Doctoral Thesis

A Methodological Construction Of Analysis On Mak Yong’s
Mengadap Rebab Dance To Address The Discontinuance Of
Data Using A Mixed – Method Approach

Syafiq Faliq Bin Alfan
D185441

Division Of Integrated Arts And Sciences
Graduate School Of Integrated Arts And Sciences
Hiroshima University
March 2022

Table of Content
Acknowledgement ................................................................................................... i
Abstract ................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables ........................................................................................................... viii
Chapter 1 – BUKA: UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIO-HISTORICALCONTEXT OF PATTANI – KELANTAN .......................................................... 1
1.1 Kelantan – Pattani
1. 1. 1 The Early Kingdoms – From Funan to Langkasuka
1. 1. 2 The Two Polities: Kelantan and Pattani
1. 1. 2. 1 History of Pattani
1. 1. 2. 2 History of Kelantan
1.2 Mak Yong
1. 2. 1 History
1. 2. 2 Conventions and Performance Structure
1. 2. 3 Costume and Paraphernalia
1. 2. 4 The Concept of Semangat and Angin in Mak Yong
Cosmology
1. 2. 5 Mak Yong – The Northeastern Malay Peninsula’s
Aesthetic
Chapter 2 – CHARTING THE ELUSIVE: APPROACHING MAK YONG BODY
CULTURE IN MENGADAP REBAB .................................................................. 26
2.1 Problem Statement
2.2 Significance of the Study
2.3 Objectives of the Study
2.4 Research Questions
2.5 Methodology
2. 5. 1 Criticism on Ethnography
2. 5. 2 Critique on Mak Yong’s Ethnographic Research
2. 5. 3 Pragmatism, Mead’s Social Behaviourism and Joas’
The Creativity of Action Theory
2. 5. 4 The Philosophical Foundation of Analysis
2. 5. 4. 1 George Herbert Mead’s Philosophy ofSocial Behaviour

2. 5. 4. 2 Hans Joas’ Theory of Creativity in Action
2. 5. 4. 2. 1 Situationality
2. 5. 4. 2. 2 Corporeality
2. 5. 4. 2. 3 Sociality

2. 5. 5 The Foundation of Method and Approach
2.6 Method of Research
2. 6. 1 The First Phase: Ethnographic Works
2. 6. 2 The Second Phase: Motion Capture Recordings and Analysis
2.7 Scope of the Study
2.8 Limitations of the Study

Chapter 3 – DATA COLLECTION ..................................................................... 68
3.1 The First Phase: Ethnographic Fieldwork and ParticipantObservation
3. 1. 1 On Khatijah Awang and Her Training Method
3. 1. 2 Mak Yong’s Body Movements of Characters
3. 1. 3 On Mengadap Rebab Dance Movements
3. 1. 4 Difference Between Mak Yong in Different Regions
3. 1. 5 The Case of Mak Yong Community in Raman,
Southern Thailand
3. 1. 6 Knowledge Inheritance Within Mak Yong Community
in Raman
3. 1. 7 The Travelling Mak Yong Groups
3. 1. 8 The Mak Yong – Main Puteri Relation
3. 1. 9 Acquiring Knowledge on Mak Yong’s Body Movement
3. 1. 9. 1 Acquiring Knowledge on Mak Yong’s Body
Movement
3. 1. 9. 2 Acquiring Knowledge on Noh’s Body
Movement
3.2 The Second Phase: Motion Capture and MATLAB® Data
Processing
3. 2. 1 History of Motion Capture
3. 2. 2 Optical Motion Capture System
3. 2. 3 Capturing the Dance of Mengadap Rebab andHagoromo Shimai

Chapter 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS .................................... 105
4.1 The Macro-Micro Approach for Motion Capture Data Analysis
4.2 Cultural Evolution Theory
4.3 Cumulative Distance, Standard Deviation and Velocity Graphs
Readings
4. 3. 1 Cumulative Distance Travelled by Hand and Toe
Markers
4. 3. 2 Standard Deviation Graph for X, Y and Z Dimension
4. 3. 3 Velocity Graph for X, Y and Z Dimension
4.4 Analysis
4. 4. 1 Cumulative Distance Vs Time4. 4. 2 Standard Deviation
4. 4. 3 Velocity Graph
4.5 The Macro-Micro Analysis: A Chance for Cross-Cultural
Observation in Cultural Evolution Study of Performing Arts
4.5.1 Significance of Mengadap Rebab in the Body
Movement Context of Mak Yong
4.5.2 Addressing Mak Yong Missing Historical Narrative
Through Cultural Evolution
4.6 Mak Yong as an Active Action
4.7 Conclusion
Chapter 5 – TUTUP PANGGUNG – Conclusion and Possible Future Directions................................................................................................................................... 168
5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Possible Future Directions
List of References ................................................................................................... 182
Appendix ................................................................................................................. 194

Acknowledgement

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah for giving me the chance, the will and knowledge tocomplete this study. Secondly, to my dear family, Mak and Abah, for their utmost support,
Mama and Abah for the encouragement, to my siblings, especially for the monetary
support on my first trip to Japan back in Spring 2018, and my lovely wife Nuha for being
the spring when my heart is winter, and the cool breeze when my soul is a barren desert.
I would also like to acknowledge all Mak Yong artists and informants that opened thedoor for me to understand their world. This study is for them, and their precious cultural
heritage gave upon the world. I give my utmost respect, appreciation and sembah fortheir wisdom and knowledge shared to my small existence in this mechanics we call life.
Not to forget all who had helped me complete my research tasks, Dr Muhammad Fazli,
Kosiah and Ang during our trip to Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani Campus, myfellow ‘geng ngopi’ Aaron Denison and of course, my Projek Rabak familia that I forevergrateful for their relentless support on my academic journey since day one.
Lastly, to Professor Takao Aoki and Dr Curtis Andrew Rigsby, who inspires andsupervise my research alongside Dr Masahiro Shinya, Dr Maria Gradjian, Naoe
Kawamoto, Professor Dr Makoto Sekimura, which without their guidance, I will be lostin this eternal space of inquiries.
I hope that the study will benefit those who seek to find the answer as I did.
Strive forward.
Don’t be afraid.

“Selamat malam yang di bawah jejantas,
yang di tilam empuk,yang ber-aircond atau kipas lapuk.
Dalam mimpi kita dah lama menang.”‘Bla’ by Mohd Jayzuan in Anekdot Rabak (Published by Rabak-Lit, Ipoh, 2013)

ABSTRACTi

Mak Yong, a traditional Malay dance theatre is regarded as one of theintangible cultural heritage by UNESCO since 2005. It combines ritual, music, dance
and improvised acting to provide entertainment to its crowd since days of old.
Although no documentation was found on its origin and historical narrative due to its
oral tradition, Mak Yong was recorded and studied at least one hundred years old.
However, the different periods of its study since the early twentieth century has led to
one of the problematic issues that have yet to be criticized by its scholars, which is thediscontinuance of data. There seems to be a different description of what Mak Yong isthrough its one hundred years of study. In addition, during the fieldwork in Southern
Thailand and throughout this study, fewer people could connect the early recorded
form of Mak Yong early in the twentieth century with its current form. The situation
calls for a different approach than what was done in the past for the Mak Yong study.
The limitation of the ethnographic study on Mak Yong was unable to address this issueof discontinuance or track any possible changes that happened in the period before thestudy. Due to this issue, we decided to use pragmatism as the philosophical foundationof this study as it caters to inquiry-oriented study. In addition, pragmatism philosophy
allows applying a mixed-method approach to answer its inquiries, therefore
overcoming the issue of limitation in an ethnographic study. We used the cultural
evolution concept to connect these data with the supplementary understanding of theconnection between creativity, social action, tradition and environment throughGeorge Herbert Mead’s social behaviourism and Hans Joas’ Creativity in Action
theory. Using motion capture technology, we will understand the connection between
environment, social culture and choreography in Mak Yong’s cultural evolution. In
short, we have expanded the objective of this study into five main concerns, which are
given below:

1. To understand the physical and dramatic movements of Mak Yong’s Mengadap
Rebab dance through its movement pattern data obtained using motion capture.
2. To interpret the data and connect to their cultural representation from the bodily
expression given in the current and previous ethnographic studies.

ii

3. To examine the connection between the use of accessories and costumes in thedance choreography of Mengadap Rebab.
4. To connect all past ethnographic data using motion capture data and cultural
evolution theory.
5. To examine the viability of using motion capture in the future studies of
traditional performing arts in Malaysia.
However, to test the universality of this approach, we will also use different
traditional performing art with no historical connection to Mak Yong as a comparison.
If choreography in both performing arts corresponds to the background information on
their environment, we can accept the connection between environment and otherbackground information towards the dance choreography. For this study, we will beusing Japanese Noh theatre to compare as they do not have a historical connection
based on our literary review. We used Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai as the comparative
subject to Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab. After the preliminary fieldwork, we decided
to imitate the acquisition of dance knowledge by each dance’s community member toprovide valid comparable motion capture data. Using MoCap MATLAB Toolbox
created by Berger and Toiviainen in 2013, we have chosen three elements for ourstudies. These elements are cumulative distance by toe markers, standard deviation andvelocity graph on several important markers. The cumulative distance by toe markers
on both dances shows the corresponding connection between the distance travelled bytoe markers with the performance space. The high value of cumulative distance inNoh’s Hagoromo Shimai shows how it corresponds to the big performance spaceprovided in Noh theatre compared to the small one in Mak Yong. The standard
deviation in Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai shows both Mak Yong and Nohhave less preference in vertical movement of the feet in their choreography. Finally,
the velocity graph shows the important part of the body utilized for the dancechoreography. In Mak Yong, the hands are the most important element in the dance,
which corresponds to the accessories worn by the performers. Meanwhile, the feet in
Noh becomes an important tool in expressing the dramatic choreography. Therefore aproper technique and socks need to be used to execute it as intended. From thisexperiment, we had established the universality of our hypothesis for the connection
between the environment and dance choreography. It also implies that we can connect
the past and present data on the Mak Yong dance. We understand that both past andiii

present Mak Yong shares similarity as they both regard the hand as the attractive
element of the performance. While in the past, they utilized Canggai or fake fingernails
for their performance, particularly in Southern Thailand, today, Mak Yong in Kelantan
and Kuala Lumpur use bangles to enhance the aesthetic of the performance. The
Canggai is also the element that connects the Kelantan Mak Yong to its past inSouthern Thailand and other forms of Mak Yong in Southeast Asia, particularly inIndonesia's Sumatran and Riau Islands.
During our fieldwork, we found that the Mak Yong community in Raman,
Southern Thailand exhibits Lamarckian inheritance cultural evolution with a guided
variation. Coined by Alex Mesoudi (2011: 43), it can be understood that the inherited
traits were passed after changes in the lifetime of their predecessors. Meanwhile,
guided variation is the characteristic of a process that causes a change in culturalvariation over time. It can be defined as a change made by individuals on theinformation they received due to their own cognitive biases. Through interviews wemade during our fieldwork, there is a tendency by the community members to modify
their approach towards the tradition, and this we believe will create cultural variation
over time. The same examples happen in Mak Yong's well-known personalities, suchas Khatijah Awang. She, too, made improvements and adjustments to the Mak Yong
tradition to keep it relevant to the contemporary audience in Kuala Lumpur. This
information, together with historical documentation on the banning of Mak Yong in
the nineteenth century and during the 1990s, we have a reason to believe that thiscaused the distinct variation between Mak Yong in Kelantan, Sumatran and Riau
islands. In the case of Sumatran and Riau Islands, it was exported out of the Malay
Peninsular more than one hundred years ago, which is why their style is akin to the one
recorded by Skeat in early 1900. Using the approach of Mead and Joas, we could
understand how these processes occur using available information. The changes in
Kelantan and Southern Thailand may cause by the need of the community to protect
the tradition through the ‘I’ in the individual’s self. As in the example of Khatijah
Awang, changes are much easier to occur in the community where the ‘Me’ within thecommunity is not as strong. Through this understanding, we can understand how she
thrived in Kuala Lumpur as the community was not familiar with Mak Yong tradition
compared to Pattani – Kelantan. However, Han Joas’ approach enlightens us on why
these changes could have resulted in the discontinuance of data. In one of his tacitiv

assumptions, he highlights that situationality is an important element in discussing thecreativity of social action's. Due to creativity in action that does not necessarily fit
within the means-end schema, human social action often finds themselves reflecting
and changing its course over time according to their current need. In the case of Mak
Yong, due to its roots in oral tradition, there is no way of tracking progress on thechanges made in the tradition. Over time, each generation influences the tradition andconsequently cause cultural variations to occur.

