The Minangkabau Rabab Pasisia: Music, Performance and Practice in West Sumatra Indonesia

Abstract

This study is a detailed examination of the instrument known as rabab Pasisia Selatan and its performance among the Minangkabau, who are the dominant ethnic group in West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the first study of its kind in English and compliments two unpublished studies on the topic in Bahasa Indonesia. Although played on an instrument with the appearance of a violin, the music is indigenous to Minangkabau with characteristics shared by other local genres. It is played in a cross-bowed position in the manner of other Indonesian rebab "spiked fiddles" of which there are many variants. Chapter 1. The formulation of adat (encapsulating both the Minangkabau worldview and specifics of polity) is examined and found to be key to understanding the creativity of the tukang rabab and the context of musical performances. Adat formulation is characteristically oral and based on discussion and consensus, which affords the resulting decision flexibility and local resonance. The high value placed on localisation has been propagated as an ideal in Minangkabau adat and this ethos extends to the creative attitudes of rabab Pasisia performers. Chapter 2. This study uses a performance-based approach, drawing on the experiences of the author as a pupil and performer of the rabab Pasisia and documentation from professional players. Fieldwork methods, which combine the observation of music and the process of performing, are investigated in Chapter 3. Players of the rabab Pasisia are professional musicians hired to celebrate important life-cycle events such as weddings and circumcisions. During all-night performances the male rabab Pasisia player accompanies himself singing poetry (pantun) and extended narrative (kaba). A typical ensemble consists of a lead rabab player (responsible for the kaba) and two or three supporting singers, who bebelas pantun (swap poetry) to the accompaniment of a small frame drum. Chapter 4 looks at the events and settings in which the music is performed, including the process of organising a performance, from the moment that the player is hired, through to post-performance. The dynamics, aesthetics and creative processes involved in rabab Pasisia performance is explored in Chapters 5-8. Approaches to the transmission of both the verbal and musical elements in this totally oral art form are also examined. With regard to the words the creation of pantun (poetry) in performance is examined, as is the development of a full kaba. Examples of four kaba performances have been transcribed in the Minangkabau language and translated into English, with recordings included on the accompanying compact Disks. With regard to both the words and the music the pervasive aesthetic is one of recreation, as players prefer not to perform the music the same way each time. The repertoire, however, remains recognisable to the audience because of certain performance conventions. The fluidity/fixity of elements in rabab Pasisia performance are explored, with the help of transcriptions and musical example with a focus on the gelitik which are the rapid, repeated motives played on the rabab, the linking together of which creates a melody line.