MALAYSIAN HISTORY & PRE-CINEMATIC CULTURE.pdf

7/25/2019 MALAYSIAN HISTORY & PRE-CINEMATIC CULTURE.pdf

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MALAY(SI)AN HISTORY &

ITS PRE-CINEMATIC CULTURE

Yow Chong Lee

Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

This OpenCourseWare@UNIMAS and its related course materials are licensed under

a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


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Learning Objectives:

To be able to:

Make the connection of the cultural interaction of

the past(pre-colonial and colonial Malaysia) with the

film culture established in the 20thcentury.

Capture thefeatures of pre-cinematic culture.

Explain the influences of socio-cultural pastto the

present filmmaking scene in Malaysia.


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PRE-COLONIAL MALAYSIA:THE GOLDEN AGE OF MELAKA


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Cultural Interaction

The dominant cultural flow was from India.

The adoption of Hinduism/ Buddhism as religiouspractices and as models for the conceptualization of

kingshipand the relation of the ruler to the ruled.


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RAMAYANASTORY TIME!


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The Arrival of Islam

The arrival of Islam changed the region

profoundly and its impact started to be felt from

about 11thand 12thcentury.

Melaka became the regions most powerful trading

and cultural centerat a time when Islam was

making a major impact in the region also contributes

to its pivotal role in Malay consciousness.


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Inclusion of Narrative in the Cultures

Those narrative (stories) were reworked, performed

and written for a long period of time.

Examples

Shadow-play/wayang version

Professionalstory-teller

version

Written version:Hikayat Seri Rama

(The Story ofRama)


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Wayang

The Tuah/Jebat story was performed by storytellers

and also by dalangin the Wayang.

Its primary stories were derived from local

versions of the Indian epics.

The Wayang technology screen, leather puppets,light source, commentary, musicarrived in the

Archipelago from South India.


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Interaction of Cultures

The elements employed in Wayangindicate

the intense localisation of Rama stories.

Two distinct audiences: Visible audience

Real audiencethe inhabitant of the spiritual

world

Dalang= director?


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COLONIAL MALAYSIA


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Cultural Development during

Pre-Colonial Malaya

Pre-colonial Malaya is a complex history of

economic, social, political, and cultural interactions,

strongly influenced by a number of waves of

temporary and permanent migration.


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Colonial Malaysia:

The influx of Migrant Workers

Malaysia (previously known as Malaya) was the colony of the

Portuguese, Dutch and British.

It was theBritish that had brought substantial changetoMalaya which includes socio-political and economics aspects.

Malaysiais the name granted to Malaya upon its combination

with Singapore and two other Northern Borneo states namely

Sabah and Sarawak in 1963.

Singapore dispatched from Malaysia and formed its self-

governed state two years later.


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Divide and Rule!

The disparity in the economy was perceived mainly

along the ethnic line, particularly between the poor

indigenous Malay and the affluent immigrant Chinese.

Malay

Indian

Chinese

Tap rubber in the Estates

Work in the Britishs tin mines

Involve in paddy plantation

What Was The Highest Paid Job?


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The Optical Illusion

It is an optical illusion, argues James Puthucheary

(1959: p. 122) by seeing the Chinese as the exploitative

capitalists who dominated the economy of Malaya. In

fact, it is really European capital that dominatesMalayas economy.


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Nationalist Movement?

For those then permanent migrants, nationalism

and national culture were concerns that related

solely to their mother countries and not to the

place they were living.

Malay nationalist interests were inhabited by the

kerajaanpolitical system in which loyalties were

localised and enforced.


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Historical Events

1941 Japanese invasion

1946

Return of the Britishwith theproposal of Malayan Union

1948 Formation of Federation of Malaya


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Invasion of the Japanese

Slogan such as Asia for Asian was instilled among

the Malays; the Indians were supported for their

independent movement; while they were hostile

towards the Chinese.

The Japanese divide and conquer policy served only

to increase the tensionsbetween the Malays and

the Chinese.


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The Return of the British

British returned with the proposal ofMalayan

Unionwhich tried to form a centralised government

that required the Sultans sovereignty to be

transferred to the British crown.

