A little more about...Mak Yong

 

 

If Wayang Kulit is considered the predecessor of animation in Malaysia, Mak yong is the mother of the drama series that one ends up following over the span of several nights on television. This form of theatre, perfected over the years in Kelantan, is considered the most original of Malaysia’s performing arts, since unlike many other cultural practices, it contains unadulterated Malay roots, from the music to the dances and dialogue it consists of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is a Mak Yong performance like?

 

 

Dialogue is usually improvised, and acting, song and dance performances play out tales typically based on Kelantan-Pattani mythology, in a series of three-hour shows over a period of several days. The audience encloses the stage on three sides; the fourth side is reserved for the small Mak Yong orchestra, showcasing traditional musical instruments such as the gendang, serunai and keduk drums. A musical group called the Jong Dongdang performs as the chorus during the interludes and at the end of an act.

 

 

[For more information about Malaysian traditional music,                          ]

 

 

 

How did Mak Yong come to be?

 

 

It is difficult to trace back the birth of Mak Yong, since the art has been passed down orally over the generations, but it was initially performed in the courts of royalty. Following the 1920s, Mak Yong pervaded the lives of everyday folk as well, and as Shakespeare once said, this form of theatre also ‘hold[s] up a mirror to nature’; while the performances for royalty reflected the opulence and extravagance of court, peasants re-enacted their everyday lives and livelihoods instead.

 

 

Nonetheless, Mak Yong retains a gracefulness and elegance in its execution, from the fluidity of its dance to the politeness of its dialogue. This makes sense, considering that Mak Yong is often performed to give thanks to the spirits, to celebrate a good year’s harvest, or to heal with the aid of spiritual power. The costumes and accessories also reflect an extravagance belonging to the era when this art was at the zenith of its popularity.

 

 

 

 

What makes up the cast of a Mak Yong performance?

 

 

One of the factors that sets Mak Yong apart from the types of theatre we may be familiar with is its completely female cast, a refreshing contrast from European theatre in the past, where all actors were men. The lead is usually a woman, and only clowns and jesters are played by men. The cast is typically made up of a king (pak yong), queen (second lead), palace-girls and clowns.

 

 

 

 

Mak Yong today

 

Nowadays, performances of Mak Yong are rare to the point of being unheard of. The 1991 ban on certain performing arts containing non-Islamic elements in Kelantan all but extinguished the biggest stage for Mak Yong, making it illegal to perform in public.

 

Today, Malay dance performances such as Joget take precedence over this Hindu-Buddhist inspired art, and there are only a handful of experts still practising it. Performances tend to be shorter, with a lot of traditional elements considered non-Islamic excluded.

 

Similar to Wayang Kulit, the title of “Masterpiece Of The Oral And Intangible Heritage Of Humanity” awarded by UNESCO has garnered more awareness about the window to the past that Mak Yong provides, but that window is still quite small, and the glass blurred with age and time. Veterans have noted that, to their dismay, youngsters today are just not as interested in restoring the art due to the long and intense period of training it requires.