v

List of Figures

Figure 1: The Theoretical Framework ............................................................. 55
Figure 2: Ke-meng Folk Museum Chalermraja Cultural Center in Raman,
Yala Province .................................................................................. 75
Figure 3: Mok A during an interview at the
Ke-meng Folk Museum ................................................................... 76
Figure 4: Pok A during an Interview at his house in Raman 78
Figure 5: Mok A, Mr A and Ms W in a Mak Yong performance at Prince ofSongkhla University, Pattani Campus, several nights before the meeting.
(Courtesy of Prince of Songkhla University Pattani Campus) ......... 79
Figure 6: Master B held a Noh mask while Master A explained its function
to the workshop participants ............................................................. 85
Figure 7: Participants of the Noh workshop at Rimbun Dahan in the final photo session
after the final presentation during the last day of the workshop ...... 89
Figure 8: Location of 28 reflective markers used for the mocap recording .... 97
Figure 9: Motion capture session for Mak Yong Mengadap Rebab dance ..... 99
Figure 10: Motion capture session for Noh Hagoromo Shimai dance ............ 99
Figure 11: Stick figure representing the connected markers on the dancer’s body for
Mak Yong through the interface of Qualisys Track Manager software 100
Figure 12: Stick figure representing the connected markers on the dancer’s body for
Noh through the interface of Qualisys Track Manager software ... 100
Figure 13a: Cumulative distance by Toe Markers for Mak Yong Mengadap
Rebab ............................................................................................ 116
Figure 14a: Cumulative distance by Toe Markers for Noh Hagoromo Shimai 116
Figure 13b: Cumulative distance by Hand Markers for Mak Yong Mengadap
Rebab ............................................................................................ 116
Figure 14b: Cumulative distance by Hand Markers for Noh Hagoromo Shimai 116
Figure 15: Standard deviation graph for Mak Yong Mengadap Rebab and Noh
Hagoromo Shimai between the head, left hand and left toe markers 117
Figure 16: Standard deviation graph for Mak Yong Mengadap Rebab and Noh
Hagoromo Shimai between the head, right hand, and right toe markers 118
Figure 17: x-dimension velocity graph for Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab for Head
Marker, Right Hand Marker and Right Toe Marker ...................... 119
Figure 18: x-dimension velocity graph for Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai for Head
Marker, Right Hand Marker and Right Toe Marker ...................... 119
Figure 19: y-dimension velocity graph for Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab for Head
Marker, Right Hand Marker and Right Toe Marker ...................... 119
Figure 20: y-dimension velocity graph for Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai for Head
Marker, Right Hand Marker and Right Toe Marker ...................... 119
Figure 21: z-dimension velocity graph for Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab for Head
Marker, Right Hand Marker and Right Toe Marker ...................... 120
Figure 22: z-dimension velocity graph for Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai for Head
Marker, Right Hand Marker and Right Toe Marker ...................... 120
Figure 23: Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Head Marker in Mengadap
Rebab .............................................................................................. 120
Figure 24: Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Head Marker in Noh’s
Hagoromo Shimai .......................................................................... 120
viFigure 25: Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Right Hand Marker in
Mengadap Rebab ............................................................................ 121
Figure 26: Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Right Hand Marker in Noh’s
Hagoromo Shimai ........................................................................... 121
Figure 27: Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Right Toe Marker in Mengadap
Rebab .............................................................................................. 121
Figure 28: Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Right Toe Marker in Noh’s
Hagoromo Shimai ........................................................................... 121
Figure 29: Sequence for Sembah position 1 .................................................... 130
Figure 30: Sequence for Sembah position 2 .................................................... 130
Figure 31: Sequence for Sembah position 3 .................................................... 130

vii

List of Tables

Table 1: List of reflective markers and their designated abbreviation ..................... 98

viii

CHAPTER 1
BUKA
UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF PATTANI – KELANTAN

In our attempt to understand the realm of performing arts, the basis in order toconstruct the paradigm of our work is looking into its socially constructed symbolic
meaning. Either through the emic or etic approach, the ethnographic study attempts torecord descriptively the human experience of understanding the social construct or
explaining it in the native perspective of the subject. As technology advances in the newmillennium, we saw academic interest in digital humanities research fieldwork covering
performing arts. However, despite the advancement of digital data research in theperforming arts, such as those done by Golshani et al. (2004) and Aristidou et al. (2019),
the attempt on seeing performing arts as part of humanity’s cultural evolutionary progress
is not as significant especially with the lack of discussion on Mak Yong within thecontext of cultural evolution. Perhaps discussing theatre or performing arts in the cultural
evolution paradigm has been tiresome. A more recent approach, such as those of
Schechner, prefers to look into the relations and the intermixing of different activities
into another form of performance (Schechner 2003: 7). Thus, the discussion of
performing arts further deviated into different paradigms, away from the positivist
nuance. At the same time, the advance in technological tools for research in human
movement analysis made it possible to observe human biological movements muchcloser.

1

As a result, although scholars such as Aristidou et al. (2019) suggested theconnection between various performing arts in different socio-geographical contexts,
they did not attempt to extend the discussion. Thus, it leaves us with the opportunity tocontinue and explore in the future. Today, our dilemma is the disconnection betweensocial contextual analysis on performing arts and the positivist perspective of digital
humanities research. This dilemma is to be expected as both epistemological perspectives
are opposing in principle to one another. However, as the discourses between bothparadigms of academic discourse progress over the years, it is inevitable to see the merge
or inter-disciplinary approach between the two to extend the discussion for a better
understanding of the subject matter. This research attempts to combine analysis tools
from the qualitative and quantitative research approach to understand the dramatic
movement of Mak Yong’s opening dance Mengadap Rebab within cultural evolution.
This approach will examine the relationship between several essential aspects of Mak
Yong dance social construct and Mengadap Rebab’s choreography. We will visit theseconcepts used as a theoretical framework in subsequent sections. Still, before we canapproach the subject, we will need to look into Kelantan–Pattani’s social settings forcontextual understanding before moving on to past studies on Mak Yong.

1.1 Kelantan – Pattani
1. 1. 1 The Early Kingdoms – From Funan to Langkasuka
Before we begin to understand Mak Yong as our subject of interest, we need tolook into the social settings and some early descriptions of important kingdoms withinproximity to the northeast coast of the Malay Peninsula, namely, Funan, Panpan andLangkasuka. We will explore the political interactions from these kingdoms to construct
our early understanding of the ties that would probably affect the culture in the later
period, specifically to the subject of our concern; Mak Yong. Finally, we will look into
Pattani and Kelantan, where Mak Yong is believed to be originated. We will focus on its
history between the sixteenth to the early twentieth century.
Historically, the Southeast Asian region, even before the 11 th century, wasmentioned by several accounts, including the Ramayana epic where it was called
Suvarnadipa, translated as ‘Golden Peninsula’ and Suvarnabhumi or ‘Land of Gold’. The
2

Roman scholar Claudius Ptolemy through his writings in Geographia (165 AD), had alsomentioned a place named ‘Aurea Chersonesus’, translated from Latin as ‘Golden
Khersonese’. Scholars identified this as lower Burma but later redefined it as the Malay
Peninsula (Hall 1968: 15). The Chinese sources had also mentioned Southeast Asia, aport on the island of Sumatra, which was of importance for trading with India. More
importantly to our discussion, another record by the Chinese, Liangshu or ‘Liang
History’, mentioned the kingdom of Funan, located north of the Malay Peninsula, centredin the Mekong Delta. It is written that it had a Hindu court and possibly been founded in
the first century A.D. Other than this, the account had also mentioned other states in the
Malay Peninsula using Sanskrit names, thus telling us that Indian influence predates thearrival of the Chinese. The kingdom encompasses modern Cambodia, Laos, Thailand,
Vietnam and Myanmar. This is important information for our study as it tells us the early
influence on Southeast Asia, particularly within proximity to Mak Yong’s geographicalorigin, the state of Kelantan and Pattani.
Other than Funan, another early maritime kingdom in the region of our concern
were Panpan and Langkasuka. Panpan, according to various scholars, including P.
Wheatley, deducted that the area of this kingdom is most probably situated on or near the
Bay of Bandon, within the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. This polity was mentioned
in several accounts between the Southern Song Dynasty (420 – 479) and the Tang
Dynasty (618 – 907). Meanwhile, Langkasuka was also recorded between the Sui
Dynasty (581 – 618) and Tang Dynasty. Through the Tang Dynasty historical record, it
was said to be at its height in the seventh century before declining a century later. This
kingdom can be regarded as the predecessor to the kingdom of Pattani, which arose in
the next millennium.
Through evidence thus far, Southeast Asia is known to receive cultural influence
from India (Coedes 1975: 14). However, no evidence of cultural transmission can be seen
between India and Southeast Asia. One theory from Jukka O. Miettinen suggests that theprocess was possible through the role of Indian Brahmin that frequent to the region(Jukka O. Miettinen, 2008: 61-68). Such cultural transmission is also agreed by Kenneth
R. Hall for the case of court administration, although he did not specifically mention
performing arts (Kenneth R. Hall, 2011: 51). It begs the question of how this reactionary
process resulted in a rich and multi-layered art form of Mak Yong? We will now move3

to the history of polities directly related to Mak Yong, Pattani, and Kelantan to construct
our understanding of its cultural values’ historical and social foundation manifest in this
Malay traditional performing arts.
1. 1. 2 The Two Polities: Kelantan and Pattani
The past interactions between the Chinese and the early kingdoms of the northeastof the Malay Peninsula provided us with a context towards further social and politicaldevelopment in the second millennia. We understand how the impact of Indian cultural
influence on Southeast Asian social and political structure in the early periods. We will
now narrow our discussion focus to the region directly related to Mak Yong, which
consists of modern-day Pattani and Kelantan, the two bordering states between Thailand
and Malaysia. Our intention in this observation is to understand the historiography
context of the region and investigate the social context that had its impact on the local
traditions and culture, specifically towards the realm of performing arts. It is safe to saythat even within the modern context, the social interactions between the two states arestill considerably strong due to the shared history and identity. These shared social values
and identities had been agreed upon by A. Malek and Mahmud (A. Malek 2006: 142 andMahmud 2018: 250 – 251). Due to these interactions, it is natural for communities
between the two states to share some aspects of traditions and culture, especially folk
traditions such as Mak Yong, where groups practising the art existed in both locations(Yousof 1992: 16).
In terms of historiography on Kelantan and Pattani, several earlier written sources
and accounts could be considered. Due to the considerable number of sources, we will
investigate them in terms of their descriptions of political and social structure for eachstate separately and how it could give the contextual understanding that underlies some
aspect of cultural traditions in the traditional art. We will also investigate some aspectsof social and political interactions between Kelantan and Pattani that impact the cultural
traditions.

41. 1. 2. 1 History of Pattani
In discussing the history of Pattani, two perspectives can be observed; those cameout of the foreign sources outside of Pattani and the other written locally by people within
the polity. Recent findings made by Geoff Wade (Wade 2013: 63 - 64) explains a country
named Da-ni (大泥)in Chinese sources between the 16th and 19th centuries. The country
could be regarded as Pattani due to the similar consistent descriptions of the politicalcontext to other historical documents, such as Hikayat Patani. ‘An Account ofTranslator’s Institute’ or Si Yi Guan Kao (四夷馆考) and ‘An Illustrated Compendium’or Tu Shu Bian (圖書編) written in the late 16th century describe the geographicallocation of Da-ni as a country to the east of Siam. Other accounts such as ‘Account of
the Military Defences of the Guangdong/Guangxi Commander’ or Tsang Wu Zong Du
Jun Men Zhi (蒼梧總督軍門志)and ‘The Veritable Record of Wan Li Reign’ or Ming
Shen Zong Shi Lu (明神宗實錄) gave more than just geographical location. These
accounts are also concerned with the pirate activities perpetrated by the infamous pirate
Lin Daoqian, who had his base in Pattani. In terms of record on the political context ofPattani, ‘Account of the Eastern and Western Ocean’ or Dong Xi Yang Kao (東西洋考)
written in 1617 and Japanese account Tōsen Fusetsugaki (渡船風説書)written between
1674 – 1723 explains the political turmoil, such as the enthronement of a Queen as a ruler
in Pattani after the death of a previous king and the long-lasting warfare between Ligor(Nakhon Si Thammarat), Songkhla and Pattani towards the end of the seventeenth
century.
European accounts on Pattani also reflect Pattani’s political context, such as theaccount by Jacob Van Neck in 1602 and Peter Floris on his voyage between 1611 - 1615.
Jacob Van Neck’s Journaal confirms the plurality of Pattani’s social structure during theheight of Pattani as an entrepôt in the seventeenth century, evidently through the roughestimation of the ethnic group in the social network and the primary languages usedwithin Pattani. He also noted the ‘hybridised’ Chinese who dominated the trade andmanufactured while having similar numbers as the Pattani Malay (Anthony Reid 2013:16). The great orang kaya, such as Sirinara and Raja Indra Muda, are a few successful
examples of ‘Malay of Chinese descent’ given by Van Neck in his account. He also
makes some notes on some of the aspects of Pattani on sexual relations and religions.
Besides Islam as a belief predominantly embraced by the Malay, the Chinese and the5Siamese religious system was also mentioned. The mosque of the Muslim, the yellow
robes of Siamese Theravada monks and the spirit possession of Chinese popular religion
are a few discussions made by him. However, another European account written by Peter
Floris illuminates other exciting observations on Pattani’s social structure. He mentioned
the Javanese slave community within Pattani that revolted due to the leader being killed
by Datu Besar, one of the orang kaya that they served. Another interesting fact sharedby Floris were some of the social interactions made with the Queen of Pattani and other
Malay elite social classes during that time (W. H. Moreland 1934: 63 & 87). This
interaction gave him a chance to observe cultural performance by the Malay of Pattani atthat time under the courtesy of the court.
The writings by Floris certainly sparked the debate on Mak Yong’s origin theory madeby Mubin Sheppard and the refuted argument made by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof in later
years. Even though the speculative theory on Mak Yong’s origin is questionable, it is still
one of the crucial observations on old Pattani’s performing arts culture. The insights onsocial structure, ethnic relations, religious relations, and trading activity records give us
insight into how it could have affected the cultural traditions of the Malay in the region,
especially in the realm of performing arts. Material manifestation such as the use of
Rebab in Mak Yong and Main Puteri tradition is one example of social interactions
within the old Pattani’s plurality. The reason is that Rebab is regarded as an instrument
connected to the middle-eastern music and traditions (Britannica 2018, Sachs 1940: 242).
Within the discussion of Pattani’s history, we will later observe how middle eastern
influences, particularly those connected with Islam, not only had its impact culturally but
also shaped the belief and education system of Pattani towards the pre-modern and themodern era. We will now investigate the old written historical text of Pattani to observe
some aspect of social context that can be derived towards the benefit of this research.
In terms of the old written historical text of Pattani, Tarikh Patani and Hikayat
Patani are the most important to build the foundational understanding of Pattani’s past.
Tarikh Patani, believed to be written by a scholar around 1500 AD, was commissionedby the Sultan of Pattani and free of folk myth elements (A. Malek 2006: 19). The oldmanuscript documented the contextual background of Pattani, such as early Malay
culture, the kings’ lineage and the coming of Islam which is estimated around 800 A.D.
The manuscript was initially written in Arabic by a local scholar named Syeikh Safiuddin
al-Abassi before it was translated by his grandson Syeikh Faqih Ali bin Wan. He also
expanded the original manuscript with other historical sources written in Javanese and6Sanskrit and oral history and local annals. The manuscript also includes the early Malay
kingdom of Langkasuka and Pattani being a continuation of its legacy as part of thenarrative. At the same time, it also highlights the plurality of the polity, having traders
coming from places such as China, India, Arab and Persia. Inevitably, Islam was thenembraced by the people earlier on before it was then accepted by the Sultan of Pattani
and the rest of the local court nobles much later, around 1457. While the narrative aims
to highlight the legitimacy of the polity through connection with the previous glory ofLangkasuka, it also focuses on Islam as the religious principle embraced by the court ofPattani.
Hikayat Patani, the other crucial historical text on Pattani, shares some insights
on Pattani’s history, social structure and culture. The content follows the style ofnarrative akin to Tarikh Patani. It starts from the establishment of the polity, the comingof Islam, the height of its power, relationships with a foreign power and finally, its fall.
However, as with other old Malay manuscripts and annals, elements of myth within the
narrative are included, such as the story of the establishment of the polity by the first kingof Pattani, Raja Phya Tu Naqpa (ibid.). The manuscript provides insight through its
political narrative of internal and external affairs regarding the social structure. Throughthis narrative, A. Malek observed the hierarchy of Patani feudalistic social network to beconsist of:
1. The king (Raja or Sultan)
2. The royal family
3. The ministers
4. Ordinary citizens, enslaved people and concubines
5. Traders and immigrant
It is worth noting that the final social hierarchy consists of people from various origins
such as the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Portuguese, English, Spanish, Dutch, French,Arabic-Persian, Siamese, Javanese, and people from Pasai.
Another essential element within the text vital to our study is the Pattani society’s
cultural and traditional elements. A. Malek stresses its importance in enlightening Malay
cultural traditions, such as the performing arts and the Malay music known as nobat. The
sixth section of this text provided these contexts, including the description of the
instruments, the twenty-four nobat melodies, how and when it was usually played (ibid.,7

