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Song in the Sumatran Highlands

People: Gadih Santan

Stage Name: Gadih/ Adi Santan: "santan" means coconut milk. Her nickname came about as she was seen as "sweet," like santan.
Other Names: Adi Harnis
Role: Padendang.
Sex: Female.
Time Frame: Contemporary Figure
Source: personal encounter in 2004 and 2016.
Born:
Died:
Place of Origin:
Place of Residence: Lurah Bukik, Nagari Balai Panjang.
Year started performing:
Training:
Relationships to other performers:
Performances:

Performance: Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia, December 23, 2003.
Performance: Pariangan, February 10, 2004.
Performance: Suayan, July 29, 2016.

Interviews: July 14, 2016.
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: 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:
Performance: Suayan, July 29, 2016 17 Malam Bagurau image_header 2021-04-29T14:08:00+00:00 -0.185604, 100.467192 07/29/2016
Date: July 29-30, 2016
Time: We arrived just before 11p.m. It probably began around 10p.m.
Place: Suayan, a nagari that has strong ties to saluang, both for the famous singer, Gadih Suayan, named for the place, and for the series of songs tied to the place.
Style: Saluang Klasik

Occasion: Malam Bagurau for a Wedding. This was the evening before the main celebration, where food was being prepared.

Set up: The stage for this performance was erected between two houses. A plank of wood was laid between the porches on facing sides of the houses. The stage was covered with a decorative cloth and a backdrop hung. The performers are sitting on a thin mat. Like most saluang performances, the sound was amplified. You can see one of the speakers in the bottom right of the picture. Rows of plastic chairs were set out facing the stage, though some pagurau chose to sit cross-legged on the porch.

Performers:
- Padendang:
  - Gadih Santan
  - Si Sri
- Tukang Saluang:
  - Man PP
- Janang:
  - As is typical of weddings, no janang was involved in the performance.
Audience: The audience was fairly robust. In the early part of the evening, women and children lined up on the right side facing the stage. Men, likely pagurau who traveled specifically for the performance, occupy the chairs.

Ethnographers: Jennifer & Pak Ketua

Attendance: We arrived just before 11p.m. and left around 2a.m., before the performance had finished.
Notes:
Performance: Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia, December 23, 2003 13 Malam Bagurau image_header 2021-06-16T11:37:09+00:00 -0.459240, 100.403271 12/23/2003
Date: December 23-24, 2003
Time:
Place: Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia (STSI) Padang Panjang, now known as Institut Seni Indonesia
Style: Saluang Klasik
Occasion: Alumni reunion in combination with Dies Natalis
Set up:

Performers:
- Padendang
  - Contracted
    Gadih Santan
    Ita Singgalang
    Si Sri
  - Guest
    Garin
- Tukang Saluang:
  - Contracted: Mak Lenggang
  - Guest: Sutan Marajo
Audience:
Ethnographers:
Attendance:
Notes:
Rendition: "Padang Magek" 07/29/2016 5 "Padang Magek" performed at Malam Bagurau, Suayan. plain 2021-06-10T21:54:06+00:00
Song: "Padang Magek"
Performance: Suayan, July 29, 2016
Context: Malam Bagurau for a wedding
People:
- Padendang:
  - Gadih Santan
  - Si Sri
- Tukang Saluang: Man PP
Duration: 4.30

Structure: This rendition has 3 pantun. Most significantly, the place in which the second padendang joins is different from the rendition on Night Music of West Sumatra. On that recording, the second padendang joins at the repeat of the last line and they clearly sing together. I expect this is clear because each padendang had an invididual microphone. At this performance, however, they shared a microphone, passing it back and forth. It is not clear that both are singing. In this rendition, the second padendang starts halfway through the last line, not at the beginning of the last line. The effect is somewhat similar, but not quite the same. Listen for the difference in sounds of the two padendang here: Santan has a sharper, more penetrating voice. Her ornaments are sharp and attacking. Si Sri, in comparison, has a smoother, more rounded voice and her ornaments are also more rounded.

Lyrics: to come later.

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