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Song in the Sumatran Highlands

Term: Pantun Baku

Pantun Baku literally means frozen verse, meaning it is a stock verse and familiar to many senior padendang and their audiences.

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Rendition: "Pariaman Panjang" 07/21/2016 19 "Pariaman Panjang" performed at Recording Session with Si Sri and Pian plain 2022-10-18T19:41:07+00:00
Song: "Pariaman Panjang"
Performance: Recording Session
Place: Padang Datar, a neighborhood of Payokumbuah.
Date: July 21, 2016
People:
- Padendang: Si Sri
- Tukang Saluang: Pian
Recording: This recording was unusual in that it wasn't at a live performance, but a recording session expressly for the purpose of documenting key songs part of the repertoire. There is only one padendang, rather than a couple trading off verses and sections. Moreover, there is external sound--some kind of rock band--bleeding into the recording.

Analysis of song structure: In the recording, the song's constituent parts have been documented. The identification and naming of these parts took place through an ethnographic listening session with Pak Ketua, a saluang aficionado. He helped identify when something was happening and what it was called. The terminology used, therefore, is local.

It is important to remember that "Pariaman Panjang" has a flexible song structure, including two melodic sections which both take a full pantun: the induak (mother) and anak (child). The length of the pantun is not fixed for either, so you will see variable length pantun below for both the induak and the anak. The # by text lines in the Minangkabau version count the line of the text in each half of the pantun.

Lyrics:
Induak 1
Batang
Minangkabau:
1. Manih tabunyo rang Piaman
2. Dikilang sadiang mandaki
3. Urek di lingkah layang-layang
4. Daunnyo banyak nan patah
5. Patah dek ribuik pagi hari
6. Sado nan patah lareh juo
Indonesian:
Manis tebunya urang Pariaman
Dikilang sedang mendaki
Urat tebu diduduki oleh layang-layang
Daunnya banyak yang patah
Patah karena banyak angina
Semua yang patah laras juga

English:
The sugar cane of the Pariaman people is sweet
It’s squeezed while walking
The roots are sat on by swallows
The leaves have many that are broken
Broken by strong wind in the morning
All that are broken fall off

Isi
Minangkabau:
1. Manangih Gunuang Pasaman
2. Tambah hanguih Gunuang Marapi
3. Taisak Gunuang Singgalang
4. Managun aia di lurah
5. Cando baniaik kok dak jadi
6. Ka tau utang awak di namo
- NB: This induak involves 6 lines per pantun half.
Indonesian:
Menangis Gunung Pasaman
Tambah hangus Gunung Merapi
Terisak Gunung Singgalang
Tertegun air di lurah
Seperti berniat tidak jadi
Ke tahu utang kita di nama

English:
Mt. Pasaman is crying
Mt. Merapi is often smoldering
Mt. Singgalang sobs
The water in streams has stopped flowing
It is like the interest doesn’t come.
We already have a name.

Interpretation of Induak 1
Batang: The batang is relatively descriptive about the place and nature. It talks about the sweetness of sugar cane grown in Pariaman, a way of establishing connection to the place, Pariaman, but also about sugarcane, wind, and birds.
Isi: Pak Ketua explained that on the surface this is a pantun parasaian but in reality it is a pantun muda-mudi. The mountains here are metaphor for people: the father is crying, the mother is crying, the whole family and surrounding community is sobbing, hence the connection with parasaian. It is muda-mudi because the pantun functions as a metaphor for an individual who is romantically interested in someone but the other party does not reciprocate the interest. So at this level, the pantun is about dating: we are the jilted lover, the relationship ended by the other person. The implication is that everyone in the village knows about the relationship and the end of it.
Anak 1
Batang
Minangkabau
1. Kudo pacuaan rang Piaman
2. Di kuduak baling mambakeh
3. Kaki nan rancak ka ampeknyo
Indonesian
Kuda pacuaan urang Pariaman
Di kuduk baling membekas
Kaki yang bagus keempatnya

English
Horse racing of the people from Pariaman
Nape of neck leaves a trace (These are horses that are one color predominantly but have a patch of another color on the back of their necks)
All four of their hooves are good
Isi
Minangakabau
1. Dek hati kurang baiman
2. Luko di kaniang tampek bakeh
3. Kanai di hati luluah sajo
Indonesian
Dek hati kurang sabar
Luka di kening tempat bekas
Kena di hati luluh sajo

English
By a heart that is less than patient
A wound on the forehead shows
A wound in the heart breaks one

Interpretation of Anak 1
Batang: The pantun is a description of an activity--horseracing--that takes place in Pariaman.
Isi: This pantun tells of the suffering in love, of a broken heart.

