The history of Malay seals unveiled in epic reference work

Source: NUS Press. Cover for Malay Seals
from the Islamic World of Southeast Asia.

NUS Press has published Malay Seals from the Islamic World of Southeast Asia in conjunction with the British Library.

This reference work describes and analyses the Malay sealing tradition, carefully cataloguing in full colour more than 2,000 seals sourced from collections worldwide, primarily seal impressions stamped in lampblack, ink or wax on manuscript letters, treaties and other documents, but including some seal matrices made of silver, brass or stone.

According to the publisher, seals make up an important element in the manuscript and literary culture of maritime Southeast Asia. They can throw light on the history of the Malay world, ranging from the nature of kingship, the administrative structure of states, the biographies of major personalities and the form of Islamic thought embraced, as well as on developments in the art and material culture of the region.

The Malay seals featured in the book originate from the present-day territories of Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia and the southern parts of Thailand and Cambodia, and the Philippines, and date from the second half of the 16th century to the early 20th century. Complete transcriptions and translations of the Jawi inscriptions are provided, bringing the seals to light as objects of literary and art historical analysis, and key resources for an understanding of the Malay Islamic world of Southeast Asia in the early modern period.

Jawi is an Arabic script used for writing Malay and other Southeast Asian languages.

Annabel Teh Gallop, the author, is head of the Southeast Asia section and curator for the Indonesian and Malay collections at the British Library. She was also co-director of the British Academy-funded research project titled Islam, Trade and Politics across the Indian Ocean. She has written widely on Malay and Indonesian manuscripts, and on the art of the Quran in Southeast Asia.
Details:

Buy the book (2019) at S$145

852 pp / 303 x 224 mm
Casebound
ISBN: 978-981-3250-86-4

Esplanade’s Pesta Raya reinterprets traditional Nusantara arts

The 17th edition of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts returns from 12 to 15 July 2018, coinciding with the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which extends till mid-July.

This year, the festival showcases the history of the Nusantara. Said Fezhah Maznan, Programmer, The Esplanade Company, “Pesta Raya has always celebrated the rich Malay heritage, arts and culture from the region, and through the festival we hope to continue forging meaningful relationships with the artists and our audiences. This year, we have works which highlight the Malay identity, with thoughtful re-imagining of Malay folklore and characters in our festival commission Alkesah, and fresh re-interpretations of the traditional keroncong and dikir barat.

"We also look back and pay tribute to the rich history of Malay dance in Singapore, with a special performance by Sriwana. We hope that many will find ways to connect with the diverse programmes at the festival and immerse themselves in some of the very best the Nusantara can offer.”

Dikir barat is a traditional musical form that involves singing in groups, while keroncong is both the name of a musical instrument and the name of an Indonesian musical style.
 
Festival commissions

• Written by Zulfadli Rashid and helmed by director Aidli Mosbit, this year’s festival commission Alkesah (“as the story goes”) re-imagines Malay folklore. Beloved characters such as Mat Jenin (the hopeless dreamer), Sang Kancil (the mouse deer), Pak Belalang (the village astrologer) and more, come together in Kampung Alkesah in a tale of misfortune, survival and secret love.

This is the first time the festival is commissioning a Malay pantomime at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, and will feature a stellar cast including Siti Khalijah Zainal, Jeff Catz, Siti Hajar Gani, Hatta Said and more. Alkesah will also see musical theatre veteran Elaine Chan and vocal coach Babes Conde working for the first time on a Malay production.

• Another first for the festival is a commission for a non-ticketed performance, GhaMuhyi: Melampaui Sempadan Ghazal, which will open the festival at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre on 12 July. This collaboration melds contemporary ghazal by the ensemble GhaMuhyi from Malaysia and the work of Singapore traditional Malay music groups Sri Mahligai and Orkestra Sri Temasek.

• Dress vintage and joget during Pesta Berpesta at the Esplanade Annexe Plaza and Annexe Studio on 14 July with popular music from the ’60s to the ’80s. The Esplanade presents Tarakucha!, a kebaya jazz performance conceived by Malaysian singer and actor Sean Ghazi. The event will feature original compositions and songs by P Ramlee, Sudirman and Jimmy Boyle.

There will be free performances by NADA (comprising Singapore musicians Rizman Putra and Safuan Johari), who will present a contemporary visual arts and sound project that specialises in conjuring up lost eras through music, as well as Indonesian duo Iramamama who will be playing nostalgic tunes and quirky sounds, from funk to post-punk music from their home country.

