Today is the first day of the CNY and already the noise level at our area is super-stereo high. Firstly due to the CNY songs that they are playing (the entire neighbourhood sounds like Chinatown) and secondly the CNY lion dance troupe are going round the blocks drumming their way around the houses.
Nothing against these, very racial harmony we are but something bugs me whenever I see these lion dance troupes. Ever notice how many Malays there are in playing in that? With their dyed hair, tattoos and some of them drumming those big drums or being one of the 'lions', just kind of struck a deep chord in my mind. Do you know that the drums are made from pig skin and in order to be part of the lion dance troupe, you are also entwined with another part of their secret society world? Do they even feel a twinge a guilt or doubt when they go house to house, doing whatever they are doing, being part of some kind of ritual which they know is wrong....
It is very depressing to see them this way, I mean the kind of upbringing they must have and the fact that some of them are even proud of being part of this.
I am the kind of person that got irritated when I see another fellow Malay who should be upholding their own traditional and cultural roots but rather embarked on some other cultures that is totally not theirs. There is nothing wrong in learning about other people's cultures but I feel that you should first uphold your own culture, embark into it before exploring others....Just like in the news recently about this Malay girl who could play the dont-know-what Chinese instrument. Nothing personal about this, just that why cant she learn about ghazal, I mean there are lots of instruments out there that form a part of our culture....
Had a few friends who told me that nowadays it is very hard to see or get our own people performing our cultural arts..I mean I went to a certain orchestra performance before and I have to admit, its like hearing a thousand chickens squealing for mercy....I just cant tune my ears to that kind of music yet, went home with a helluva splitting headache...my appreciation is more for rentak zapin, dondang sayang, etc...I learn a variety of dances and there is still nothing quite as elegant or exquisite as our own Malay dance....Indian dance is far too complicated, Chinese dance dont make sense and ballet, you just need to know how to jump on your toes thats all...but Malay dance, lenggang-lenggoknya, keayuan nya dan memahami cerita sebalik karya tarian...aaaahhhhh......
I am not biased but I am very defensive and very protective of my own cultural arts. I was bred into it, spend nearly half my life with it and when I retire from it (due to increasing pressure from hubby and two kids), it was with regret that I have not fulfilled more.....
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