107-108). In discussing performing arts, Hikayat Patani was used as supporting evidence
by Mubin Sheppard other than Peter Floris’ account, which Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof
refuted. However, despite this shortcoming of an argument, he reaffirms that Hikayat
Patani is still an essential reference to the cultural performances and music of its time(Yousof 2018: 22).
Within Patani’s history through Hikayat Patani, the role of women ruler isprominently featured with the example of Patani’s Inland Dynasty between 1584 – 1688
(A. Malek 2006: 92), ruled by four female rulers, namely Raja Ijau, Raja Biru, Raja Ungu
and lastly Raja Kuning before the first Kelantanese Dynasty succeeded it between 1688
– 1729 (ibid.). Stefan Amirell observes through Hikayat Patani that the women held aprominent role even before Raja Ijau’s ascension to the throne (Amirell 2011: 307). In
the time of these female rulers, at least the first two, Pattani was at its height, according
to A. Malek and Amirell (A. Malek 2006: 122, Teeuw & Wyatt: 13, Amirell 2011: 305).
While Hikayat Patani reflected this success by including various traders within its
narrative, this is also supported by European accounts such as Van Neck and Floris. They
commented on the prosperity of the trade during their trip.
Due to the political stability, economic strength, and prosperity during this period,
Pattani managed to strengthen its defence despite being under the influence of Siam.
They even managed to repel the attack by the Siam in 1634 (A. Malek 2006: 125). The
following year, another Siamese expedition was about to begin but was then halted dueto the intervention and negotiation by the Sultan of Kedah (Amirell 2011: 316). The
previous attack by the Siamese force took its toll on Pattani. After the demise of Raja
Ungu and the enthronement of her daughter, Raja Kuning, in 1635, she resumed relations
with Siam by continuing the sending of Bunga Mas or golden flowers as a tributary. She
also visited the Siamese court in 1641 (ibid.). The reign of the Inland Dynasty of Pattani
ended after she was ousted by the King of Kelantan, Raja Sakti, in 1651 and installed hisson, Raja Bahar, as the Sultan of Pattani thus beginning the first Kelantan Dynasty inPattani. The text of Hikayat Patani tells the history of Pattani until the rule of Along
Yunus (1728 – 1729) (A. Malek 2006: 80). Due to the turmoil within domestic politicalstruggle and attacks by Burmese, Ayutthaya could not exert as much influence towards
Pattani (Ibrahim Syukri 2002: 67). We can observe this through the refusal of Sultan
Muhammad I to give aid to Ayutthaya in repelling the Burmese during 1776. After the
kingdom was reunified under the new Chakri Dynasty in 1782, the Siamese launched anattack on Pattani in 1786 from Songkhla, subduing Pattani and thus, tributary status8

continued. Several failed attempts were made by the Pattani rulers after this, such as
Tengku Lamiddin (1789 – 1791) and his successor (1791 – 1810), to achieve
independence from Siamese influence. Pattani was then subjected to the divide andconquer tactics by the Siamese and was divided into several districts, namely Patani,
Nong Cik, Jambu, Teluban, Jalor, Reman, and Legeh (A. Malek 2006: 130). Each ofthese districts was led by Malay rulers and one Siamese governor. Pattani was then fell
into a more significant decline in the nineteenth century. With the signing of the Bangkok
Treaty in 1909, the border of influence in the Malay states was solidified, thus further
separating Kelantan and Pattani into the modern era. After the independence achieved by
the newly formed Federation of Malaya in 1957, Kelantan was included, while Pattani isconsidered part of southern Thailand.

1. 1. 2. 2. History of Kelantan

As we have observed in the previous section, the historical narrative between
Pattani intertwines with those of Kelantan, particularly in the seventeenth century during
the first Kelantan Dynasty in Pattani. Despite having political power struggle between
these two polities over the years, the ordinary people share a similar cultural identity andtradition evidently through the existence of performing arts tradition such as Mak Yong,
Menora, Main Puteri within both states today. Migration and movements between thetwo states could be one of the possible reasons why this is possible. A. Malek discusses
the migration of the Pattani people during the invasion of the Siamese force on Pattani inthe eighteenth century and how it affected the historical narrative of Pattani and Kelantan
Malay (A. Malek 2006: 129). Other migration reports and their impacts, such as Yousof
and Pudentia, discuss the introduction of performing arts further away from the Pattani
and northeast of Malay Peninsula to Sumatra and Riau islands (Yousof 1992: 58 – 59,
Pudentia 2010: 4). We will now observe through the past research on Kelantan historicalnarrative and look specifically at how it is vital in the building blocks of shared culturalvalues between Pattani and Kelantan.
The early account connected to Kelantan is from a Chinese source, compiled
during the Sui Dynasty around the first half of the seventh century (Jacq-Hergoualc’h,229). It refers to a polity called Chitu located to the south of Langkasuka. It has been
9

cited by various Chinese encyclopedias and topographical work such as the Wenxian
Tongkao written by Mao Duanlin in the thirteen century. Through descriptions by later
works, it is hinted that the polity was established only briefly, with its report suggesting
the location is somewhere around the valley of Sungai Kelantan (ibid., 230). The Suishu
also mentions some aspects of the social structure of Chitu where it describes the court
and its people during their envoy missions sent in 607 (Andaya & Andaya 1982: 22).
During the second millennium, several Chinese accounts recorded some aspects of aplace called ‘Ki-lan-tan’, ‘Chi-lan-tan’ or ‘Ji-lan-dan-gang’. During the Song Dynasty,
Chau Ju-Kua or Zhao Rukuo (趙汝适) had given some details through Zhu Fan Zhi (諸蕃志) or ‘Records of Foreign Nations’ about a polity named ‘Chi-lan-tan’ that was under
the influence of San-fo-ts’i (三佛齊) in Palembang (Hirth & Rockhill 1911, 62). Hirth &Rockhill and Wheatley believe that the polity refers to is indeed the modern-day Kelantan(Hirth & Rockhill 1911: 65, Wheatley 1961: 71) where at that time it was under the
influence of San-fo-ts’i, a polity concluded by Cœd�s to be Sri Vijaya which was centred
in Palembang of Sumatran Island (Cœd�s 1975: 184, Jacq-Hergoualc’h 2002: 234). Laterduring Yuan Dynasty, a Chinese traveller named Wang Dayuan (汪大渊) wrote about aplace named ‘Ki-lan-tan’ (吉蘭丹) through his account in Daoyi Zhilue (島夷誌略)
during his travel to various places from Southeast Asia, South Asia to Africa in 1349 (W.
W. Rockhill 1915, 121). He described the people as “ceremonious in their customs” (ibid.,121). He also notes that the trading items include lute ( 琴 阮 ) and other musicalinstruments. The great Chinese Ming voyages led by admiral Zheng He listed ‘Chi-lantan’ as one of the thirty-seven localities he visited between 1405 to 1430 from Southeast
Asia, Middle East to Africa (W. W. Rockhill 1915, 82). It is believed that this map further
derives the Kelantan location in a topographical map of the Malay Peninsula in Wubeishi(武备志)by Mao Yuanyi, compiled in 1621 (Geoff Wade 2013, 63). The area concerning
the upper Malay Peninsula; Kelantan, Langkasuka, Terengganu and Songkhla wasmentioned as Ji-lan-dan-gang, Lang-xi-jia, Ding-ji-xia-lu and Sun-gu-na respectively.
While the Chinese accounts had mentioned Kelantan since the first millennium,
other literary sources within the Southeast Asian region also shed some light on thispolity. The old Javanese eulogy ‘Nagarakretagama’ or ‘Desawarnana’ written for Hayam
Wuruk, the king of Majapahit in the fourteenth century, had also mentioned Kelantan in
its canto as one of the polities under its influence (Gerini 1905: 495, Mahmud 2017: 10).

10

Another source came from ‘Sejarah Melayu’ or the ‘Malay Annals’. It tells the story of
Sultan Mahmud Syah, the last Sultan of Malacca, who conquers Kelantan and bringsback three of Sultan Mansur Shah’s princesses to Melaka. At the same time, he marries
one of them (Winstedt 1938: 22, De Josselin de Jong, 1961: 19, Boon Kheng & Haji Ismail
1998: 223, Mahmud 2017: 10).
The fragments of information we have observed so far only provide a small
amount of information regarding this polity. Indeed, this difficulty in historiography had
been addressed by both Rentse and Nik Mohd Salleh in their studies (Rentse 1934: 44,
Nik Mohd Salleh 2018: 103). According to the latter, the writings of Kelantan history
had been started at least in the eighteenth century (ibid., 103). Among these sources, theone important in our discussion is ‘Hikayat Seri Kelantan’. This historical text was
written around 1914 based on two historical sources, namely ‘Cetera Raja Muda’ and‘Sejarah Nik Yusuf’ by an unknown compiler. The content of this annal concern thecustoms and traditions of the royalty, some aspects of the political relationship between
Kelantan and Siam through its tributary system of sending ‘Bunga Mas’ and other related
ambassadorial activities with the Siamese in Bangkok. There are also a few descriptions
regarding the local performing arts within the text. During the reign of Long Yunus
between 1765 – 1795, there were Mak Yong, Menora and other sorts of performing artsand games during the circumcision ceremony of his sons (Yousof 2018: 24). There isalso another mentioning of Mak Yong performance during the circumcision of Raja
Tengku Sulung’s son (ibid.). Finally, it also documents the early banning of Mak Yong
during the reign of Sultan Ahmad (1886 – 1890) due to its content not adhering to theIslamic teaching (Mohd. Taib Osman 2004: 85 – 86).
The social dynamics between Kelantan and its neighbouring polities such as
Terengganu and Pattani are reflected by observing shared traditions and past politicalinteractions. Through the information shared by Mahmud given below is the breakdownof the Kelantan political period concerning its political ties with the neighbouring polities(Mahmud 2017: 11 – 48):
1. The period of unity with the Pattani Sultanate (1502 – 1554)
2. Independence from Pattani influence during the old dynasty (1554 – 1602)
3. The reign of descendants from Pattani’s royalty (1602 – 1619).
4. The period of two governance (1632 – 1649)