• Singapore-born Kuala Lumpur-based singer-songwriter Imran Ajmain, who sang the hit Seribu Tahun, celebrates a decade in music with a concert, First 10 Years, at the Esplanade Recital Studio. He follows in his father Ahmad Husaini Ajmain’s footsteps, writing for an array of Singaporean and Malaysian musicians such as Taufik Batisah, Hady Mirza, SleeQ and more. Besides featuring songs from his upcoming album, Imran will also be singing hits from the ’70s and ’80s which his father penned.
 
• Inspired by Indonesian folklore, guitarist Addy Cradle has written an epic love saga about a prince and a warrior princess. In Transcendence – The Legend of Ryu Wuri at the Esplanade Recital Studio, Addy provides the instrumental backdrop to his dark tale where visual artist Muhammad Izdi and video artist Wu Jun Han add to this multidisciplinary performance. This will be the first of three volumes that features a fusion of rock and traditional music from China, Indonesia, Japan and India.

• Trace the history of Malay dance with Singapore’s oldest Malay performing arts group Sriwana as they present Lenggang Legenda: Merintis Sejarah on 13 July at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre. The audience will be treated to iconic dances by the company that has produced the who’s who of the Singapore Malay dance scene, including Som Said, Osman Abd Hamid, Rizman Kassim and more.

The Classic Tarian Workshop by Sriwana on 14 July will be conducted by Ibu Surianty – also known as Mdm Lim Ah Choon – the Indonesian dance teacher who introduced repertoires of zapin and other Malay dances to Singapore in the ’60s.

• In their first-ever concert in Singapore, and fresh from performing on Astro’s singing competition Gegar Vaganza 2017, Dua Diva features ’80s pop diva Aishah and ’90s sensation Liza Hanim. With music direction by composer Datuk Ramli MS, who was also the judge of Gegar Vaganza, this one-night only performance will see them performing their own songs and also together.

• With 26 albums over the course of their 24-year career, Indonesian pop rock band GIGI returns to Singapore after seven years to perform classics such as 11 Januari, Terbang, Andai and Kepastian Yang Ku Tunggu. 

Screen capture from the Pesta Raya page on the Esplanade website, featuring theatre, music and dance acts as well as workshops.

• Combining Javanese and Western music traditions keroncong is widely believed to be a genre brought to Indonesia by the Portuguese, evolving to become the ukulele, guitar, violin, flute, cello and bass ensemble that many recognise today. For Pesta Raya, Indonesian composer Pak Liliek Jasqee leads his ensemble to pay homage to the musical, cultural and language ties between Indonesia and Singapore in Titian Nada Persaudaraan. Singapore jazz artist Rudy Djoharnaen will also perform familiar tunes and new compositions with the ensemble.

• The festival continues to feature programmes for the young and their families, including Walang Weh, a storytelling performance by the musicians and vocalists of RENTA Collective, Dek Hujan, a performance by P7:1SMA that combines spoken word, dance and soundscapes, as well as Kemas (a Malay term that means “tidy up”), a series of roving site-specific movement pieces performed at venues around Esplanade that examines everyday cleaning rituals as engaging and spiritual chores.

• At the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, Ceria! Konsert Si Cilik returns this year where Singapore’s Malay children's songs are celebrated in a concert featuring performers between the ages of 10 to 16.

• Over at Esplanade’s dedicated space for children and families—PIP’s PLAYbox—will feature interactive storytelling sessions by Dalifah Shahril, who will also share more about how the sarong plays a significant part of Malay culture and identity, as well as sessions where children will also be able to craft their own kuih-muih (desserts).

• Following previous editions of Dikir Battle, this year’s festival offers another interpretation of the traditional art form of dikir barat. Dikir-pella by JUARA will showcase for the first time, classic dikir songs sung acappella by some of the finest singers in the scene.

• Back by popular demand, Pasar Pesta! curated by online shopping hub LalooLalang returns with a wide range of traditional handicraft as well as specially curated food vendors selling “instagram-able” and unique Malay food items.

Details:

Tickets for Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts 2018 are available from Esplanade’s Box Office at Mezzanine level (call +65 6828 8377), the SISTIC Hotline (call +65 6348 5555) and all SISTIC outlets.

Get programme details

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The rare manuscripts and printed books of the Malay world

Banners outside the National
Library Building.

