as the tukang saluang and janang were faculty and staff at the institution. There were also several foreigners in attendance, two other men in addition to myself. The audience was mixed in terms of age, and a handful of kids were present at the beginning. As was typical, the audience chatted throughout the performance.  
  
  Performance Duration: Not documented. I recorded 22 songs in 1hr 15minutes. 
  
  Requests: Audience members delivered their requests to the janang, who announced the title of the song just heard, along with the title for the next song, who requested it, how much they paid, any special requests (such as a certain singer), and a pantun the requester might have offered. 

   
  Ethnographers: Jennifer. 
  Attendance: Not documented, aside from notes that I left before the end because I was cold. 
  Notes: Before this performance, I had only ever attended something at ISI when I was an exchange student in 1998-9. This was my first community event, very early on in my fieldwork. My notes are not as comprehensive as they are at later performances.  
  
  Follow the pathway below to see repertoire and interpretation of this performance. 
• 1 media/Image_Malam Dana 1.jpeg media/Image_Malam Dana 1.jpeg 2020-10-31T12:19:18+00:00 Performance: Pariangan, February 10, 2004 20 Malam Dana image_header 2021-09-03T20:43:20+00:00 -0.45571, 100.49278 02/10/2004 Date: February 10, 2004
  Time: The invitation states a start time of 8.30p.m., slightly earlier than typical start time of 9p.m. It didn't actually get underway until 9.50p.m.  
  Place: Pariangan
  Style: Saluang Klasik
  Occasion: Malam Dana
  Set up: The performance was staged in the front of someone's front yard, with a temporary stage covered by a large plastic canopy stretched over bamboo poles. On stage, mattresses were covered with embroidered pieces of cloth, and the sides of the stage similarly draped. Plastic chairs for the audience were set out in rows facing the stage. People were still setting up and adjusting the sound system as the performance started. The quality was particularly bad: I noticed that a padendang expressed displeasure at the microphone. 
  
  Performers:
  • Padendang:
    • Contracted
      • Si Ai
      • Gadih Santan
      • Eri Tamala
      • Upik Pasilian
      • Upik Gantiang 
    • Special guest
      • Syamsimar
  • Tukang Saluang: Bujang Rao-Rao
  • Janang: Antoni Dt. Mangiang
    • note that the invitation says "tukang oyak," which is an alternative term for the role. 
  Audience: This performance had more women and children present than any other I had previously attended since the start of fieldwork. When I asked Martis about their presence, he said it was partially about the context but also because they are interested in the genre, an interest which changes from region to region and is quite strong in Pariangan (possibly as it is home to famous singers, like Syamsimar). 
  
  The seats were provided for the “real” pagurau and invited guests, people who received the invitations; they were deliberately kept empty until their arrival. Women, children and some other men stood around the edges. Some women later found stones to perch on. This crowd of local onlookers started to thin out towards midnight. There were probably 200 people there at the peak. Some of the pagurau—regulars that the padendang recognize by visage--traveled from relatively nearby locations, like Batusangkar, Batipuah, Padang Panjang. Some came from as far away as Payokumbuah, which back then was probably at least a two-hour drive. 
  
  
    
  Ethnographers: Jennifer & Martis
  Attendance:
  Notes:
  
• 1 media/Image_Balai Cacang Audience and Stage.jpeg 2021-03-29T15:52:02+00:00 Introduction to Performances 2 This page explains the basics of a saluang performance image_header 2021-03-29T16:51:47+00:00

  Context

  When organizers of an event choose saluang for their celebration they are choosing one musical genre out of a number of other choices of regional Minangkabau genres. The choice of saluang is guided in part by location, in part by an investment in a more "traditional" style that is strongly connected with core Minangkabau values, and in part by the options appropriate for night time entertainment. In the darek, saluang is probably the most popular regional style for entertainment at night. When people in the rantau, especially those further from the Minang homeland, choose saluang they are making a statement about how they connect with their Minangkabau identity. People who choose saluang klasik rather than more popular styles, like saluang orgen or orgen, or religious styles, like dikia rabano or salawat dulang, are making a statement about their personal values and stylistic preferences, or they are prioritizing the desires and needs of local community, respected guests, and desired audience. 
  