Induak 2
Batang
Minangkabau:
1. Ka balai mambali kain
2. Mambali sitin ba karatan
3. Di Payokumbuah hari akad
4. Lah dapek kain saukuran
5. Baguntiang bajaik balun
6. Dek tuan tolong manyudahkan
7. Talatak apo kagunonyo
- NB: This induak involves 7 lines per pantun half, whereas the first induak was just 6 lines.
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:
1. Kami mandapek kaba angin
2. Lah kambang si bungo intan
3. Pamenan allah jo Mohamad
4. Biarlahnyo bungo larangan
5. Kumbang baniak nak ka kiyun
6. Tagak dek balun dapek jalan
7. 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.
Note
This is a pantun baku. It is also found in the following renditions of songs:
- Rendition of Pariaman Panjang
Interpretation of Induak 2
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, the market of Payokumbuah.
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. The use of this pantun in this context was different than the performance in Suayan in 2015, where it was a deliberate jab at Pak Ketua. The use of the one pantun to function differently in different contexts speaks to the semantic fluidity and polysemousness of song texts.
Anak 2
Batang
Minangkabau
1. Badarak badarun-darun
2. Lah runtuah tabiang jo ngarai
3. Musibah paliang marusuah
4. Untuang indak taulang lai
Indonesian
Berderak berderum-derum
Sudah runtuh tebing dengan ngarai
Musibah paling marusuah
Untung tidak terulang lagi

English
To creak, to rumble and roar
Steep banks and gorges have collapsed
Disasters make the greatest disturbance
Fortunately they (disasters) are not easily repeated.

Isi
Minangkabau:
1. Baibo hati urang punyo kabun
2. Bungo lah layuah tiok tangkai
3. Kumbang nan malah ka dituduah
4. Sabab lah banyak mainggoki
Indonesian
Beriba hati urang punya kebun
Bunga sudah layuh setiap tangkai
Kumbang yang malah ke dituduh
Sebab sudah banyak menghinggapi

English
For people who have gardens, the heart is bitterly weeping
Every stem of the flowers is already weak
The bumblebees who were present are suspected
Because already lots have alighted on [the flower].

Interpretation of Anak 2
Batang: This pantun is descriptive for disasters, probably an earthquake.
Isi: Like many metaphorical, one might interpret this literally, but it should be read metaphorically. The garden is a metaphor for a mother and father, or by extension a community. A "bungo layuah" (wilted flower) is a metaphor for a young woman who is no longer a virgin. The bumblebee is a metaphor for a man so the third and fourth lines are about suspecting the men who have alighted on the wilted flower. It is a pantun nasehat. It is also a pantun baku.
Structure of Pantun 16 Formal features of pantun plain 2021-08-03T20:09:19+00:00
Pantun is a poetic form found throughout the Malay world, which includes the Minangkabau region, some other parts of Sumatra, parts of Java and Kalimantan, and parts of Malaysia.

There are a number of formal features to the poetic structure. The list below represents them according to Minangkabau understandings and applications of the form.
1. The lines are eight or nine syllables long.
2. They are structured in two equal halves. In saluang, these are referred to as the batang (literally "branch") and isi (literally "content"). In Minang contexts, batang draws on references to the natural environment, specific places, and/or the context of performance. The isi contains the content, which is usually a moralistic or philosophical message. Sometimes, when people quote a pantun, the only include the isi.
3. The two halves must having matching rhyme schemes
4. The length may range. In saluang, there are examples from four to twenty-four lines total. The most "standard" is probably the 4-line version.
Let me illustrate with the first pantun I ever learned, which is four lines in total. I present it separate from the song itself, as it could technically be adopted to any tune that can accommodate a four-line pantun.
1. Janiah aia talago biru
2. Nampak dari Koto Malintang
3. Piliah mamak nan katuju
4. Bungo sakabun nan kakambang.
Syllable Length
1. Jan/iah ai/a ta/la/go bir/u
2. Nam/pak dar/i Ko/to Mal/in/tang
3. Pil/iah ma/mak nan ka/tu/ju
4. Bung/o sa/ka/bun nan ka/kam/bang
The lines are: 9, 9, 8, and 9 respectively, depending on how you deal with elision of "iah."
Formal Structure
1st half: Batang
Janiah aia talago biru
Nampak dari Koto Malintang
2nd half: Isi
Piliah mamak nan katuju
Bungo sakabun nan kakambang
Rhyme Sceme
Batang
1. Janiah aia talago biru
2. Nampak dari Koto Malintang
Isi
1. Piliah mamak nan katuju
2. Bungo sakabun nan kakambang.
Scheme
The rhyme scheme is indicated above with the bold text, which is as follows.
a: "u"
b: "ang"
a: "u"
b: "ang"
Translation and interpretation
1st half: Batang
Janiah aia talago biru
Nampak dari Koto Malintang
2nd half: Isi
Piliah mamak nan katuju
Bungo sakabun nan kakambang
Batang
Clear water in the blue pond
Visible from Koto Malintang.