Malay has been the language of trade, diplomacy, religious discourse, and literature for maritime Southeast Asia for centuries. Tales of the Malay World: Manuscripts and Early Books, an exhibition by the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore, explores traditional paper-based Malay literature, from handwritten manuscripts to early lithographed books.

Rarely seen items - there are only about 10,000 Malay manuscripts that survive today - provide glimpses into the society that produced and read these literary works. Jawi, a modified Arabic script was used. Islam influenced the Malay written literary tradition. Loan words include "kalam" for pen, from the Arabic qalam (قلم) .

The exhibition gives a window into the society of the past, including lesser-known stories of women authors and 19th-century lending libraries in the Malay world. It also showcases the dramatic impact of printing on the manuscript tradition, and Singapore’s role as the early Malay/Muslim printing hub for the region.

Illuminated religious works generally came from Aceh, Indonesia and literary works from the Straits Settlements and Batavia (Jakarta). The Kampong Glam area was an important hub for Islamic scholars and hujjaj. This led to early printing works in Singapore to be mostly religious. The 1860s, when Malay/Muslim printing began in Singapore, put more texts into the hands of the public and spelt the demise of the handwritten manuscript tradition. 

Printers originally started printing lithographs that reproduced the look and feel of a manuscript. A lithograph is a printing method that relies on the fact that greased areas will repel ink. Benjamin Keasberry's press was particularly admired for the way it mimicked handwritten calligraphy. By the 1900s Singapore printing had declined and Malay books came in from Cairo, Bombay (Mumbai, India), Makkah in KSA and Istanbul, Turkey instead.

Images of rare books projected onto a book-shaped form at the exhibition.

The exhibition features rare manuscripts on loan from the UK and the Netherlands, shown in Singapore for the first time. Many exhibits are on loan from the British Library and the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; most date back to the 1800s. Some exhibits come from Sir Stamford Raffles' collection. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded Singapore.

Highlights include:

- A manuscript (copied in 1710) of one of the oldest existing syair (narrative poem), which tells of the war (1666–69) between the Dutch and Makassar; 

- The earliest manuscript on the exploits of the legendary Malay hero, Hang Tuah; 

- A copy of Taj al Salatin - Crown of Kings, which details the ideal behavior of kings, nobility and their subjects. The copy, on loan from the British Library is illuminated in gold, similar in style to a Quran, with is unusual given that most manuscripts were meant to be transmitted orally and therefore did not need any decoration.

- An 1811 letter from the sultan of Pontianak in Kalimantan to Sir Stamford Raffles.

- The earliest-known book from a Malay/Muslim printer in Southeast Asia, a Quran printed in 1854. 

- Possibly the second-earliest lithographed Quran printed in Singapore, dated 1869. As with other Southeast Asian Qurans, this Quran has got illuminated page spreads at the beginning, end and middle of the book. The pages were coloured in by hand. Qurans worldwide typically only have decorations at the beginning of the book.

Source: NLB. The Hikayat Nabi Yusuf.

The finest examples of manuscript illumination in Southeast Asia are found not in literary or historical works, but in copies of the Quran. Sumptuously illuminated Qur’ans were produced in certain artistic centres such as Terengganu and Patani on the east coast of the Malay peninsula, Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra, and across the archipelago from Java to Sulawesi and the island of Sumbawa.

Almost without exception, these exquisite works of art were anonymous, for Malay artists did not traditionally sign their artworks. However, in one finely illuminated Malay literary manuscript from the British Library currently on display in this exhibition – a copy of the Hikayat Nabi Yusuf, (The Story of the Prophet Joseph), written in Perlis, Malaysia in 1802 – the artist has inscribed his own name, and his comments and annotations shed valuable light on the mechanics of the book trade in the Malay peninsula in the early 19th century. 

Advertisement on the lift doors at the National Library Building featuring the Hikayat Abdullah, the first Malay work authored by a local - Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir. 

Associated events include:

I Can Compose and Recite Syair! workshop
3 February 2018, 9.30am – 11am
Level 5, Imagination Room
Facilitators: Dr Sa’eda Buang and Dr Kartini Anwar

Syair is a form of traditional Malay poetry that is made up of quatrains. Each line of every stanza in syair contributes to the formation of a unified idea or story.

This workshop, conducted in English and Malay, is focused on composing at least two verses of syair. Participants must understand and be able to speak simple Malay. 

Participants will be introduced to the functions and basic features of syair. They will also encounter various melodious forms of syair recitations based on the content and intent of the syair.

