People: List of Historical Figures
In recreating this partial history, I have consulted several different sources:
- discussion with older performers and devotees who recall performers from the past, including their own teachers and co-performers
- archival sources, such as research reports generated by ASKI (now ISI)
- commercial 78rpm recordings
The records in Mardjani et. al. are incomplete. We have approximate years of birth for some performers (extrapolated from estimated age at the time of publication of the research report), and a few dates of death. But for many we have nothing. There are also a few inconsistencies in names and/or roles. I have relied on the lineage chart included, labeling what seem to be generations of performers based on who trained them, more than age. The terms "1st generation," "2nd generation" etc. are mine, to help give a sense of time. I was lucky to meet and interview several of the performers of the 4th and 5th generations listed here, including Ajis St. Sati, Syamsimar, and Sawir St. Mudo.
This page tags all those listed in this research report and other archival resources, only a few of whom I had the opportunity to meet. All of the people on the chart are tagged, but not all of the people tagged are on that chart.
The following map provides a sense of geographical distribution. Agam is strongly represented, which may suggest a bias in the research reports or reflect the strength of the region in producing performers.