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Song in the Sumatran Highlands

Place: Pasa Payokumbuah

Pasa Payokumbuah, the market of Payokumbuah, is the central market in Payokumbuah. At night, it turns into a performance venue for saluang, performers seated on mats on the ground or tables left from trading earlier in the day.

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Rendition: "Pariaman Panjang" 08/01/2015 14 "Pariaman Panjang" performed at Malam Bagurau, Suayan. plain 2021-06-30T02:05:06+00:00
Song: "Pariaman Panjang"
Performance: Malam Bagurau for a wedding
Place: Suayan
Date: August 1, 2015

People:
- Padendang:
  - Te E
  - Nor Cingkariang
- Tukang Saluang: Bujang Rao-Rao
Duration: 7.13

Structure:
Lyrics:
Pantun 1: Te E
Batang
Minangkabau:
Ka balai mambali kain
Mambali sitin ba karatan
Di Payokumbuah hari akad
Lah dapek kain saukuran
Baguntiang bajaik balun
Dek tuan tolong manyudahkan
Talatak apo kagunonyo

Indonesian:
Ke pasar membeli kain.
Membeli kain satu potong
di pasar Payakumbuah hari minggu
sudah dapat kain satu ukuran
sudah bergunting belum dijahit
dek tuan tolong menyudahkan
terletak apa ke gunanya

English:
Going to the market to buy cloth
To buy a length of cloth
At the Payokumbuah market on Sunday
I got one measure of cloth
It was already cut but not yet sewn
Sir, please help me finish it
To be put into place the use for it.
Isi
Minangkabau:
Ambo mandapek kaba angin
Lah kambang si bungo intan
Pamenan allah jo Mohamad
Biarlahnyo bungo larangan
Kumbang baniak nak ka kiyun
Tagak dek balun dapek jalan
Kini mamadang jauah sajo

Indonesian:
Saya mendapat berita.
Sudah kembang si bunga intan
Hadiah Allah dengan Muhammad
Walaupun itu bunga larangan
Kumbang berniat ke sana
Tapi karena belum dapat dijalan
Sekarang memadang dari jauh saja.

English:
I’ve received some news
The bungo intan (jewel of a flower) is already flowering
It's a gift from God
However, it's a forbidden flower.
The bee is interested in searching there
But because he has not yet received any (nectar) in his journey.
He’s forced to look from afar.
Interpretation of Pantun 1
Batang: This verse is largely descriptive, about buying cloth at the market for a project, and the padendang suggesting the person listening should define a need for it. It also makes mention of a specific place.
Isi: This verse could be read on many levels. On one, it can be taken quite literally: a bee looking for nectar in a flower. On another, it could taken metaphorically to mean a man looking for a woman. Finally, the context at this performance offers a different interpretation. When I asked Pak Ketua why there was so much laughter, he explained that Te E, a dear friend of his, was teasing him specifically through this lyric. She was inferring that he was the bee and that I was the sparkly flower.
Performance: Pasa Payokumbuah, July 31, 2015 11 Bagurau Lapiak image_header 2021-06-21T11:22:34+00:00 -0.2255, 100.63285 07/31/2015
Date: July 31, 2015
Time:
Place: Pasa Payokumbuah
Style: Saluang orgen and orgen
Occasion: Bagurau Lapiak
Set up:
Performers:
- Padendang:
  - Ria
  - #2 not identified
  - #3 Not identified
  - #4 Not identified
  - Guest: Ayu Lestari
- Tukang Saluang: Not identified.
- Tukang Orgen: Not identified.
- Janang: Not identified.
Audience:
Ethnographers: Jennifer & Pak Ketua
Attendance:
Notes:
Text: The Bee and the Flower The following pantun is an example of a pantun baku ("a frozen verse") or stock verse that many padendang and audience members know. While technically the two halves are not attached to each other except through the rhyme scheme and one can theoretically exchange out a batang for another, in a pantun baku the two halves are typically connected. Once a padendang has started delivering a specific pantun, the audience knows what isi will be delivered. I heard this pantun in a number of contexts: the metaphoric meanings are consistent, but sometimes implied to hold to a specific instance.

All the instances where this text was noticed are tagged. Note that it is often but not always used in the same song.
Batang

Minangkabau:
Ka balai mambali kain
Mambali sitin ba karatan
Di Payokumbuah hari akad
Lah dapek kain saukuran
Baguntiang bajaik balun
Dek tuan tolong manyudahkan
Talatak apo kagunonyo

Indonesian:
Ke pasar membeli kain.
Membeli kain satu potong
di pasar Payakumbuah hari minggu
sudah dapat kain satu ukuran
sudah bergunting belum dijahit
dek tuan tolong menyudahkan
terletak apa ke gunanya

English:
Going to the market to buy cloth
To buy a length of cloth
At the Payokumbuah market on Sunday
I got one measure of cloth
It was already cut but not yet sewn
Sir, please help me finish it
To be put into place the use for it.
Isi

Minangkabau:
Ambo mandapek kaba angin
Lah kambang si bungo intan
Pamenan allah jo Mohamad
Biarlahnyo bungo larangan
Kumbang baniak nak ka kiyun
Tagak dek balun dapek jalan
Kini mamadang jauah sajo

Indonesian:
Saya mendapat berita.
Sudah kembang si bunga intan
Hadiah Allah dengan Muhammad
Walaupun itu bunga larangan
Kumbang berniat ke sana
Tapi karena belum dapat dijalan
Sekarang memadang dari jauh saja.

English:
I’ve received some news
The bungo intan (jewel of a flower) is already flowering
It's a gift from God
However, it's a forbidden flower.
The bee is interested in searching there
But because he has not yet received any (nectar) in his journey.
He’s forced to look from afar.
Interpretation of Pantun

Batang: This text is largely descriptive, about buying cloth at the market for a project, and the padendang suggesting the person listening should define a need for it. It also makes mention of a specific place.
Isi: This text could be read on many levels. On one, it can be taken quite literally: a bee looking for nectar in a flower. On another, it could taken metaphorically to mean a man looking for a woman.