Register.

Guided tours and curator’s tours

What kinds of stories were popular in the early Malay world? How was the manuscript tradition different from printed books? Join the National Library's guided tours to learn about these and more.

2017 | 8 December
2018 | 5 January, 2 February

Meeting Point: Level 10, Gallery entrance
Time: 7pm – 8pm
The tours will be conducted in English
Free admission

Register for the curator’s tour on 8 December 2017.
Register for the curator’s tour on 5 January 2018.
Register for the curator’s tour on 2 February 2018.

Public Tours

Every Saturday* and Sunday** until 25 February 2018

Time: 1pm – 2pm
Meeting Point: Level 10, Gallery entrance
Led by docents
Free admission, first-come first-served basis 

A  chart of Jawi, a version of the Arabic script that accommodates sounds used in Malay but not in Arabic such as "ng" (ڠ), hard "g" as in "girl" (ݢ), and "ny" as in "near" (ڽ). There is also a character for "v" which acts like a و but with a dot on top.

Pencils and paper were available for those who wanted to try writing their names in Jawi script.

Details:

Tales of the Malay World: Manuscripts and Early Books runs till 25 February 2018 

Level 10, Gallery, National Library Building

100 Victoria Street

Admission is free.

View electronic versions of the exhibits

*Except 23, 30 December 2017 and 17 February 2018
**Except 24, 31 December 2017 and 18 February 2018

Singapore's PGJC calls for Malay Muslim pioneers to share stories for a commemmorative book

As Singapore celebrates its Golden Jubilee, the Pioneer Generation Joint Committee (PGJC), chaired by Speaker of Parliament Madam Halimah Yacob, will honour the contributions of our Malay-Muslim pioneers towards nation building through a commemorative book and exhibition. 

The committee will feature 50 Malay/Muslim first-generation Singaporeans in the book, focusing on stories of hope, struggle and aspirations of the Singapore’s Malay/Muslim pioneers. 

The PGJC invites members of the Malay/Muslim community to nominate deserving pioneers from all backgrounds to share their stories and to have these stories chronicled in the commemorative book. Nominations are open to all pioneers who are still living or who may have passed on and can be made until 15 May 2015, here. 

Muis shares how Singapore's first Prime Minister supported the Malay Muslim community

Muis, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, along with the Singapore Muslim community, has conveyed its deepest condolences and sympathies to Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong and his family on the passing of his father, Singapore's first PM Lee Kuan Yew, in a statement dated 23 March. 

The statement says that the late Lee helped the Malay Muslim community grow. "Among his many contributions was facilitating the formation of Muis as a statutory body when the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) took effect in 1968. He will also always be remembered for his strong support for the introduction of the Mosque Building Fund Scheme in 1975, which helped the community to rally together and strengthen this key community institution during Singapore’s period of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation," Muis noted, ending with "We join the nation in mourning the loss of a great statesman and leader. Our thoughts and prayers are with PM Lee and his family during this very difficult moment."

Hashtag: #LKY

Book captures nuances of Malay culture and heritage in Singapore

Source: Hidayah Amin.

Malay Weddings Don’t Cost $50 and Other Facts about Malay Culture published by Helang Books and supported by a National Heritage Board Heritage Participation Grant, was launched in October 2014.

The book has helped to bring more awareness about Malay heritage to the world. The collection of 42 articles about Malay culture and heritage, lifestyle and personas, customs and practices is wide-ranging and includes issues such as circumcision, wearing of the hijab (tudung), supernatural beings, the determination of virginity, and a discussion of an infamous ‘S$50-Malay-wedding’ remark that triggered a heated debate on racism in Singapore in October 2012.

Author Hidayah Amin is the CEO of Archipelago 
Consultancy, a Singapore-based consultancy providing research, heritage, education and creativity-related services. She was educated at the University of Cambridge and was a Fulbright 
Scholar at Lehigh University in the US. She was also a recipient of the Alpha Delta Kappa Foundation’s 
International Teacher Education Scholarship as well as the Tan Kah Kee Postgraduate Scholarship 2006.
 She also holds the distinction of being the first Malay Girl Guide to receive the President’s Guide Award.

The book (ISBN: 978-981-09-1051-8) is available at all major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia, and online here. Books purchased online are autographed by Hidayah, and cost S$34 including postal charges. Overseas purchasers can get it for 35 Euro, 28 UK pounds or US$45.