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Song in the Sumatran Highlands

People: Inyiak Harimau

Stage Name: Inyiak Harimau."Inyiak" means 1) older brother and 2) an ulama, religious leader. It's more likely the first meaning in this instance. "Harimau" means tiger.
Other Names:
Role: Tukang Saluang.
Sex: Male.
Time Frame: Contemporary Figure
Source: personal encounter at a performance in 2004.
Born:
Died:
Place of Origin: Unknown
Place of Residence:
Year started performing:
Training:
Relationships to other performers:
Performances:

Radio Republik Indonesia, Bukittinggi. Bagurau di Udaro, September 27, 2004

Songs composed:
Recordings:
Other notes:

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This page is referenced by:

Song: "Singgalang Alai" 21 This song is part of a sub-category of songs called Singgalang that are named after the place, the nagari and mountain called Singgalang. plain 2021-05-14T11:45:17+00:00
The title of this tune is one of the most contested in saluang. There are two very different tunes that people identify as "Singgalang Alai." I learned this the hard way when I was invited to sing a dendang that I knew at Bagurau di Udaro September 27, 2004. I offered one of my standards, "Singgalang Alai," to Mak Il St. Rajo Endah, the announcer and emcee of the program and my contact at RRI. I had sung this tune at performances before without incident but this time was different. When the tukang saluang, Inyiak Harimau, began this song and Mak Ajis St. Sati delivered his first pantun, I was alarmed: this was not the tune I knew as "Singgalang Alai." I whispered that to Mak Il, but he told me not to worry and just sing what I knew. So I did and the tukang saluang switched songs mid-tune, following me. Mak Ajis then sang a verse of the version I knew after me: clearly he knew this tune, too. Confused, I chatted with Inyiak Harimau during a break. He told me that the practice of calling the song I sang "Singgalang Alai" was newer (personal conversation). The older convention was to call this tune "Singgalang Induak," as was indeed the title Sri and Pian used at the recording session in 2016. Finally, when I interviewed Ajis St. Sati a couple of months after the Bagurau di Udaro, he told me that the tune I know as "Singgalang Alai" is "Singgalang Gulai Rendang," offering the third title I heard for the same tune. He hummed the tune that he believed should be called "Singgalang Alai" (interview, Bukittinggi, 11/04/2004).

I am fascinated by this story. Just who was right? It doesn't matter as much to me as the idea that different performers have different practices and knowledge. To me that is the story. What it has complicated, however, is how to refer to the tune on this site. The best ethnographic process is to make sure to honor the titles used by the performers. Therefore, to clarify it's use on this site and to identify the different tunes I will use the terms "Singgalang Alai [Old]" for the version than Mak Ajis knows and "Singgalang Alai [New]" for the tune that many others identified as "Singgalang Alai."

Translation of Title: "Singgalang" in the title refers not just to place affiliation but to the category of songs called Singgalang. "Alai" is a neighborhood in Padang.
Explanation: The tune "Singgalang Alai [New]" or what others call "Singgalang Induak" is often the very first song of a saluang performance, following the Imbauan Saluang and Imbauan Singgalang. It is interesting that a song so key to saluang has such confusion surrounding its title.
Composer: Unknown.
Type of song: Singgalang.
Place affiliations: This whole category of song is named after the place, the nagari and mountain called Singgalang.
- Nagari: Singgalang.
- Kecamatan: X Koto.
- Luak: Tanah Data.
- Darek or Rantau: Darek.
Source: Mardjani's List of Songs (but it is unclear which tune was designated), Martis (who used the title refer to the tune marked here as "Singgalang Alai [New]").
Performance: Radio Republik Indonesia Bukittinggi, September 27, 2004 12 Bagurau di Udaro image_header 2021-09-03T20:45:13+00:00 -0.31698, 100.38478 09/27/2004
Date: September 27, 2004
Time:
Place: Radio Republik Indonesia Bukittinggi
Style: Saluang Klasik
Occasion: Bagurau di Udaro
Set up:
Performers:
- Padendang: Ajis St. Sati
- Tukang Saluang: Inyiak Harimau, Herman
- Janang/ Radio Host: Mak Il St. Rajo Endah
Audience:
Ethnographers:
Attendance:
Notes:
Song: "Singgalang Alai [New]" 4 This is the version that I learned as "Singgalang Alai" plain 2021-06-29T22:56:03+00:00
"Singgalang Alai [New]" is the term that I will use to clarify the tune that is called by several different names depending on who you ask, including "Singgalang Alai," "Singgalang Induak," and "Singgalang Gulai Rendang." To make tracking the same tune consistent, I will mark all instances of it with this title: "Singgalang Alai [New]." I will also identify what someone called the tune when they were talking about it or identified it for me.

See the entry for "Singgalang Alai" for the complete story.

Explanation: The tune "Singgalang Alai [New]" or what others call "Singgalang Induak" is often the very first song of a saluang performance, following the Imbauan Saluang and Imbauan Singgalang. It is interesting that a song so key to saluang has such confusion surrounding its title.
Composer: Unknown.
Type of song: Singgalang.
Place affiliations: This whole category of song is named after the place, the nagari and mountain called Singgalang.
- Nagari: Singgalang.
- Kecamatan: X Koto.
- Luak: Tanah Data.
- Darek or Rantau: Darek.
Source: Inyiak Harimau, a tukang saluang, was the person who helped identify this tune for me as the new "Singgalang Alai."

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Performance: Radio Republik Indonesia Bukittinggi, September 27, 2004