11

5. The establishment of the Kelantan Dynasty in Pattani and ‘The Greater Pattani’
government (1650)
6. The second period of two governance (1670 – 1713)
7. Raja Sakti II’s united governance (1713 – 1717)
8. The third period of two administration (1717 – 1765)
9. Kelantan – Terengganu War (1799 – 1812)
10. Kelantan Civil War (1838 – 1839)
11. Kelantan royal family power struggle (1839 – 1900)
12. Sultan Muhammad IV – The first Kelantan constitutional monarch (1899 – 1920)
Between these significant political periods, there have been constant interactions
between the Kelantan sultanate with its neighbouring Pattani, Terengganu and Siam.
While its neighbouring Pattani had few events of being subjugated by the Siamese forces,
Kelantan seems to benefit from its relations with Siam. We can observe this through thenarration written by Mahmud (Mahmud 2017: 39) and A. Malek (A. Malek 2006: 141).
Comparing these two narratives, we cannot dismiss the impact of Siamese hegemony on
Kelantan and Pattani despite the different nuances. The unification of Pattani, Kelantan,
Terengganu, Bedelung (modern-day Phattalung) and Singgora (modern-day Songkhla)
under ‘Greater Pattani’ during the first Kelantan Dynasty of Pattani Sultanate under Raja
Sakti I in the seventeenth century had undoubtedly become one of the foundations of
Malay social identity in the northeast of Malay Peninsula (Mahmud 2018: 250). With theIslamic education spread through literary works and the traditional school system ofPondok since the seventeenth century, it adds another complexity within the dynamismof social interactions between people of different classes, particularly to our concern
within this study is on the aspect of performing arts. We will now look into our subjectof interest, Mak Yong, and observe the past research and issues connected with suchcomplexities within the Malay identity in the northeast of the Malay Peninsula toconstruct the foundation of our understanding.
1.2 Mak Yong
1. 2. 1 History
Mak Yong is a traditional dance theatre that combines music, theatre and dance.
This dance theatre is very popular on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, specifically12

in Kelantan, Malaysia. It is usually performed by eight to ten people in a rural area, whilea more elaborate performance such as in the capital city will be performed by twenty totwenty-five members. The majority of the repertoire performed by troupes has a shared
tradition with other performing arts around the region, namely Wayang Kulit Melayu,
Wayang Kulit Siam, Nora Chatri, Manora and Bangsawan. Anak Raja Gondang isderived from Suvarnasangkha Jataka (The Golden Shell Jataka) and is a famous story
around Cambodia, Thailand, and Tibet (Ghulam-Sarwar 1990: 27). In its folkish form, it
is usually performed during a special occasion of celebrating a special event, or it canalso be done as part of a healing ceremony to cleanse a patient that was disturbed by evil
spirits spiritually. It is usually done alongside Main Puteri1, another form of ritual folk
performing arts connected to Mak Yong for such spiritual occasions. In its commercial
form, the performance will omit the elaborate opening and closing of its animistic ritual,focusing more on the entertaining aspect of the performance while having a moresignificant number of performers and a better costume. The dramatic acting of theperformance is usually an improvised one without a script due to the nature of Malay oral
tradition. The origin of this form of dance theatre or the year it was created was not foundin any written archaic source except as part of oral traditions that suggested supernatural
beings deities even as far as relating it to the prophets of the Abrahamic religion(Ghulam-Sarwar, 1992: 23). Mubin Sheppard believed that (1972: 58) Mak Yong wasintroduced to Kelantan from the kingdom of Patani around 200 years ago. According tohim, one of the pieces of evidence was the mentioning of the Nobat, a palace orchestralensemble in the Hikayat Patani, the historical accounts of the kingdom to which is now
part of southern Thailand. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof rebuked this opinion as Mak Yong
has never utilised the Nobat as part of its musical ensemble and neither shown in any
earlier historical accounts until today (Ghulam-Sarwar 2018: 8). Another historical pieceof evidence presented by Sheppard was a European trader, Peter Floris, in 1613. The
accounts mentioned on the palace entertainments offered to them during the visit.
Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof also rebuked this evidence as he argues that the description given
by Floris was not enough to conclude that Mak Yong existed as claimed by Sheppard,nor can it be taken as evidence support that Mak Yong was a court tradition. Another
Sheppard’s theory rebuked by Ghulam-Sarwar is the origin theory of Mak Yong derived
from Ma’Hiang, the Mother Spirit who watched over the rice crop (ibid.: 13 – 20). He
1

See Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof 1992: 24-32.

13criticised this undeveloped theory as Sheppard does not provide further evidence that
concretely supports the suggestion through linguistic, Malay mythology, or the semioticsof the performance itself. Despite these problematic early theories by Sheppard, however,documented historical narrative of the art has been around for quite a while throughseveral reports by foreign scholars at the turn of the twentieth century.
Frank Swettenham made the first official record on the art form in ‘A Malay
Nautch’, written in 1878. The accounts record the Muharram celebration in Penang,northern Malaysia, including the performance of a Mak Yong troupe travelling aroundthe region. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof also reaffirms this encounter as a valid case since theShiite community in Penang, and the celebration was significant to this Islamic sect(Ghulam-Sarwar, 2018: 5). He further explains that there are records of Mak Yong troupe
tour around Kedah, and some may travel to the island of Sumatra. Such occasion is also
why Mak Yong exists in Serdang, North Sumatra, in modern-day Indonesia (GhulamSarwar, 1992: 22). The art form had increased in popularity at the end of the 19 th andearly 20th centuries in that particular region. The art form also spread to the Riau Islands
to what is now also a part of Indonesia. The earliest record of Mak Yong’s existence in
Riau can be observed through a Malay poem entitled ‘Syair Perkahwinan Kapitan Tik
Sing’, written in 1861 (Darmawaan 2021: 2). In Serdang, Kedah-Perlis groups were
responsible for bringing the art form, which later on was encouraged by Sultan Sulaiman
Shariful Alam Shah (1888-1946), the Sultan of the North Sumatran Kingdom of Serdang
and Deli (Ghulam-Sarwar, 1992: 58). Meanwhile, Mak Yong in the Riau islands wasbrought by a group led by Mak Ungu from Tanjung Kurau, present-day Singapore(Pudentia MPSS 2010: 4). Today, the difference between these groups was not apparent
except for the Malay dialects used due to the different political entities under which thegroups operated. Another significant difference between them is perhaps the costume,specifically the mask usage mainly for the main characters in North Sumatran and Riau
Mak Yong, a trait not shared in Kelantanese Mak Yong of today. We will revisit thissignificant difference as part of our main discussion later.
In the early 20th century comes another essential work done by the French
ethnologist Jeanne Cuisinier, who studies the dance rituals in Kelantan through her workin Dance Magiques De Kelantan, published in 1936. The piece touches on the detailed
description of the ritual aspect in Mak Yong for the first time and suggests the origin of14

the folk tradition. According to Mohamed Afandi Ismail, in his dissertation submitted to
the Malaya University Faculty of Malay Studies in 1975, before 1926, seven groups of
Mak Yong troupes were identified as active and an additional five between 1926 and up
until the break of World War II (Ghulam-Sarwar 2018: 6). Mak Yong had also received
royal patronage and was briefly considered as a court entertainment with the support
from Tengku Temenggong Ghafar of Kelantanese royalty (Ghulam-Sarwar 1992: 23).
There was even a cultural village named Kampung Temenggung or Kampung Raja,
designated for cultural artists of all sorts of cultural performances, including Mak Yong
(Habsah Mohd Noordin 1999: 66). After the death of Sultan Mohamad IV in 1920, Mak
Yong was brought back to the villages, its original rural roots. Around 1971, thistraditional dance theatre form has surged into the attention of Malaysian art enthusiasts
with the rise of a group named Sri Temenggung 2 that, until today, still existed as a troupe,
continuing the legacy and traditions of Mak Yong. Since the first mention of Mak Yongby William Walter Skeat at the end of the 19th century, the art form has been a subject
for a few notable scholars who discussed various aspects of its performance. Mubin
Sheppard, Amin Sweeney and Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, among others, are some of theseprominent scholars. Elements that have been covered in the past include the history(Mubin Sheppard, Amin Sweeney, Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof), costume and theiraesthetics (Suriyami Abas and Habsah Mohd Noordin), Characters Analysis (Rosdeen
Suboh), dance analysis (Mohd Effindi Samsuddin), ritualistic and its animistic
background, the repertoire used in performances, the oral culture in Mak Yongcommunities and the entrepreneurial aspect of a Mak Yong troupe (Farok Zakaria andMohamed Afandi Ismail).
Today, Mak Yong has earned its position as one of the important intangible
cultural heritage in the world through the recognition by UNESCO3 since 25th November
2005. Being one of Malaysia’s most important performing arts, it is occasionallyperformed among the people, especially for the international audience at Malaysia
Tourism Centre (MaTIC) or Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur. Such recognition was notpossible if not for the revitalisation of the art through the Sri Temenggung Mak Yongtroupe. Its prima donna, the late Khatijah Awang, had also earned national recognition
through the National Artist Award in 1999 due to her contributions and dedication
2
3

Named after the Cultural Village in Kelantan, Kampung Temenggung.
Document ITH/08/3.COM/CONF.203/1, page 5.

15

towards the art. Currently, Mak Yong has become one of the core subjects taught atvarious performing art schools all over Malaysia, specifically the National Academy of
Heritage and Cultural Art (ASWARA), Mara University of Technology (UiTM),
Malayan University, and Sultan Idris University of Education (UPSI). Today, the interest
from the international community and Malaysian public has not entirely died out due toits presence through educational platforms and tourism purposes despite its ban to be
performed in Kelantan during the 90s. The main reason for its prohibition by the state
government, headed by the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), was that its ritualistic aspect
does not adhere to the Sunni4 Islam practice. In a report dated 1st of March 2007 by the
Malaysian newspaper The Star, the then State Culture Committee Chairman Datuk Anuar
Tan Abdullah reminds that the art is not to be performed in public. The exceptions would
be only for private or international tourists’ research purposes.
1. 2. 2 Conventions and Performance Structure
The performance structure of Mak Yong starts with elaborated rituals collectively
known as Buka Panggung. This ritual started off with the preparation of the stage(Bangsal), followed by placing of the instrument in their respective positions, stationing
musicians according to their instruments and the preparation of the offerings (BahanBahan Kenduri). The Bangsal is usually made out of attap and bamboo with a size of
about twelve feet and is open to all sides. Usually, the stage will not be raised from theground so that the performance will be made upon a mat-covered ground. The matcovered floor is a must so that the longer dimensions are aligned east-west. In the presentday, however, such a stage is usually made for Main Puteri ritual performances, while
Mak Yong will usually have its own larger and floor-raised stage around five feet above
the ground5.
Once the preparation is completed, a senior member of the group will act as a
Bomoh or Pawang, a shaman, to conduct the ritual of starting off of musical instruments(Buka Alat-Alat Muzik) before proceeding to the next step, the Buka Panggung to where
the theatre is ritually consecrated and opened. The last sequent after the Buka Panggungis the opening ceremony of Mengadap Rebab, where the main lead role will sing,A sectarian Islamic school of thought that has been majority accepted by the Muslim community in
Malaysia.
5
For further details, see Ghulam-Sarwar, 1992: 24.
416

followed by his or her chorus. Then there is a movement of the fingers, shoulders and the
body as they sing their part done in a slow but graceful manner. Slowly they will movearound and stand straight before circling the stage with a slow dance where one of themwill again sing a solo part. The song is called Sedayong Mak Yong. After the opening
performance ends, the show will then start. The entire sequence begins with the Raja
(Pak Yong) or the king seeking his companion, Peran Tua, after bidding farewell to hiswife (if any) and the rest of the ladies of the palace. After receiving the instruction fromthe Raja, Peran Tua will visit his companion, Peran Muda, before making a point tocome to the palace and meet with the Raja. The two will then meet with Raja at the court,
kneeling and humbly salutes before the Raja introduces himself and his identity. It is
worth noting that up to this point, the audience has not yet been properly introduced by
the Pak Yong as Raja and thus, his identity is yet to be revealed. The subsequent dramaticinteractions will reveal the story that will be told for that particular period. Usually, theRaja will unveil his intention for his invitation to the two Peran characters, usually, it is
to ask for the interpretation of his dreams or to convey his wish of wanting to go on ajourney. The following night, the story will then be continued before it will be closed at
the final night with a simple ritual ceremony instead of the more elaborated opening nightof Buka Panggung. Usually, the performance will last about three days in a rural area.
The ceremony will end with a closing round on the last day, although not as elaborate as
the opening sequence.
The performance usually consisted of a male lead called Pak Yong, where usually
they will be the Raja (King) or Raja Muda (Prince). The role can be acted by a female ora male actor, although it has become a staple for females since the early twentieth century.
Sometimes, this role can be divided into two; Pak Yong Tua and Pak Yong, where theformer would be the king and the latter would be the prince. The female lead, Mak Yong,can also be divided into two; Mak Yong, usually becomes the queen, and Puteri Mak
Yong, her princess. The same goes for the role of Peran or Pengasuh, the male attendant,
where it can also be divided into two, namely Peran Tua (The Old Attendant) and Peran
Muda (The Young Attendant). Then there is Inang the female attendant, or the Dwenna,
Tok Wak the old man, Dewa-Dewa, which is the gods and the spirits in the story, Jin and
Gergasi, which are genii and ogres, Orang Darat, the villagers and Burung and Binatang,
the birds and animals in the story.

