Dikir barat
Encyclopedia
Dikir barat is a musical form
, native to the Malay Peninsula
, that involves singing in groups—often in a competitive setting with instrumental accompaniment
. The Malaysian government today actively promotes it as an important part of the Malaysian national culture
.
. Where the dikir barat is performed competitively, the two competing groups will both be on the stage at the same time.
In a typical dikir barat performance, the group will perform two segments. The first is led by the tok jogho, who is often the person in charge of the musical training of the group. This first segment usually contains the more complex musical arrangements, and will likely feature the awok-awok (chorus) singing in unison with the tok jogho, as well as responsorial segments of singing, similar to what the tukang karut does with the awok-awok, later in the performance. Though musically more complex than what will follow, the first segment is seen as the "low-key" segment of the performance.
The creative leader of a dikir barat group is the tukang karut. The tukang karut is different from tok jogho where the tukang karut rhyme in a debate manner about the topics of the performance or relevance issue of for the current audiences. His ability to do this helps to uphold the reputation of the dikir barat group. Leading the awok-awok during the second and concluding segment of the performance, the tukang karut sings pantun
s—most of which are likely original and improvised on the occasion of the performance, but some which may be known to the audience. (Pantuns are an oral poetry form indigenous to the Malay region, and are not exclusive to the dikir barat.) That the dikir barat uses pantuns does not mean that it is a performance of poetry
, the rhyme of the tukang karut is in a form of pantun. The tukang karut is expected to rhyme the lyrics that touch upon life, like any poet, but he can also address social issues, legal matters, animal lifestyles, government regulations, and human foibles. The tone can be satirical
, sarcastic, or simply humorous, but above all it is expected that it be clever. The tukang karut makes up and sings lyrics on the topic of the performance (which may be pre-established or simply the choice of the tukang karut), and the awok-awok sings the same lyrics back to him. During the performance, members of the awok-awok clap and perform rhythmic body movements, which bring energy to the performance.
Historically, dikir barat performances have been all-male
. However, in recent years, especially with groups based in urban area
s, female
performers are beginning to appear.
musical instrument in dikir barat, it comprise of five main instruments, rebana ibu, gendang anak, gong, maraccas, and canang. additional instruments may be added but the harmonious tune of the main instrument must not be block by the added tunes. but most of the creative minds todays had compose a modern musics that accompanied by the dikir barat instruments or vice versa.
platform at the same time. The performance is as musical as a non-competitive performance, but the competitive dikir barat is also, according to one observer, “a duel of wits”. The tukang karut from one group will throw out a topic or question, singing it to the awok-awok, who will sing it back to him. At this time the opposing dikir barat group’s tukang karut must reply with an answer more clever than the original question, and after the second awok-awok sings it back, the first tukang karut must take the dialogue
another step higher. Essentially, what transpires is a type of lyrical debate
, but instead of scoring technical debate points, tukang karuts who regularly produce well-created retorts will win audience laughter
, affection, and admiration.
Originally, dikir barat was limited to competition between neighboring villages,
but in the 20th century, as its popularity began to spread (aided by the ability to record performances
), it became a national phenomenon. Today, dikir barat competitions have become wildly popular across Malaysia, and each year there are national champions crowned, not only for the dikir barat groups as a whole, but there also are national champion in the categories of tukang karuts and tok juara. Top tukang karuts are famous and popular, much like rock stars in the West.
The government of Malaysia now officially sponsors dikir barat as a major element of national culture, and has experienced substantial success in spreading its popularity. In order to facilitate its spread, in 2006, then-Minister of Information Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said he would encourage the development of English language
dikir barat, as English is the most widely spoken second-language in the former British colony, and could thus be shared by more citizens. The national competitions in Malaysia have been broadcast on radio
since 1993, and on television
since 2006.they sing and when the leader sings the others will follow what the lead says.
, which borders Thailand, or even from a wedding dance shared by both the Thais and the Kelantanese.
Today, dikir barat has spread to the end of the Malay Peninsula, having reached Singapore
, by some accounts, in the mid-1980s, where it is also being promoted by at least one government agency.
In 2007, a Malaysian student organization at Penn State University, in the United States
, included a dikir barat performance as part of a traditional Malaysian wedding being held on campus.
The Malaysian student Organization of the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign also performed the Dikir Barat for the Malaysian Cultural Exhibition organized in the university.
Musical form
The term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
, native to the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, that involves singing in groups—often in a competitive setting with instrumental accompaniment
Accompaniment
In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...
. The Malaysian government today actively promotes it as an important part of the Malaysian national culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
.
Description
Dikir barat is typically performed by groups of ten to fifteen members, though there is no actual set size, even in competitive environments. A group usually sits cross-legged on a platform, sometimes surrounded by the audienceTheatre in the round
Theatre-in-the-round or arena theatre is any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area...
