Zapin

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Malaysian school children perform a zapin dance

Zapin ( Jawi زافين) is a dance form from the Arab region in the Islamic culture of the southern Malaysian state of Johor , the Indonesian province of Jambi on the island of Sumatra and in Singapore . The group dances are performed on secular or religious occasions and on theater stages.

historical development

Already in the first centuries AD, sailing ships from Arab countries landed on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula . Arab Muslims traded with Chinese merchants according to coins found in coastal settlements from the 9th century. Around 1414 the Hindu regent Paramesvara, founder of the Kingdom of Malacca, converted to Islam. The Sultanate of Malacca became the center of east-west trade on the peninsula. The originally Arabic lute gambus was introduced by traders and Muslim missionaries at the latest in the 15th century, many of whom came from the Hadramaut region in southeast Yemen . Because of its origin, the gambus was of particular importance to the faithful; it initially became the most important instrument in the Zapin orchestra. Yemenis also played a significant role in the spread of Islam and Arabic culture in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in the 19th century. Since the men came from the region of the Prophet , they were highly regarded by the population. Other influences on the Zapin dance come from India . The dance style, previously only cultivated among the Malay population with Arab roots, has spread beyond its core region of Johor to Singapore and Sumatra and has developed into a national art form in Malaysia.

Zapin dance events used to take place in ruling houses as well as in villages. Zapin dances were performed in the courts of the sultanates of the Riau and Lingga Islands from the 16th century.

Joget dance

In the 1930s and 1940s, the Zapin dance found its way into the popular Malay opera Bangsawan , which had developed in the 19th or early 20th century from the Indian cultural import of the Parsen theater ( wayang parsi ). Through the Bangsawan, the Zapin dances became known to a wider range of the population. Cultural festivals also had an effect on the further spread along the west coast of Malaysia, at which, in addition to the most popular dance form Joget in pentas joget , from the time of the Portuguese spice trade, Zapin dances could also be seen. Other dances that were performed together with Zapin on theater stages are the ronggeng , accompanied by the stringed lute ( rebab ), frame drums and gong , the mak inang and dance interludes from western cabaret programs. In the 1950s, the Zapin dance finally came out of its village environment when it was brought to cinemas by film stars.

Forms of the Zapin

In the group dance originally only performed by men, women are now allowed to participate. There are two forms of Zapin: The Zapin Arab dance ( Malay Tarian Zapin Arab ) is an energetic dance full of movement, which is mainly performed by the Arab community in Johor. Characteristic are the two rows in which the dancers face each other, push forwards or move backwards. The accompanying music in four-quarter time is rhythmically emphasized with footsteps on the fourth measure. The singer himself plays the gambus or the Arabic oud , the interwoven rhythmic structures produce Arabic frame drums ( rebana ) and small double-headed cylinder drums ( mirwas ). The singer sings in Arabic or Malay. Formation changes are indicated by the drummers who come in as a background choir with a chorus.

In Zapin Melayu or Zapin Johor , the Malay adaptation of the dance tradition, the high jumps and rapid steps of Zapin Arab are withdrawn in favor of more controlled and less expressive movement patterns. Zapin Melayu is a secular dance performance at public events; however, the dance becomes a religious event when performed as a dhikr , a form of Muslim remembrance of God.

Zapin dances are performed alongside the other Arabic-influenced dance theater Hamdolok as popular entertainment at weddings and other family celebrations. In a religious context, they have been part of the Islamic holiday calendar for centuries . These include the birthday of the Prophet ( Maulud Nabi ), the Eid al-Fitr ( Hari Raya Puasa ), the celebration of the return of pilgrims from the Hajj ( Hari Raja Haji ) and the Islamic New Year in the month of Muharram ( Maal Hijrah ).

An Indian influence can be seen in the musical instruments used. The traditional instruments for vocal accompaniment at village events are the gambus, the violin ( biola ), the Indian harmonium or the accordion , three or four small mirwas (marwas) drums and the 48 centimeter long double-headed barrel drum dok . The beats of the drum players overlap and together create a multi-layered rhythm pattern. The same instruments are used in urban orchestras and at stage events, but they are reinforced by the wooden flute ( seruling ), the vertical frame drum rebana and a humpback gong.

The music can accompany the singing voice or be instrumental. A gambus opens with a solo free rhythmic taksim , followed by the sung melody, which alternates with drum interludes ( kopak ), and ends with the movements wainab or tahtim in a new rhythm. The melodies are generally based on hexatonic or heptatonic scales.

One form of Zapin in the province of Lampung is the Islamic dance style called Tari bedana , which is accompanied by several gambus and drums. Another variation is the Dana-dana dance style in Gorontalo , North Sulawesi. This is accompanied by a gambus ensemble, which usually includes four double-headed tubular drums ( maluwasi ) played with the hands .

In Brunei, the songs sung in the old Malay pantun meter are accompanied by a gambus , whereby the singer can improvise his own stanzas in this meter. Zapin dances with pantun verses sung to them are called Zapin Brunei.

literature

  • Gisela Jähnichen: Renovation versus Formalization in zapin Music? (PDF) In: Jürgen Elsner, Gisa Jähnichen (Hrsg.): Some Remarks on the Recent meaning of Maqam in the Malay World. Muqam in and outside Xinjiang, China. Xinjiang Art Photography Publishing House, Urumqi 2009, pp. 209-228
  • Patricia Ann Matusky, Tan Sooi Beng (Eds.): The Music of Malaysia: The Classical, Folk, and Syncretic Traditions. (SOAS musicology series) Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot 2004, ISBN 978-0-7546-0831-8 , pp. 127-136.
  • Mohd Anis Md Nor: Zapin: folk dance of the Malay world (South-East Asian Social Science Monographs). Oxford University Press, Singapore 1993, ISBN 978-0-19-588598-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Matusky, Beng, p. 127
  2. Margaret J. Kartomi: Sumatra. In: Terry E. Miller, Sean Williams (Eds.): The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music . Volume 4. Southeast Asia. Garland, New York / London 1998, p. 601
  3. Matusky, Beng, p 128
  4. Bangsawan, The Malay Opera. angelfire.com
  5. Jog. dancemalaysia.com
  6. Mohd Anis Md Nor: Cari ... Cari ... Cari! Filling the interstices of music and dance in Zapin Johor. In: Mohd Anis Md Nor, Kendra Stepputat (Ed.): Sounding the Dance, Moving the Music. Choreomusicology in Maritime Southeast Asia. Routledge, New York 2017, pp. 57-66, here pp. 57f
  7. ZapiNusantara2 - Tari Bedana Sempah by Kump. Surabaya, Indonesia. Youtube video
  8. Birgit Berg: “Authentic” Islamic Sound? Orkes Gambus Music, the Arab Idiom and Sonic Symbols in Indonesian Islamic Music Arts. In: David Harnish, Anne Rasmussen (Eds.): Divine Inspirations: Music and Islam in Indonesia. Oxford University Press, New York 2011, p. 210
  9. Shaharuddin A. Rahman: Three Singers: The Keepers of Tradition. ( Memento of August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) pp. 1–21, here p. 3f