17

1. 2. 3 Costume and Paraphernalia
According to Marlenny Deenerwan (Deenerwan 2017: 198), every nine types ofcharacters follows a general set of principles. The first is the symbol of sovereignty for aking towards his subject. This symbol is applied to the leading role played by Pak Yong.
For a king, the character requires a headgear called setanjak, a small Malay dagger calledkeris and the reed rattan called kayu bera. The second principle applied to the charactersfrom the lower social background symbolises loyalty towards their ruler. Characters such
as Peran typically embody this principle using a humble headgear called semutar. It is
usually a cloth wrapped around the head, traditionally worn by farmers on the east coastof the Malay Peninsula. Others, such as Inang and Dayang, have a similar approach tothis aesthetic where their costume is more subtle than those in the higher hierarchy. The
last two principles concern the good and evil characters. Typically Dewa characters suchas Betara Guru will don a white robe to symbolise purity. In contrast, evil characters suchas genies and ogres will have ferocious makeup with costumes suitable for the antagonist
nature.
In general, there has been a progressive transformation in the costume used by
the Mak Yong groups over the years. This transformation is undoubtedly due to theincreasing recognition given by the government and academia since the 1960s. The
material used, the decoration, stage props, and even makeup are utilised appropriately tobring the grandeur nuance to the performance. Mak Yong, in the contemporary social
context no longer being performed only to the audience in the rural area, but also thosein the city that spend tickets for their performance on a grand stage such as the Istana
Budaya located in Kuala Lumpur. The development of costume in Mak Yong seems tobe affected by two significant factors: economic and cultural conflict. Through a study
made by Suriyami Abbas on the ‘Stylistic Development of Mak Yong Costume in
Malaysia’ (2009), the costume worn by actors and actresses progressively developed as
Mak Yong groups climbed on the leader of social status through recognition and financial
gains.
However, despite this development, Mak Yong is constantly threatened by theIslamic revival movement in Kelantan, where its costume tradition does not adhere to theIslamic principle. This observation is made through the Suriyami Abas study, wherefemale characters fluctuate most. These constant fluctuations could be affected by the18Islamic revival in Malaysia in the 80s. Furthermore, the regulations made by the Kelantan
state government led by the Islamic Party PAS in the 1990s after they won the stateelection also hinders the development of Mak Yong. The regulations decree that all Mak
Yong performances will not be publicly performed unless they adhere to the Islamicprinciple. Since the ruling does not apply to the rest of the Malaysian state, Mak Yong
today is performed in two styles: the version following the Islamic principle and the one
which does not. There are several news and reports by printed media, peers and expertson the issue, where some of them express their concern on how such ruling would badly
affect the purity of art form and its survival. (Ghulam-Sarwar 2014: 200, 2018: 95,
Zurairi 2019, Babulal & Madaven 2019)
1. 2. 4 The Concept of Semangat and Angin in Mak Yong Cosmology
Central to the discussion on Mak Yong is the root of its belief system made outof several layers of belief systems influencing the region over millennia, namely
Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam on top of the local animism. Over the last one hundredyears of its studies since the first mentioned by Frank Swettenham, scholars haveapproached Mak Yong’s Malay spiritual and mystic belief system. The analyses include
elements from the spiritual healing of Main Puteri, Mak Yong or the combination of thesetwo. Ghulam-Sarwar, Cuisinier, Skeat, Endicott, among others, through the ethnographic
approach, had attempted to understand and describe the concept of Semangat and Angin,
inclusively vital to our Mak Yong study. Our focus of analysis in this dissertation is tolook at how the ideas from this belief system influence the choreography in the Mak
Yong opening dance of Mengadap Rebab.
The complexity of these two concepts begins with discussing the word's
definition. Ghulam-Sarwar contested early ethnologist definitions as they were
mistakenly translated the meaning of semangat with that of the English or westernconcept of ‘soul’ (Ghulam-Sarwar 1992: 7). Colloquial Malay language in everyday
conversation uses ‘semangat’ to address the desire to put effort or the will to dosomething or a particular activity. To cheer anyone is to give ‘semangat’ or lift the spirits
for the targeted subject to continue pursuing the action and achieve the objective intended.
‘Kata-kata semangat’ or ‘words of encouragement’ is considered as lifting words touplift the spirit of a particular group or individual before the commencement of theactivity, usually of importance to the group, company, or a person. Dewan Bahasa
19Pustaka Malay language dictionary (Dewan Bahasa Pustaka, 1996) gave several
definitions. Other than what had been stated earlier, it also means emotions, intentions
embedded in an agreement or,“Roh yang terdapat dalam segala makhluk (dipercayai mempunyai kuasa-kuasa
tertentu)”
which can be translated in English as “soul that is inside of every creature (and is believed
to hold certain mystical attributes).” However, it should be worth noting that this English
translation of ‘soul’ has its challenges. The western concepts of the human soul aredifferent in terms of its literal meaning and contextual definition. In the early attempts tounderstand this complex concept within the Malay cosmology, Skeat describes semangat
as a type of mannikin with having characteristics of ‘vapoury, shadowy, filmy’, invisible
and having a size of a thumb with a similar shape as its casing or the body it resides. The
semangat will be temporarily absent in sleep, trance, disease and permanently in death.
Imagined as a bird, semangat too can be a call or displace in another medium. Therefore,
it leaves them susceptible to malicious intentions and treatment through magic ortraditional healing. In the next section, he describes the concept of soul in animals,
vegetables and mineral ores. In brief, he explained that these souls are the miniatureversion of their physical bodies.
Meanwhile, Annandale and Robinson’s (Annandale & Robinson 1903) made abetter distinction between the concept of semangat, roh, nyawa and badi. All fourconcepts were regarded as the same in the human soul, although it enlights different
aspects, therefore carrying a different nature. The report firstly introduces the concept ofnyawa according to the Pattani Malays. The critical take of this concept is that the soul
will perish in the death of a human being. The god will then judge Nyawa, and it will bedecided if they are going to hell or heaven in the hereafter. For the newborn, nyawa isbelieved to be entering the body at the end of the sixth-month pregnancy. The second
concept of the soul, called roh, is the part of the soul that will leave the body during sleep.
Due to this belief, several cultural taboos were told, such as the unwillingness of the
Malays to disturb another man in his deep sleep to avoid the soul unable to come backcorrectly.

20

In the third entry on the concept of semangat, the authors nod to the previous
work done by Skeat in ‘Malay Magic’. Central to the approach made by Annandale andRobinson’s discussion on semangat is the contextual definition of the word by the Pattani
Malays and concerning other Malays in the peninsular. Observations were also madetowards the role of semangat concerning the culture of magic and charms in several
instances. As semangat is susceptible to magic, weakened ones are prone to disturbanceby evil spirits as they can easily enter the body with weak semangat. The cause of thisweakening on the semangat could be stemming from bodily illness, worry or fear.
Another interesting discussion pertaining semangat is during childbirth. Patani midwives
believe that semangat enters a child's body as the umbilical cord is severed from themother. A specially-made bamboo knife is used with black cotton as the ligaturing tool
for the cord to ease the process. Infringing this tradition will risk the baby having a fever
or delirium, a sign that shows the absence of semangat that could not enter the body. This
could be why iron tools were never used during childbirth, as observed during the study,
as it is believed to frighten spirits. In the last part concerning semangat, the study explains
other types of semangat in animals, plants, objects and even places. The study observed
the manipulation of animals’ semangat through magic incantation to entrap them. The
concept of semangat through this study enlights on how magic and charms could
manipulate humans and animals.
In plants, a particular focus on context was on harvesting goods such as the paddy.
Although huge jungle trees are believed to have their individual semangat, in the case of
paddy, it usually refers to a group of paddy in specific locations. By preserving semangat
padi or the sheaf in which it will be used for the next harvest, the planting and harvestingof rice continue as part of the sustainable traditional agricultural method. Thus, semangat
in this context refers to the soul metaphorically rather than literally. A disrupted cycle
through spoiled semangat padi will affect the cycle of harvest, which is analogous to thecycle of life and death of a person. Contextually, this could be why colloquial Malay
suggests the paddy to hold ‘soul’ in the agricultural harvest cycle as its importance is thecore to the activity, just like the importance of the soul in humans and animals’ life cycle.
Human economic activities hold pre-eminence to the observation in the study. The
semangat in mineral ores is explained through the role of shaman or bomoh in ensuringthat the semangat does not disturb the process of mining activities. Once every sevenyears, the shaman will be tasked to sacrifice to ease the spirit of the tin mine located at21

the border of Yala - Raman. The final discussion on semangat by the study looks atseveral other examples for inanimate constructed objects such as houses, chests and boats.
The extension of arguments made by Annandale and Robinson place the perspectives ofsemangat to the essential activities by the Pattani Malay. The livelihood from the selfbeing, agricultural or economic perspectives to the valuable goods in possession havecertain animistic values embedded within the important objects central to the social andeconomic structure. Others such as plants, trees, or forests are not seen as having a clear
definition within the concept.
The final section discusses the last aspect of the soul observed called badi and its
effects on human life. This aspect of the soul, also called ‘mischief’ by Annandale andRobinson, is a type of soul that existed in both humans and certain animals after death.
It is regarded as a bad spirit that could devour the person’s semangat or liver if anyone
dares to approach it. To prevent this, it is best that a person is equipped with a strong
semangat or learn magics and incantations to deal with a bad death or the knowledge tocleanse their hunt once it was killed before proceeding to bring it back home. Several
specific animal examples are given where badi existed, such as deer, serow, mouse deer,wild pig, hunting dogs, monkeys and reptiles. Other animals such as elephants,rhinoceros, tapir or feral cats, although they do not have badi, other terms are associatedwith it, having similar definitions although not entirely the same such as kuang for theformer and pegrung or begroh for the latter.
The approach of Annandale and Robinson separates the questions on different
aspects of the soul in man according to the Malay worldview. While Skeat does not
attempt to rectify further the definition due to the lack of material needed, Annandale andRobinson further clarify the distinction between several aspects of the human soul basedon several specific activities other than definitions through language. We realised that
Skeat's dimensions only concern shamanistic activities and their relations to the humansoul. At the same time, Annandale and Robinson touch the aspect of the soul in childbirth,during hunting, during sleep, economic activities and even material culture.
The next attempt to theorize the Malay concept of semangat was done by French
ethnologist Jeanne Cuisinier published in 1951 titled ‘Sumangat: l'âme et son culte en
Indochine et en Indonésie’. Her analysis on the concept of semangat centres around two
crucial spiritual healing activities: sambut semangat, or recalling the soul and membuat

22semangat or repairing the damaged soul. She argues that both actions have a different
ideological approach towards the soul despite focusing on soul healing. The process ofrecalling the soul concerns a particular soul while the other is on the storing ofundifferentiated sumangat. Through these activities, she analysed and explained thefluidity of the sumangat concept while at times making some comparisons with similarideas from other communities in the region, such as communities in Indonesia and IndoChina. This ambiguity with no clear distinction between the spirit world and the physicalworld sets the Malay concept of the soul apart from the western idea of the soul. However,Endicott (1970: 35) finds this analysis approach problematic, as it is hard to differentiate
between Malay perspectives on semangat from other communities. Thus, this creates animproper summary regarding the concept as the Malay’s concept being analysed
overlapping with that of other communities.
In tackling such issues, Endicott’s research on Malay Magic through ‘Analysis
on Malay Magic’ (1970) contributed to understanding the definition of semangat bycreating a structured analysis framework that approaches semangat’s description
inherently, in relation symbolically. He started his research by acknowledging paststudies' work, particularly data and definitions obtained by Annandale and Robinsonfrom the Pattani Malay. The combination of inherent and relational definitions thus
creates a structured understanding of the symbolic meaning of this cosmological concern
towards the Malay world. Adding to the discussion on the definition of semangat,
Ghulam-Sarwar provides further context on the definition through his research on
ritualistic healing performing arts of the Malay in the Malay Peninsula, including Mak
Yong, Main Puteri or Mak Yong – Main Puteri since the 1970s (Yousof 1992: 7 - 15).
He agrees that the concept is central to the spiritual healing activities of these folk
traditions, although he argues some of the previous definitions made on semangat. The
root of his argument lies within the linguistics confusion created by previous research on
the concept of the human soul, including those of Endicott, Winstedt, Wilkinson andFirth. He then proceeds to explain the etymological differences for nyawa, roh, semangat,
sokma, malaikat, penunggu/penggawa within the emic perspective of the Malay
language. The basic form, semangat, is seen as a universal life force, exists within all life
forms, including objects. He further extended the discussion by placing the position of
the human within the cosmological hierarchy as having an awareness of its existence andthe means to control this particular aspect of the soul. Through this cosmological23

awareness comes the social position in pawang or bomoh, the intermediaries between thespirit and the physical world. The role of ritualistic traditional performing arts within thiscontext is the initiation ceremony or as a bridge to connect the role of a man to semangat
in the unseen spirit world. It resulted in a uniquely different perspective of the soul within
the Malay world; roh and nyawa could not be controlled and semangat, which humans
have a certain degree of control.
Throughout our literature review, the definition and discussions around theconcept of semangat gave us several important conclusions regarding this concept within
Malay performing arts. Despite the misinterpretation with other related terms, it is always
defined as the vital life force that existed in all living and particular objects, including
minerals and structures. While other concepts also refer to the human soul, such as roh
and nyawa, the importance of semangat within the Malay traditional values lies within
the perspective of one’s spiritual vitality and how to manage appropriately. It places
humans, the man, at the centre of the Malay’s spiritualism philosophy where theknowledge could be used as good practice within the social context or malice purposes.
Although the concept holds humanity as the highest form of spiritual hierarchy within
the creation of all living and non-living things, it does not give them absolute control
over the matters pertaining vitality of the life force. While knowledge on managing thesespiritual matters can be helpful within social interactions, such as shaman by pawang or
bomoh, they could still be susceptible to being controlled or damaged within the social
constructed spiritual rule. This context gives a specific social responsibility to those whowield the knowledge either by inherited or intended learning. The role of the shaman isthen seen as the centre of all matters on spiritual vitality and healing, but at the same timecomes with the responsibility on the dissemination of culture and traditions throughritualistic spiritual healing performance such as Mak Yong or Main Puteri.
1. 2. 5 Mak Yong – The Northeastern Malay Peninsula’s Aesthetic
The path towards the understanding of Mak Yong has led us to mitigate themultiple layers of socio-historical, structure and traditional values of Malay people in thenortheastern region of the Malay Peninsula. Through various channels of literary
resources, we understand that this form of art was cultivated and infused with otherinfluences brought through on-land and maritime trading activities. Through the accountduring the Yuan Dynasty, for example, we were informed that lute-liked musical24

instruments were one of the trading items in Kelantan. Even though we could not
determine the specifics of the instrument, we can generally agree that elements such as
Rebab could have made their way to this region from the trading activities as it isregarded of middle-eastern origin. Another interesting observation is that women in Mak
Yong could also be donning the role of the lead actress, Pak Yong, that usually play theking in the story. In some instances, Mak Yong groups such as the Sri Temenggung werealso led by women. Thus, this shows the fluidity of the relationship between leadershiprole and gender within the social hierarchy of the northeastern region in the Malay
Peninsula, particularly those of Kelantan – Pattani. We could observe the evidence
throughout history that shows women had played huge roles within the higher ranks inthe social class of the society. The position of Mak Yong today reflects the rich multilayered culture of the past within the northeastern region of the Malay Peninsula. It serves
as a platform to observe its ever-evolving cultural elements in keeping up with thechanging of time. The reactionary response towards the ban in its home state of Kelantan
due to the restriction caused by the local religious authority is one of the opportunities
for observation and documentation. Despite the minor changes, however, we could notentirely disregard them as they impacted the form in several aspects such as the costume,its players, performance space and delivery method. The impact can be understoodevidently through a report in the local news (Idris S. R., 2020 and Bernama, 2020). It
will be interesting to see how these small changes will result in the permanent change ofthe art form in the future. While we cannot determine or predict, we could construct anapproach to determine the connection between several vital elements in the performance
towards the choreography of dance or its symbolic representation. In the next chapter,
we will construct a theoretical approach to this connection and narrow our scope to betterfocus on looking at this relationship within the traditional performing art.