. Where the dikir barat is performed competitively, the two competing groups will both be on the stage at the same time.
In a typical dikir barat performance, the group will perform two segments. The first is led by the tok jogho, who is often the person in charge of the musical training of the group. This first segment usually contains the more complex musical arrangements, and will likely feature the awok-awok (chorus) singing in unison with the tok jogho, as well as responsorial segments of singing, similar to what the tukang karut does with the awok-awok, later in the performance. Though musically more complex than what will follow, the first segment is seen as the "low-key" segment of the performance.
The creative leader of a dikir barat group is the tukang karut. The tukang karut is different from tok jogho where the tukang karut rhyme in a debate manner about the topics of the performance or relevance issue of for the current audiences. His ability to do this helps to uphold the reputation of the dikir barat group. Leading the awok-awok during the second and concluding segment of the performance, the tukang karut sings pantun
Pantun
The pantun is a Malay poetic form. The pantun originated as a traditional oral form of expression. The first examples to be recorded appear in the 15th century in the Malay Annals and the Hikayat Hang Tuah. The most common theme is love....
s—most of which are likely original and improvised on the occasion of the performance, but some which may be known to the audience. (Pantuns are an oral poetry form indigenous to the Malay region, and are not exclusive to the dikir barat.) That the dikir barat uses pantuns does not mean that it is a performance of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, the rhyme of the tukang karut is in a form of pantun. The tukang karut is expected to rhyme the lyrics that touch upon life, like any poet, but he can also address social issues, legal matters, animal lifestyles, government regulations, and human foibles. The tone can be satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, sarcastic, or simply humorous, but above all it is expected that it be clever. The tukang karut makes up and sings lyrics on the topic of the performance (which may be pre-established or simply the choice of the tukang karut), and the awok-awok sings the same lyrics back to him. During the performance, members of the awok-awok clap and perform rhythmic body movements, which bring energy to the performance.
Historically, dikir barat performances have been all-male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
. However, in recent years, especially with groups based in urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s, female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
performers are beginning to appear.
musical instrument in dikir barat, it comprise of five main instruments, rebana ibu, gendang anak, gong, maraccas, and canang. additional instruments may be added but the harmonious tune of the main instrument must not be block by the added tunes. but most of the creative minds todays had compose a modern musics that accompanied by the dikir barat instruments or vice versa.
Competition
In a competitive performance, the two opposing dikir barat groups both sit on the stageStage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
platform at the same time. The performance is as musical as a non-competitive performance, but the competitive dikir barat is also, according to one observer, “a duel of wits”. The tukang karut from one group will throw out a topic or question, singing it to the awok-awok, who will sing it back to him. At this time the opposing dikir barat group’s tukang karut must reply with an answer more clever than the original question, and after the second awok-awok sings it back, the first tukang karut must take the dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
another step higher. Essentially, what transpires is a type of lyrical debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, but instead of scoring technical debate points, tukang karuts who regularly produce well-created retorts will win audience laughter
Laughter
Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli, fundamentally stress, which serves as an emotional balancing mechanism. Traditionally, it is considered a visual expression of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli...
, affection, and admiration.
Originally, dikir barat was limited to competition between neighboring villages,
but in the 20th century, as its popularity began to spread (aided by the ability to record performances
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
), it became a national phenomenon. Today, dikir barat competitions have become wildly popular across Malaysia, and each year there are national champions crowned, not only for the dikir barat groups as a whole, but there also are national champion in the categories of tukang karuts and tok juara. Top tukang karuts are famous and popular, much like rock stars in the West.
The government of Malaysia now officially sponsors dikir barat as a major element of national culture, and has experienced substantial success in spreading its popularity. In order to facilitate its spread, in 2006, then-Minister of Information Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said he would encourage the development of English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
dikir barat, as English is the most widely spoken second-language in the former British colony, and could thus be shared by more citizens. The national competitions in Malaysia have been broadcast on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
since 1993, and on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
since 2006.they sing and when the leader sings the others will follow what the lead says.
Origins and spread
Sources are divided on whether dikir barat originated in southern Thailand or the Malaysian province of KelantanKelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
, which borders Thailand, or even from a wedding dance shared by both the Thais and the Kelantanese.
Today, dikir barat has spread to the end of the Malay Peninsula, having reached Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, by some accounts, in the mid-1980s, where it is also being promoted by at least one government agency.
In 2007, a Malaysian student organization at Penn State University, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, included a dikir barat performance as part of a traditional Malaysian wedding being held on campus.
The Malaysian student Organization of the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign also performed the Dikir Barat for the Malaysian Cultural Exhibition organized in the university.