An inclusive citizenship will be given to the non-

Malays who were born in this country onjus soli

basis.


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Malayan Union

and Malays Opposition

The Malaysunder the leadership of Malay

nationalists like Datuk Onn Jaafarwere mobilized

under the United Malays National Organisation

(UMNO) with the aim of bringing the plan down.

As a result, the Malayan Union plan was never

implemented and was replaced with Federation of

Malayaon 1 February 1948.


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Federation of Malaya

The position of the Malay rulers was restored and

the special position of the Malay was guaranteed.

The immigrants had to undergo stringent citizenship

provision:

be competent in Malay and English

to reside in the peninsula for at least 15 years and

willing to declare his/her permanent settlement


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The Untold History

The coalition ofPUTERA-AMCJAwas the first

collaboration that reached across ethnic or

communal linesto demand for a self-govern state.


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People Constitution

The PUTERA-AMCJA coalition urged for

Peoples Constitution which comprises of

issues such as: nationality and citizenship,

the provision of a system ofparliamentary

democracy

the agreement that the new state would besymbolically identified withMalay culture


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Sorry, We Cant Accept People

Constitution: British

Why?


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CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTDURING COLONIAL

MALAYSIA


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Parsee Theater and Bangsawan

Parsee Theater Bangsawan

The Parsees were ofPersian origin, which was

brought to Mumbai, India

and performed in the

middle of the 19th

century.

Bangsawan is thedominant pre-cinematic

cultural form that became

very popular in Malaya at

the end of the 19th

century.


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Parsee Theater Came to Malaya

Parsee theater troupes traveled through India and

to the Malay Archipelago. It was called Wayang

Parsee.

The first performance was in the 1870s in Penang.

However, the popularity of Wayang Parsee

eventually waned because of the absence of new

materials and the local company collapsed.

Why?


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The Beginning of Bangsawan

A Penang businessman bought the theatrical

materials and thus began the first Bangsawan

group.

Bangsawan literally means of noble birth and

referred to the fact that theplays dealt almost

totally with royalty.


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How the Bangsawan Became Popular?

Its songs wereavailable onrecords andplayed onradio

A centralisedvenue forentertainment

Owned by ShawBrothers

Accessibleto mostpeople

During HariRaya,Deepavali andChinese New

YearUrban

substituteforFestivities

The use

of Malaylanguage

Commodifi-cation of

Bangsawan

Theintroduction

of

amusementpark

Amusement parks

offered Bangsawan,

opera, Parsee &

European theater,

gambling halls &

dance parlour


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The Influence of Bangsawan

on Early Malay Films

Influenceson Early

Films

Stylisedacting

Colourfulcostume

Inclusion ofsong-and-

dance


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Conclusion

The influx of millions of migrant-workers altered the

demographics of the region and led to major changes in the society.

It inevitably created sudden interactionculturally (socially)

between communities of different backgrounds.

It is the time when those stories/histories of the past (e.g. HHT,

Golden Age of Melaka) to be written and performed in the narrative

of nation.

The example of Bangsawan highlights the consequences of cultural

interactionin the construction of a localised hybrid cultural form.


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References

Andaya, B. A., and Andaya, L. Y. (2001).A History of Malaysia. U.K.: Palgrave.

Baker, J. (2008). Crossroads: A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore(2ndEdition). Singapore:

Marshall Cavendish.

Cheah, B. K. (2002). Malaysia: The Making of A Nation. Singapore: ISEAS.

Puthucheary, J. (1959). Who Owns Malaya? in Dominic Puthucheary and Jomo K. S. (eds.) (2010).

No Cowardly Past: James PuthuchearyWritings, Poems, Commentaries(Second edition).

Selangor: SIRD.

___________ (1977). Significant Changes in Ownership and Control in the MalaysianEconomy in

Dominic Puthucheary and Jomo K. S. (eds.) (2010). No Cowardly Past: James PuthuchearyWritings, Poems, Commentaries(Second edition). Selangor: SIRD.

Syed, H. A. (2008). The Malays: Their Problems and Future. Selangor: The Other Press.

Heide, W. v. d. (2002). Malaysian Cinema, Asian Film: Borders Crossings and National Cultures.

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

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