25

CHAPTER 2
CHARTING THE ELUSIVEAPPROACHING MAK YONG BODY CULTURE IN MENGADAP REBABIn the previous chapter, we looked into the socio-historical settings of Mak Yong,particularly in the north-eastern part of the Malay Peninsula consisting of the modernday Pattani, part of Southern Thai and Kelantan, the east coast state of Malaysia. The
multi-layer aesthetic reflected in Mak Yong as reported by several scholars such as
Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof (1992: 27 & 2018: 28, 85) and Ghouse Nasuruddin (1995: 4)
can be understood as the product of social interaction in the region due to the global
trading activities in the past. However, despite various researches conducted on Mak
Yong for more than 100 years, there are still some unanswered questions due to thelimited recorded data and the nature of oral tradition within the genre. We will addressthese issues in the next part of this chapter before constructing our methodology andframework to answer these issues.

2. 1 Problem Statement
The realm of discussion on Mak Yong had been covered extensively especiallyafter 1970s, with Mak Yong’s revival through the Sri Temenggung Mak Yong group.
The main concern that sparked this study is the absence of utilizing technologicaladvancement as a new approach within the field. The exhaustive research on Mak Yongfocused on the ethnographic approach to understand the nature of this traditional art.
However, there has been a new growing interest on research in the Digital Humanities
globally. Due to the absence of such approach being implemented on Mak Yong and26

generally in Malaysia, our task will also focus on the evaluation of the method’s
effectiveness in answering the inquiries presented in Mak Yong. Hence, while the main
drive of this research is to close the gap in some area while extending the discourse, wewill also evaluate whether the implementation of this particular approach is adequate topursue in future research.
The base that forms the foundation for inquiries in this research concerns one
particular aspect of argument which is the dysconnectivity between the earlier recorded
data on Mak Yong with the period after that. Through our literature review, there arethree periods of Mak Yong research conducted in Malaysia and can be understood as
pre-independent Malaysia and post-independent scholarly work. Pre-independent
research period consisted of works done by Skeat and Cuisinier, while post-independent
research period was spearheaded in the 1970s by the works of Mubin Sheppard, GhulamSarwar, Ghouse and others later on. The two periods mentioned earlier is the time gap in
between significant research on the subject of Mak Yong. Skeat’s work in the earlytwentieth century can be considered as an early attempt to understand the role of Mak
Yong in the cultural tradition of spiritual healing and shamanism. After his attempt, lies
a thirty year gap of idleness in the fieldwork before it was recorded again by Cuisiner inthe 1930s. Research done by Cuisinier is also important as it recorded the traditional art
during the period of Kampung Temenggung’s artistic village in Kelantan. The last period
is fieldwork done after the independence of Malaya from the British in 1957. In the 1970s,
during the revitalisation of Mak Yong, other studies were done to further define thetraditional art as we know today.
Despite these efforts however, less emphasis was done to define the traditionalart as a borderless phenomenon. If we look into the definitions given by Ghulam-Sarwar
and other scholars who came after, most descriptions focused on the version of Mak
Yong found in Kelantan, that was known from the 1970s onwards and less on the preindependent Malaya works done by Skeat and Cuisinier. Some mentions and criticisms
were made on these previous works (Yousof 2018: 5 - 6). Although differences between
Mak Yong in Kedah, Sumatra, Riau, Pattani and Kelantan was acknowledged especiallyby Ghulam-Sarwar (Yousof 1992: 58 – 63, 2018: 3), further works on Mak Yong’s
borderless nature was less defined other than a general description regarding its existenceoutside of Kelantan (Hardwick 2014: 40, Lela Erwany 2020: 15, Pudentia 2010: 3). The

27

UNESCO declaration on Mak Yong as a intangible heritage has further solidified its
definition where it only refers to the descriptions on Kelantan’s version of Mak Yongand thus became problematic in understanding the form. While the descriptions on
Kelantan’s Mak Yong is not necessarily untrue, as it was acquired from the point of viewof the community in Kelantan, it nevertheless fails to address these questions in relation
to the previous research on the form.
1. Why do the costumes and accessories, specifically the use of fake fingernails
and mask in Mak Yong during the pre-independent Malaya are not being usedin the Kelantan version today?
2. What is the relationship between Mak Yong, Mek Mulung and Menora thatshares similar features such as the use of the mask for certain characters?
3. Can the connection between these traditional arts be evaluated through theshared feature of accessories and costumes?
4. Is there a connection between accessories and costumes with choreography?
These questions were constructed due to the difference between the data obtained during
the post-independence Malaysia and pre-independence Malaya. Skeat’s data shows thedifference between Mak Yong during his time where it still includes the use of the maskfor certain characters particularly for Peran. The use of the mask is also the same with
Mek Mulung except for the use of musical instruments, where the Rebana is used insteadof Rebab and Gendang. If Skeat was wrong during his collection of data, then there
should be no performing arts called Mak Yong today in Riau and Sumatra that uses themask. Report by Cuisinier also observed that the use of the mask in Mak Yong is not asprominent in Kelantan compared to other places such as Pattani, Kedah and Perlis(Cuisinier 1936: 88). There is even photographic evidence from the digital archives in
The Netherlands that shows a Mak Yong performance in Penang and Perak using themask in its performance (Lambert & Co. 1903 (A) & (B) ) during 1903. Another evidencecame from the Thailand National Archive, where it shows the photography session for a
Mak Yong group during the reign of King Rama V (1868 - 1910). Looking at theseevidences, it seems that only the Mak Yong in Kelantan which does not utilize the maskin their performances. Or at least there is a mixture between those groups that use themask and those that do not use the mask according to Cusinier’s observation in the 1930s.

28Due to these contradicting realities between the current perception and definition
towards Mak Yong and the previous recorded data, we are now in a dilemma to find otherways of data collection to determine these connections. The usual ethnographic approach
has its limitations based on our literature review:
1. It cannot address the reality beyond the memories of the elders or the inherited
memories within the community.
2. It cannot address the connection between Mak Yong’s features or elements withthat of other Mak Yong in the Southeast Asian region such as those in Sumatra
and Riau.
3. It cannot address or explain the change in tradition in the past generations.
As Mak Yong relies heavily on Malay oral traditions, it will be harder for researchers todetermine its history and historiography, if data is solely based on the point of view fromits community. After reviewing literary sources on Mak Yong, the lack of discussions on
the connection between Mak Yong in Sumatra, Riau and Kelantan within the oral history
denotes this challenge. Furthermore, the lack of joint research between scholars of each
Mak Yong variation makes it even harder to extend the discussion. It seems that the realmof discussion focuses on the ontological argument on each individual variation itself
rather than looking at the connection between them as part of the larger idea in sociohistorical sense. What is needed is an additional method to compliment the current
approach as a way to enrich the analysis process. Thus, in order to pursue and addressthese issues, we will need to find a new method that will fit these criterias:
1. The method will utilize the inherited data of the community of interest
2. It could address the issues beyond the oral memories and traditions of thecommunity
3. It can enlighten any changes within the tradition
The inherited culture within the community mentioned here includes the
structural aspect of Mak Yong performance, the body of knowledge on Mak Yong,
including its philosophy, belief system, ritual aspect, spiritual healing, among others.
While some of these aspects had been observed by scholars through ethnographic
approach, we are interested in data that could provide us with information on theembedded values that goes beyond the current state of social construct within the29

community. Specifically, we are interested in looking at the learned body culture
inherited throughout the community. As this could potentially assist our understandingof the past social interactions beyond the local oral memory. The nature of human associal animals has been thoroughly explained by zoologist and ethnologist DesmondMorris. He divided the body language learned by humans into five categories; Inborn
Action, Absorbed Action, Discovered Action, Trained Action and Mixed Action. Inborn
Action are actions that we do not need to learn and is performed naturally such as smiling,frowning or crying, evidently done by all newborn babies (Morris 2002: 5), while
Discovered Action are actions that we discover on our own, such as salute or high kick(ibid.: 11). Absorbed Action are the ones that we absorbed from our social interactionsor through our companions and it varies from one culture to another. For example, anumber of actions within the group of homosexual males (ibid.: 13). Trained Action are
actions that require efforts to learn, like turning mid-air somersaults or walking with ourhands (ibid.: 16). Lastly, Mixed Action is the combination between the aforementioned
actions (ibid.: 17). Important to our discussion for this study is the Absorbed Action,
Trained Action and Mixed Action, where it could help us understand the process ofknowledge acquisition by human species. Using this paradigm of discussion, it will
enlighten us on how body culture within the Mak Yong community was being passed
down to the next generation. More importantly, Desmond Morris explained how theseinformation is more likely to sustain within the community over generations, even though
the context will be different from originally intended due to changes within the society
such as cultural revolution. He noted,“So one must not be misled by cries of total cultural revolution. Old action-patterns
rarely die - they merely fade out of certain contexts. They limit their social range, butsomehow, some- where, they usually manage to survive.”“…We may no longer be aware of the original meanings of many of the actions we
perform today, but we continue to use them because we are taught to do so.”“…In this way, the early history of many actions is rapidly obscured, but this does nothamper their acquisition by new generations. Soon, they are being passed on, notbecause they are formally taught, but because we see others doing them and unthinkingly
do likewise.”30

(Morris, 2002: 19 - 20)

Through Morris’ explanation, we observed several issues that addressed thechallenges of depending solely on the ethnographic approach for data acquisition. Firstly,
the data collected at that particular point of time can only be understood using thecontextual background of that particular era. If there is a change within that tradition,
there is a chance that contextual knowledge of that particular aspect will be lost to the
future generation. More so, if the social institution that upholds the tradition is not
structured strongly to oversee changes within the tradition across groups within thecommunity through documentation methods such as documents and books. We have seen
this problematic discourse of comparing descriptive data on Mak Yong between that of
Skeat and Cuisinier in the early 20th century with that of the 1970s study by GhulamSarwar. Secondly, the process of institutionalizing Mak Yong after 1970s throughrigorous efforts in revitalization, documentation and introduction to higher education,
further crystallized the definition through the data that was acquired in the 1970s.
Although the ontological arguments on the traditional art helped us understand its own
definition through sharing of knowledge by its own community, it does not assist us interms of looking at cultural subject as a progressive product resulting from the
combination between social interactions, economy and social belief system. It will thenalienate itself from reality beyond the definition that was recorded and will resist any
possible attempt of socio-historical revision that is not befitting with the current oral
memory of the community. Addressing these issues is detrimental to connect all the data
we have on Mak Yong across multiple periods in the history and socio-geographicalboundaries around Southeast Asia. Without realizing these shortcomings, we areconstricting ourselves to the limits of one research method, where other potential
methods should be incorporated if it fits to answer the research gap.
2. 2 Objectives of the Study
We have now come to understand some of the important questions within the
study of Mak Yong that needed to be answered through other means than the usual
traditional ethnographic approach. However, as much as we would want to incorporate
the combination of different approaches in understanding Mak Yong, it is also imperative
to observe and consider based on data obtained whether this particular approach suits theneed to answer these questions. Thus, we have two main concerns here; to understand31

and answer questions regarding Mak Yong and to examine whether or not the use of
motion capture is viable in future studies of traditional performing arts in Malaysia.
Related to the viability of motion capture in the study of Mak Yong, we will also use
motion capture data to extract information regarding the connection between Mak Yong
accessories and costume to the choreography of its dance. The importance of thisparticular objective is not only to look at the relationship between accessories andcostume to the choreography, but it could also potentially be used to explain thephenomenon between different sets of ethnographic data on Mak Yong in the previous
studies. We will look into suitable theoretical framework to address the difference ofethnographic data obtained between these periods in Mak Yong studies, using the motion
capture data as a point of argument. In short, the objectives of this study are as follows:
6. To understand the physical and dramatic movements of Mak Yong’s ‘Mengadap
Rebab’ dance through its movement pattern data obtained using motion capture.
7. To interpret the data and connect to their cultural representation from the bodily
expression given in the current and previous ethnographic studies.
8. To examine the connection between the use of accessories and costumes in dancechoreography of Mengadap Rebab.
9. To connect all past ethnographic data using motion capture data and cultural
evolution theory.
10. To examine the viability of using motion capture in the future studies of
traditional performing arts in Malaysia.
Based on these research objectives, in the next section we will construct several researchquestions pertaining to Mak Yong that will be useful in guiding this research.
2. 3 Research Questions
In this particular section, we have identified several research questions that will
guide us in understanding Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab dance and achieving theobjectives that we have constructed for this study. The idea is to uncover the symbolic
representations of Mengadap Rebab dance through analysing the motion capture data.
While we are focusing on this particular matter, we are also interested in uncovering theconnection between the costume and accessories in Mak Yong to Mengadap Rebab’s
choreography. By doing this, we are also observing the limitations and examining the32viability of using motion capture data in future studies of traditional performing arts.
Several questions related to issues on costume and accessories to Mak Yong’s history is
also presented for us to connect previous data to have a better historical consistency andcontinuity in its narrative.
1. What is the philosophy behind the physical and dramatic movements in Mak
Yong?
2. What is the connection between the motion capture data and contextual
information obtained through past ethnographic data, oral tradition, participant
observation and interviews on Mak Yong’s community?
3. What are the patterns of physical and dramatic movements in Mak Yong’s
Mengadap Rebab that we can find using motion capture?
4. What is the process of actor training for Mak Yong that contributed to such
pattern in the dance?
5. What are the control variables of the motion capture data to observe theconnection between accessories and costume to Mak Yong dance choreography?
6. What is the core philosophy or approach in artistic expression in Mak Yong’s
Mengadap Rebab?
7. What is the social cultural context of the Malay ethnic in the east coast Malay
Peninsula that would influence the aesthetic of Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab?
8. What is the phenomenon that we can observe from the data obtained during
Skeat’s time and the current data on Mak Yong?
9. Can we construct the probable connection between the data on Mak Yong by
Skeat with that of the current Mak Yong?
10. Why does the present Mak Yong no longer use the mask and certain accessories
in its performance?
11. What are the drawbacks of using motion capture in performance analysis?
12. What are the limitations of using motion capture in designing research approach?
13. What is the extent of replicability on the use of motion capture in traditional
performing arts research or experiments?
14. What are the recommendations for future studies using motion capture?
2. 4 Methodology
2. 4. 1 Criticisms on Ethnography
33

