Technical Notes
Languages in the Field
Many people I worked with are conversant in both the Indonesian and Minangkabau languages, though some are more comfortable in one or the other. Conversations and interviews were often conducted in a mix of languages. I consulted with Saiful Hadi (a.k.a. Pak Ketua), Pak Arzul Jama'an, and Martis on song text translations. Translations of interviews and conversations are often mine.
Language and Orthography in this project
In this project, I wanted to privilege and honor the Minangkabau context in which saluang lives. I have deferred to using the Minangkabau spellings and variants of terms wherever possible over their Indonesian variants. For example, here I used Payokumbuah rather than Payakumbuh. There is, however, no standardized system of orthography. I have erred on the side of consistency, following what seem to be more common conventions. For example, "Pidia" rather than "Pidie" or "Kincia" rather than "Kincie."