This batang draws on a reference to the natural environment in a specific place. The "talago biru" (blue pond) is a reference to Lake Maninjau, which is visible from the nagari of Koto Malintang.

Isi
Choose wisely uncle from
The flowers in the garden.
This isi, like all isi, is not thematically connected to the first half. The isi delivers advice using a metaphorical reference, telling the mamak--the maternal uncle, who is historically a more important authority figure over his sister’s children than their own father in the Minangkabau matrilineal system—to choose wisely from the flowers in the garden when picking a bride for his nephew. Here the flower is a metaphor for a young woman.
Another Example
To illustrate the principles, here is a second example which was delivered as part of the song "Pariaman Panjang" at a recording session in 2016 (see this rendition). I heard a variant of it delivered in the same song four days later at a performance in Sariak Laweh, suggesting that it is a pantun baku. This one is twelve lines in length, rather than 4. The rhyme scheme is more complex: abcdef/abcdef.
Batang
1. Manih tabunyo rang Piaman
2. Dikilang sadiang mandaki
3. Urek di lingkah layang-layang
4. Daunnyo banyak nan patah
5. Patah dek ribuik pagi hari
6. Sado nan patah lareh juo
Isi
1. Manangih Gunuang Pasaman
2. Tambah hanguih Gunuang Marapi
3. Taisak Gunuang Singgalang
4. Managun aia di lurah
5. Cando baniaik kok dak jadi
6. Ka tau utang awak di namo
Translation and Interpretation
Batang
The sugar cane of the Pariaman people is sweet
It’s squeezed while walking
The roots are sat on by swallows
The leaves have many that are broken
Broken by strong wind in the morning
All that are broken fall off.
Isi
Mt. Pasaman is crying
Mt. Merapi is often smoldering
Mt. Singgalang sobs
The water in streams has stopped flowing
It is like the interest doesn’t come.
We already have a name.

Batang: The batang is relatively descriptive about a place and nature. It talks about the sweetness of sugar cane grown in Pariaman, a way of establishing connection to the place, Pariaman, but also about sugarcane, wind, and birds.
Isi: The mountains here, which are important landmarks in the Minangkabau region, are a metaphor for people: the father is crying, the mother is crying, the whole family and surrounding community is sobbing. But there is a second layer of metaphorical reference. It is a metaphor for an individual who is romantically interested in someone but the interested party does not reciprocate.
Song Texts
Some performers and devotees consider the texts the window into the soul of the Minangkabau people. The content of texts, like other key forms of Minangkabau oral literature, deal with Minangkabau philosophy, morality, emotionality, and humor. They touch on a range of life and emotional experiences, from the depths of sadness to the teasing budding young romance. To the chagrin of some, they can even cover erotic sensitivity. They are full of references to the natural world, reflecting the tenet of "alam takambang manjadi guru" (nature becomes the teacher). Infused with references to landmarks and places, the texts are also key to navigation of and existence in the Minangkabau homeland. In short, song texts offer an important window into Minangkabau worldviews, deliberately expressed to reflect plurality rather than universality, the contentious erotic texts case in point.

In saluang, the structure and delivery of texts is complex and subject to many variables. Yet the use of pantun, an important Minangkabau literary genre, has received little to no scholarly attention in English language literature compared with other forms of Minangkabau oral literature, such as the kaba (Johns 1958; Junus 1994; Phillips 1981; Suryadi 1993) or pantun found in other parts of the Malay World (Daillie 1988; Matusky 2004; Sim 1987; Thomas 1979; Weintraub 1994-5). The only sustained engagement with the texts of saluang are found in Sanday’s “Songs and the Performance of Desire” (2002). However, her analysis involves an ahistorical ethnographic present that does not take into account important gendered changes within the genre and her texts are only presented in English, not the original Minangkabau language.

One of the most important features of song texts is that unlike popular song, including Minang pop, the texts are not firmly attached to specific melodies. Or, rather, specific tunes do not have fixed texts. In saluang, most texts are interchangeable between songs. Very few are affiliated with a specific song. The adoption of a text to a specific song may require adjustments to make the poetry fit the melodic structure. This includes two different techniques: 1) the insertion of vocables (syllables and words without lexical meaning in the context) or repetitions of particular phrases and lines.

The texts, moreover, have an element of flexibility. Many of the texts are baku (frozen), meaning they are relatively standard in form, known by different singers, repeated, and sometimes event connected with a specific melody. Other texts are more spontaneous, created in the moment of performance. Some of these use predictable formulas used to create part of a text. Others--the most engaging for audiences--are those that are responsive to the performance context, referencing specific people, responding to audience requests, or addressing something about the context. Pak Ketua estimated about 80% of texts are pantun baku, about 20% are pantun spontanitas.

The following sections will break down the structure of pantun, the kinds of pantun, the use of metaphor, all illustrated through examples from performance and interviews.
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.