Before we begin the construction of our approach, we will need to address thebiggest challenge of our research design, which is evaluating the relevancy on the use of
mixed method research that is not commonly seen in previous researches on Mak Yong.
Our focus will be on the discussion of previous research methodology done by thepredecessors of Mak Yong scholars, notably by Skeat, Cuisinier, Ghouse and GhulamSarwar, who only used the ethnography approach. The ethnography approach bydefinition has its roots in the nineteenth western anthropology where it was used as a
descriptive account on communities outside of the Western culture (Hammersley &Atkinson 2007: 1). Brewer defined ethnography as both a method, as in data collection
technique and a methodology (Brewer 1994: 232). While Landis & Macaulay in thecultural study context defined it as “to notate everyday live through the descriptive
analysis of culture in intense communication with other.” (Landis & Macaulay 2017: 38).
In principle, ethnography is a term that refers to a qualitative research approach that seeks
to notate the everyday life of a community, organisation or a group of people. Among its
features as suggested by Hammersley & Atkinson are its ‘unstructured’ data collection
as it is not based on predetermined variables, like experimental laboratory research
design (Hammersley & Atkinson 2007: 3). The focus of its analysis is basically on
various aspects of social life including meaning, functions, actions by the member ofcommunity, institutional practices and how these aspects impact the livelihood or social
dynamics of the community in observation. Due to its nature of focusing on a particularcommunity, the result of this approach are often an exploratory, in-depth and descriptive
where it will usually take a considerable amount of time spent on the subject. Other thandata gathered through interviews, whether structured or non-structured, documentationof evidence in various mediums can be considered with supplementary of quantitative or
statistical analysis where applicable (ibid., Fetterman 2010: 9). The use of quantitativeor statistical analysis however, plays a smaller role in this context.
Over the years, it has received various criticisms by various scholars whether it’sfrom positivist scholars within the social science or the proponents of the approach suchas Hammersley and Wolcott, to name a few (Hammersley 1992 & Wolcott 2009).
Despite these criticisms, scholars such as Brewer defended ethnography whileenlightening some of its strengths and weaknesses, as the method should be reconstructed
rather than deconstructed and should not be utilized at all (Brewer 1994: 234 - 235).
According to him, the ‘ethnographic critique on ethnography’, focused on two pillars of34

discussion, which are the reliability of data and the deconstructed social artefacts of
ethnographic text. Thus, in defence to ethnography, it will still provide us with someinsight to subjects given that scholars had assessed a considerable amount of loopholes
within the research design that will invalidate their findings and experience due to gaps
created by un-addressed biases. Hammerseley and Atkinson reiterated the importance ofreflexivity of one’s own ethnographic analysis as inadvertently researchers themselves
are subjected to the social dynamics within the social fieldwork and part of theinteractions as well (Hammersley and Atkinson 2007: 17). The criticisms made on
ethnography by its proponents are not intended to dismiss the approach, but rather toreconstruct ethnography through good practices. Brewer addressed these good practices
that should be implemented and considered prior to their analysis. For example, thegrounds where generalizations were made, theoretical framework, reasons behind thechosen subjects, establishing researcher’s integrity through outlining several aspects
within the research fieldwork, establishing the authority of data and address thecomplexity of data presented (Brewer 1994: 235 – 236). Due to the absence of theseelements presented by Brewer in past studies on Mak Yong, we will evaluate thediscontinuity observed between data from various scholars in defining Mak Yong’s
existence in terms of its form, structure, culture and conventions.
2. 4. 2 Critique on Mak Yong’s Ethnographic Research
In essence, as stated previously, the drive for this study is the inconsistency ofdata throughout Mak Yong’s history. While ethnographic approach had addressed someof its philosophy, beliefs and performance structure, it fails to look into the aspect ofchanges within the form throughout the years since it was first observed over hundredyears ago. Even as of today, the tradition is still being challenged by the local Islamic
authority in Kelantan, unless it adheres to Sunni Islamic practices (Bernama 2019). Yetagain in a recent development, it underwent a slight change in its form where someconventions were not followed due to the pressure from the local religious authority in
Kelantan(Siti Rohana Idris 2020). Here lies the problematic discourse, where someobservers, such as Eddin Khoo of Pusaka (NGO), argues that the change of Mak Yong’s
convention and form will discount Mak Yong’s true aesthetic and representation of its
community (Nabihah Hamid 2019). This may be true in definition if the situation today
is in relation to the definition given by Ghulam-Sarwar on Mak Yong, since his research

35

started in the 1970s. But what about data recorded by Skeat in the earlier part of thetwentieth century?
If we take the ethnographic data by Skeat and compare this with Mak Yong today,
we will notice that Mak Yong underwent changes where it no longer utilizes the mask
nor uses certain accessories for certain characters. If this is the basis of our argument in
defining Mak Yong, then we will risk avoiding the nature of culture that changes withtime. Our role today is to understand this evolving nature in performing arts rather thandefining it solely based on previous research. The understanding of Mak Yong’s social
construct is important for our basis in understanding the ontology of this traditional art.
Without which, we will not be able to understand the full nature of changes within
tradition which is equally important. Previous studies focused more on explaining
various essential aspects of Mak Yong, whereas this study focuses on integrating various
data throughout Mak Yong’s history and past researches to have a better understandingon the nature of this art. This study is not interested to capture the data and explore its
representation of social construct in this particular period, but rather understanding theprocess behind its evolution that resulted in the form as we know today. As Landis andMacaulay stated on tradition,“We often think that tradition is fixed and rooted in the distant past. Resist thisnotion. Just as your traditions are mutable and changing based on circumstances, so too
are many of the performance-based traditions that are discussed in this book. While
tradition, as Hobsbawm notes, is often rooted in an implied connectedness to the past,
remember that all tradition is change and evolution.”(Landis & Macaulay, 2017: 13)
This is the reason why using the ethnography approach alone will not be adequately
enough to address these objectives, as it can only explain the current state of the art.
Using the pragmatism paradigm supplemented by Cultural Evolution theory, the research
design of this study considers the evolving nature of tradition to address some of theissues explained earlier. The framework will observe Mak Yong as an evolving tradition
that reacts with changes in society and attempting to find ways to look into theevolutionary process that contributes to its change, integrating past researches data as
context. Through this theoretical framework, we will analyze the natural process that36

occurred within the fieldwork that has changed the tradition and its community evidently
through missing links between two distinct forms (the masked and un-masked style) of
Mak Yong. Due to absence in attempting to address these issues in the past, it is mostpractical to use pragmatism as the paradigm of discussion supplemented by ethnography
approach as one of its methods in acquiring data. In addition to the use of motion capture
technology and cultural evolution theory to analyze the data patterns within the context
of connection between the choreography and accessories or costumes. We will now visit
Pragmatism as a philosophical paradigm and cultural evolution theory as a supplemented
theoretical framework.
2. 4. 3 Pragmatism, Mead’s Social Behaviourism and Joas’ The Creativity of Action
TheoryWe have now understood that the discontinuance of data between different
periods within Mak Yong’s historical narrative was due to the disengagement by scholars
on the fact that traditions had always been volatile or susceptible to change throughout
time. By approaching Mak Yong and uncovering its ontological discussions, they haveinstead recorded the tradition within a specific point in a particular period. In this study,
we are now left with two major philosophical concerns in approaching this problem; thediscourse on Mak Yong artists’ social interactions and method on finding the connection
between accessories or costumes with the choreography of Mengadap Rebab. Whileinquiries pertaining to Mak Yong artists’ social interactions are qualitative in nature, theother half of our concern, which is the connection between accessories or costumes withdance choreography, can be seen through their visual and physical representations. These
representations can be approached in several ways; traditionally Laban notation can beused as a tool to observe dance choreography. A more recent trend in dance research
approach within digital humanities has seen some applications of using Motion Capture
technology. This real time-based technology recorded 3D locations of reflective markers
where its applications range from reproductions in animation, digital library, andedutainment purposes. This quantitative research approach of using digital data in motion
capture adds another dimension within our concern on the appropriate paradigm for thisstudy. Due to the need of integrating qualitative and quantitative approach to answer
research questions of this study, mixed-method methodology is the most appropriate forour endeavor.

37

Mixed-Method research design is regarded as the third approach within the social
sciences. The other two being, qualitative and quantitative design; which have beenutilized much earlier within the social science community (Teddlie & Tashakkori 2009:11). The approach combines aspects of qualitative and quantitative approach through the
integration of statistical and thematic data analysis (ibid.: 14). It is often associated,
although not necessarily, with the philosophy of pragmatism where the central discussion
revolves around a pragmatic approach to answer research questions (ibid.: 14). Whilequalitative and quantitative research centralizes on the sense of finding the ‘truth’, mixedmethod research is based on pragmatism as its philosophical drive focuses on a practical
approach in answering research questions. The classic Pragmatism as a philosophicaltradition originated in America after the period of civil war around 1870 (Legg &Hookway 2020). According to Cornel West, its early foundations were laid by Charles
Sanders Peirce (1839 - 1914) and William James (1842 - 1910), later influenced by theRalph Waldo Emerson’s (1803 – 1882) theodicy and his evasion from modern
philosophy in the mid-nineteenth century (Legg & Hookway 2020 and West 1989: 43).
The focus of Peirce’s pragmatism centers on scientific method where its threefundamental claims are as follows (West 1989: 43):
1. Scientific method is the most reasonable path to arrive at warranted and valid
beliefs.
2. Together with functioning habit (i.e beliefs, doubts), scientific method is a selfcorrecting and communal process where its objective is the settlement of opinion.
3. The truth within the scientific quest is linked but should not be reduced to the
pursuit of developing concrete reasonableness.
Despite James and Peirce’s shared attitude towards Emersonian evasion on
epistemological-centered philosophy, their discussion on pragmatism centered aroundindividualism and moral lives where preference on adherence to a certain vision and wayof life is the motivation of discourse (West 1989: 55). Another significant contribution
in the development of classical Pragmatism was made by the second generation ofpragmatist namely John Dewey (1859 - 1952), who was regarded by the West as theAmerican Hegel and Marx due to his articulation on pragmatism and engagement (ibid.
69). This is clearly seen from his early writings that exhibit Hegelianism, although his
philosophy evolved throughout his career to include influences from the natural sciences38years on (Bacon 2012: 82). Legg & Hookway on the other hand saw Dewey’s expansionof influence particularly towards politics, education, and other social improvements,
together with his friend Jane Addams. Addams later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
through her invention of social work stemming from pragmatism philosophy (Legg &Hookway 2020). During the third generation of pragmatists such as C. I. Lewis and W.V.
O. Quine, some influences of analytic philosophy were seen due to the decline ofpreference on Pragmatism over analytic philosophy as the US moved into the cold war(ibid.).
After the 1970s, Pragmatism again received attention and Richard Rorty (1931 –
2007) was among the contributors of this period where he turned to pragmatism andcritically argued the mainstream’s epistemology that saw language and thought torepresent the real world (ibid.). His contribution towards pragmatism led to the birth ofneopragmatism of which recent philosophers such as Hillary Putnam, Robert Brandon
and Huw Price received its influence. However, other contemporary pragmatists orreferred to as New Pragmatists such as Susan Haack, Christopher Hookway and Cheryl
Misak had critical views over Rorty’s neopragmatism and sought to classical pragmatism
notion on objectivity instead. While Rorty’s neopragmatism stands on the affirmationthat there is no truth or objectivity but solidarity within a community, she argued thattruth is crucial in human debates and inquiries, without which there could be discourse
at all due to the absence of disagreement and conversation (Cheryl Misak 2007: 1-5).
Thus, Misak’s objectivity or truth is only a means towards inquiry. The pillars of new
pragmatists according to her are given as below (ibid.: 2-4):
1. Standards of objectivity evolve, and this ontological nature does not detract
itself from its own objectivity.
2. Knowledge has no certain foundations.
3. Keeping philosophy connected to its practicality for inquiry, real examples,or expertise.
Indeed, these critical discussions and differences of opinion among pragmatists
caused some of the commentators to regard pragmatism as having no single doctrine or
tradition at all (Bacon 2012: 31). However diverse pragmatist might be, pragmatism
approach and application for this study is undeniably crucial for us to adopt in answering
the inquiries listed prior. Previous adoption of ethnography as research design had
39enabled us to access the information on Mak Yong. Due to the constant use of similar
approach in research design, we are now left with the dilemma of discontinuity in dataobtained. Thus showing one of the disadvantages of using ethnography over multiple
case studies across several periods. If we are keen to use the same ethnographic research
design to answer these inquiries on the discontinuity of data, it will be problematic toaddress as the community’s memory has its own limitation in relation to the period ofdata originated. While certainly the use of ethnographic paradigm will paint us the
picture of the subject under study and their social construct, it may not be practical toconnect the data obtained from the subject under study with earlier ones.
Our attitude towards ethnography as an approach in understanding Mak Yong is
not dismissive. Rather, it is a critical view towards its practicality in answering thequestion on the nature of an evolving cultural subject. In a simple instance of viewing
Mak Yong from the future perspective (i.e 100 years) and looking back to current statein the year 2021, how can we assess the ontological questions of Mak Yong if the present
data that we currently have to be the absolute truth? It will be counterproductive to what
we initially aim to achieve and most unpragmatic. In consideration of approaching Mak
Yong, we could not totally disregard the contribution of ethnography for the benefit ofanswering our inquiries regarding the subject matter. Rather, the supplication of anothermethod that has yet to be utilized thoroughly in this area of research in Malaysia, should
be done and assessed. Our concern now lies within the paradoxical duality in paradigm
that separates motion capture and ethnography approach in research. While ethnography
is often regarded as a research method for qualitative-driven research, motion capturethat produces numerical result and statistical data is in the opposite camp. It is aquantitative-driven research that uses positivist paradigm. The debate and argument
between qualitative and quantitative-driven community within the social science isexhaustive over the last four decades (Teddlie & Tashakkori 2009: 20). It is not theintention of this study to further revisit or explore these long arguments. On the contrary,
this polarity will hinder us in answering our inquiries and thus we should address theseconcerns before proceeding to map our next course of action. The reason that causes thishindrance is due to the incompatibility of epistemology that is often associated with theseapproaches. However, these paradoxical and incompatibility had been addressed byscholars through pragmatism paradigm such as Peirce, James, Dewey, Rorty and Haackas demonstrated by Johnson et. al. (2017).
40

