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Song in the Sumatran Highlands

People: Erni Batu Balang

Stage Name: Erni Batu Balang: her stage name asserts a place affiliation with nagari Batu Balang.
Other Names:
Role: Padendang.
Sex: Female.
Time Frame: Contemporary figure
Source: in person encounter in 2004
Born:
Died:
Place of Origin: Batu Balang.
Place of Residence:
Year started performing:
Training:
Relationships to other performers:
Performances:

Performance: Kampung Jambak, December 2, 2003

Songs composed:
Recordings:
Other notes: She is particularly liked in Agam because of a preference there for padendang with lower voices.

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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.

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