  The contexts for saluang performance are myriad, ranging from life-cycle celebrations like weddings to private listening parties, institutional events, or fundraisers. Weddings are a key context. There are a couple of specially commissioned recording sessions included in the list of performances here. They are specialized contexts, where standard conventions of performances, like time frame, stage set up, and so on do not hold true. But I list them because I think it is interesting to see what songs were performed and how long they lasted. 

  Time Frame

  Saluang is a night music. 
  • In 2003-4, performances would start around 9p.m. and last until about 4a.m.
  • In 2015-16, performances would start around 10p.m. and last until 3a.m.
    • there has been an increasing shift to performances start later, finishing earlier, and collectively lasting shorter

  Style

  Most organizers interested in hosting a saluang performance choose saluang klasik, but they might choose a mix of styles if they want to project a sense of cosmopolitanism and/or display their wealth. 

  Line Up

  • Padendang: most often 2, occasionally 3, rarely more
  • Tukang Saluang: usually just one
  • Tukang Rabab: historically might be included, but I have never seen one present
  • Janang: optional, depending on the context. They are never present at weddings and always present at functions requiring the collection of money. 

  Physical Space

  Most typically saluang performances happen outside on make-shift, covered open-air stages, like the one seen above. Sometimes the stage is on the front porch of a house, like the performance at Harau. Seats may or may not be provided for guests, depending on the occasion and the host's budget. More often that not, there are chairs or at least mats on the ground or floor. 
  
  

  Advertising of events 

  Events are primarily advertised by word of mouth, whether that be within the local community or the community of saluang lovers. Typically, there is no official billing, public announcement in print, or electronic list. Sometimes a local community event, especially those designed as fundraisers, will issue a printed announcement that is distributed locally, and back in 2003-04, people would send in notice of saluang performances to be read aloud at Bagurau di Udaro or by the janang at an event.  Otherwise, knowledge of a performance is largely circulated amongst individuals, who pass on news of who is singing where (generally a very generic description, like a nagari, not a specific street address). The most devoted fans have the cell phone numbers of their favorite singers and will text for news of performances, either in advance or during the course of an evening.  

  Audience

  Saluang performances are considered open events, even those held in the yards of private homes. Anyone is welcome to attend and anyone who shows up is welcomed, even if they have absolutely no personal connection with the hosts of an event or the hosting community.  The audience very much ranges depending on context, location, and relative appeal of the style and singers. At a malam masak, the evening of cooking before the main celebration, saluang is organized to give samangek (enthusiasm) to those preparing the food, though they are too busy to sit, watch, and listen. Not even the wedding hosts or happy couple are present--rather the event contributes to the festivities of the occasion, to mark the celebration, and is primarily design for the entertainment of guests. These guests will include first and foremost the local community; neighbors, kin, and other people living nearby. Then audiences are constituted by the pacandu, devotees of the genre or particular singers, who are willing to travel for the performance. The best singers will encourage fans to travel on the back of a motorbike for a couple of hours, one way, to reach the destination. Many of the regular pagurau on the circuit have stage names. Some belong to a group that have a name and travel together.  

  Requests

  Whether or not pagurau can make requests and how they are conveyed to the performers depends on the context. At weddings and circumcisions, where a host has contracted the performers for the duration of the evening, pagurau may make their requests discreetly, whispering them to the performers on stage or handing them a small slip of paper. The only request permissible is a particular song. Typically, it is not clear who made the request nor why, but the requester will know that his request has been honored when the singers deliver the song. If a song has already been performed, perhaps before the requester appeared, then the singers might respond verbally and say "already," i.e. it has already been performed. I noticed that people were verbally delivering their requests later at night or over the years, speaking to a shift in values. 
  
  At events designed as fundraisers or bagurau lapiak where singers are working for tips, the nature of requests is very different. Here, pagurau pay for the privilege of making requests, usually a nominal amount, and a janang is included to mediate the requests. In 2003-04, the nominal fee was 5,000-10,000 rupiah. In 2015-16, 10,000 rupiah (less than $1 USD) was the standard. The most common request was for a specific song or extension of a song, but I have also heard requests for the extension of an ornament, response to a particular pantun, asking for personal information about a singer, asking a singer to move to provide a better view or to take off her jacket. 

  Interactions

  The nature of the interactions between performers and audiences depends on the time frame and the context. Historically, there was virtually none, but that has changed over the years, so that even at weddings, I have seen singers converse with specific members of the audience over the course of the evening and/or address them through song texts.