The roots of discussions within pragmatism focus on the nature of inquiry before
an approach could be develop. Thus, rather than driven by assumptions on truth andreality of the world as with quantitative or qualitative-driven paradigms, pragmatism
addresses the approach that is best suited with the nature of inquiry. Peirce in ‘Popular
Science Monthly 12’ (Peirce 2014: 141), provided a guide which is later regarded as
pragmatic maxim— the first task prior to any inquiry is determining the conceptions
being used,“Consider what effects, which might conceivably have practical bearings, weconceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is thewhole of our conception of the object.” (Peirce 2014: 157)
Peirce regards science as a social and democratic journey to truth where players
within the system (the researchers, groups, or communities of scientists) bring together
their personal experience, thoughts, knowledge, doubts, beliefs, etc. (Johnson et. al.
2017). Thus, these activities will inevitably bring different approaches towards achieving
to answer the same problem despite admitting that that is not usually the case. We cansummarize here that Peirce’s position within research inquiry focuses on the importanceof addressing the nature of inquiry, understanding the context first and foremost while
applying any necessary scientific tools to answer the problem addressed beforehand,
without disregarding the scientific process as a communal effort. Perhaps, what we canapply from pragmatism paradigm in this study, given the epistemological concerns on
previous mono-method approach, is the attitude towards inquiry adapted by Peirce(Peirce 2011: 91), Dewey (Dewey 1988: 56 - 57), Misak (Cheryl Misak 2007: 2-4) andHaack (1998). The discussion on inquiry as presented by these scholars through thepragmatism paradigm sees knowledge and science as a subject that is ever evolving, andthe best approach is to be ready to respond towards whatever outcome in knowledge it
represented. As mentioned by Haack that shadows Peirce’s views on inquiry,“A genuine inquirer wants to get to the truth of the matter that concerns him,
whether or not that truth comports with what he believed at the outset of the investigation,
and whether or not advancing the proposition in question is likely to get him tenure, ormake him rich, famous, or popular. So, he is motivated to seek out all the relevant
evidence he can and weigh it as fairly as possible, to acknowledge, to himself as well asothers, where his evidence seems shakiest or his articulation vaguest, to go with the41

evidence even to conclusions that will make him unpopular or that undermine hisformerly deeply held convictions; and if the evidence begins to disfavor what heoriginally thought, he will change his belief, or the degree of his belief, appropriately.”(Susan Haack 1998: 11-12)
Through these views on the attitude towards inquiry, it is practical to adopt this paradigm
to pursue answers for the inquiries stated earlier on. Our next point of discussion willaddress the nature of the subject before proceeding to the method of analysis suitable forthe data obtained in this study.
2. 4. 4 The Philosophical Foundation of Analysis
2. 4. 4. 1 George Herbert Mead’s Philosophy of Social Behaviour
Prior to addressing the method that we will utilize for this study, it is imperative
to address the nature of the subject first. As we have already understood the position of
Pragmatism towards an inquiry, our early steps towards understanding the subject is toaddress its nature. The first immediate concern in this regard is to understand Mak Yongas a cultural subject and tradition. While previous studies on Mak Yong employed ananthropological method to understand its form, our concern is to connect the outcome ofthis study with the previous recorded data to understand the development of thistraditional performing art. Thus, while past studies managed to provide us with thedescriptive account of the dance art, it does not concern itself with the problem ofdysconnectivity of data accumulated over the years. In doing so, it managed only tounderstand the dance forms in a particular period of its history, but unable to explain
certain historical perspective as it adapts towards the changing time. In order to address
this, our foundation in analysis approach will look at Mak Yong as the product of social
process in the community instead of separated phenomena. This in return will help us toaddress the relationship between the change within the tradition and the representationof the social process within the performance. By not separating the cultural subject andthe social process, we will also have a better understanding on the nature of change within
the tradition subsequently avoiding further dysconnectivity in the study of Mak Yongwith its past documented data.

42

The philosophical paradigm that will assist us in understanding this matter willneed to address the creativity elements within the social action and how the changes
occurred within the community. While there is a possibility that a creative individual
might propagate a change within the tradition, we need to understand its mechanism on
how it is inter-related within the social process between different members of communitythat would allow this change to happen. Because when an idea of change is expressed by
one of the members of a community within the creative process, how can it be that thewhole community agrees to it? Especially when it comes to a strong cultural subject suchas dance tradition. There should be a mechanism within the social process that would
further translate an idea of change from an individual in the community into a tradition.
The connection between the individual and the community can be understood throughGeorge Herbert Mead’s philosophical groundwork in social behavioral theory.
As one of the important figures in American pragmatism, Mead’s work provided
the important foundation to symbolic interactionism paradigm and early works on social
psychology. While his roots in pragmatism laid down the philosophical framework, theGerman study in psychology provided him with the idea on ‘gesture’ in humancommunication, of which he would later extend. Among his work, the one that is
important for our philosophical foundation in the analysis is his discussion on the topicof ‘self’ or human consciousness in ‘Mind, Self and Society’ (1934). His argument begins
from a pragmatist point of view with looking at meaning as a respond from an individual
through their organized attitudes and its connection with temporal elements such as
adjustment of the current respond to the next one. These habitual responses creates
universality or in his logical terminology as ‘universals’. While the stimuli that cause thereaction in the response can be different, the universality affects the behaviour in theidentity of the respond (Mead 1934: 125). In his perspective, he sees response asuniversal in nature while the stimuli are particulars as they interact with one another. One
example that we can think of is in the activity of a man who wanted to cash out moneyfrom the bank. While money is the stimuli in this particular example, the respond willreflect the attitude of the person whether or not he will decide to take the bus, drive in a
car or ask someone to pick him up and drop him at the bank (ibid. 1934: 126). Throughthe understanding of this respond – stimuli relation according to Mead, we are able tounderstand in terms of ‘substance’ to its ‘attributes’ (i.e, house is substance and its colouris the attribute). This is important in the discussion of human consciousness, as humanity43

is able to differentiate different objects around them and organize these objects in termsof their relationship with the object. The concept of house for example, can bedifferentiated with the material that builds them such as concrete, sand, stone or wood.
Mead’s approach in finding the philosophy of meaning behind human interaction
is not concerned on solving metaphysical problems or logical problems (ibid. 1934: 127).
Instead, he is looking at ways to understand them in terms of psychological perspective.
His approach to meaning is looking at them in relation to the attitude of the individual
and their state of mind, befitting of his philosophical influence from pragmatists such as
William James. In his perspective, humans derive meaning through the organization of
responses with the objects within their environment. Thus, the world is revealed as theylook for one response before going to another (ibid. 1934: 129). This stance is similar tothe concept of ‘end-in-view’ by Dewey explained by Joas (Joas 1996: 154). Thus,
meanings attached to objects are the reactionary relationship between organism and theirenvironment while meaning in social environment is defined by social activities. It is
worth to note that both the environment and organism are active elements that influenceeach other in giving meaning where it did not exist before. Henceforth, meaning is theattempt by humanity to control and manage their relationship with the environment,
which results in the ability to communicate and the creation of language. This is also thesign where the mind emerged according to Mead, as the organism is able to derive
meanings, to show it to others and to themselves as well. To Mead, the mind is a social
phenomenon, rather than individual (Mead 1934: 133). Reflexiveness is also anotherimportant process in regards to the development of mind, as the organism adjusts theirattitude in reference to other individuals within the community. This makes thedevelopment of the mind an evolutionary matter as it comprises of individuals,
environment, and the adjustment of the self towards these relationship in deriving
meaning and responses. Thus, each generation brings its own experience towards thesocial development as they respond towards different elements as compared to theirpredecessors, resulting in inevitable change over time.
These philosophical foundations create the basis of Mead’s further theories insocial psychology, especially in regards to his important work which are the concepts of‘Self’, ‘Me’, ‘I’, ‘Generalized Other’ and ‘Play & Games’ where it was thoroughly
discussed further in ‘Mind, Self and Society’ (1934). In building his argument on the44basis of the concept of ‘Self’, Mead approached it by addressing his dualism perspectiveon mind and the body. His focus of discussion centered on the perception of oneself as
an object and to be conscious, one must see themself as an object. This allows individuals
to see themselves in relation to others’ point of view in the socialization process in thedevelopment of the self. Within the development of the self, reflexiveness is an importantelement that individuals use to reflect their responses or as they think to prepare
themselves in the social process. As we are communicating, we reflectively think of ourown action in relation to other responses, to revise or continue within the pace ofcommunication as a way to control ourselves like an object. It is through the social
process that the self will emerge after encountering a social experience in relation to other
responses. Thus, it is normal that there are multiple personalities as we deal with different
individuals and various types of responses through the social process. But, generally
there is an idea of a general unified self within each individual.
Mead further elaborated the respond and stimuli as the path towards humancommunication (ibid. 1934: 140 – 141). Subsequently, this creates language as a humansocialization process by constructing a generalized response towards a certain stimuli.
Prior to the creation of language, human communicate through symbol or images where
it is universal in character, as it needs to invoke certain response from other individuals
in the community. The discussion within this area of his philosophical stand stems fromthe influence of German philosophy on the topic of gesture in social psychology. It is an
important part of his argument as it leads to the discussion of the genesis of the self
through the activities of ‘Play’ and ‘Game’, in human social development within an
individual. The factors that influence the genesis of the self are represented by theactivities of ‘Play’ and ‘Game’ by a child (ibid. 1934: 149 – 154). A child, according to
Mead will engage in a play where they will learn the role of people around them,especially their parents or guardians. At this point, they are not able to comprehend any
rules or restrictions in regards to the role that they take until they are old enough toparticipate in the ‘Game’. Through the ‘Game’, children will understand the different
responses that they will receive after taking on a specific role, and at the same time they
will understand the impact and the relation of their position with the rest of the group. To
better understand this idea, we need to look into children’s observational behaviour
during competitive games such as sports. For example, in football, children will learn theimportance of their position in relation to other members in their team while considering
45

the environmental factors and also the response of the opponent’s team. While in the‘Play’ phase, children may not realize this. But during the ‘Game’, children will organize
their responses in relation to the responses made by their team members to achieve theobjective of the game. As discussed earlier, the organizing responses is important in thegenesis of the self, therefore Mead concludes that the self arises under three processes
which are ‘Play’, ‘Game’ and language. Through the genesis of the self, we understandthe integral mechanism behind the construction of individual’s consciousness in Mead’s
approach that mainly concern the influence of a group towards the individual. Therefore
Mead sees the social group preexisting before the self. As the community plays animportant function in building the self in each individual, another important concept
introduced by Mead, which is ‘Generalized Other’, is the continuation of this approach(ibid. 1934: 154 – 158). This concept basically can be understood as a community orsocial group that gives the individual his unity self thus the attitude of the individual canbe said representing the whole community. As Mead had an interest in the relationshipbetween the man and their relation with the environment, therefore to him, objects
regardless whether their animate or inanimate within the man’s environment can form
parts of the generalized self of an individual. The generalized other is also a mean where
the community could seek control of the individual within the group in terms of social
conducts and social interactions. Through taking the generalized other towards the self,then a general or universal discourse could exist where social meanings is possible. Inturn, the individual will use the social attitudes of a group that they belong to in dealing
with any issues.
While the concept of the self, ‘Play’, ‘Games’ and ‘The Generalized Other’ deals
with the construction of consciousness within an individual in relation to the objects of
their environment, there is another dimension within Mead’s approach towards thethinking process of individual within the group. While previous concepts helped us
understand the foundation of the self in an individual, the concept of ‘Me’ and ‘I’enlighten us with the process that concern with individual action in relation to the groupor community that will inevitably affect the overall dynamics of the social group. The‘Me’ can be defined as the organized set of attitudes of others, which an individualassumes (ibid. 1934: 175). Meanwhile the ‘I’ can be understood as the response of theorganism towards the attitude of others (ibid. 1934: 177). While the characteristics of‘Me’ can be of certainty in an individual action, the ‘I’ has an element of unpredictability
46

attached to it. The ‘Me’ however contributes to the form of the ‘I’ but the ‘I’s’ responses
are novelty. In social dynamics within a community, the ‘I’ is the impulsive conduct
while the ‘Me’ is the social censorship that controls the expression of the ‘I’. In the casewhere expression can be done beyond an organized one, it therefore reflects the absenceof social control. However, an act that goes beyond an organized one is not necessarily aselfish action, but it can be due to the identification of the self with the group’s values.
Due to the overwhelming sense of such attachment, then the individual proceeds to act
beyond the organized attitude for the benefit of the community. Such act can be seen as
the disintegration of the self due to the overwhelming sentiment of attachment towards
the group they belong to. There is also a possibility of exciting or gratifying experience
attached to such act as such self-expression will lead to the reward to the self. Therefore,
Mead sees this also as the mechanism for the emergence of higher values. It is thediscussion in this particular area that will be the most beneficial for this study tounderstand the mechanism behind the emergence of change in a tradition or culture.
Within the discussion of the ‘I’ and ‘Me’, Mead adds a creativity dimension
towards the discussion of social dynamics in a social group that further enlightens uswith the idea behind inevitable change in the community. From his perspective, the ‘Me’acts as the representation of the values in the social group (ibid. 1934: 176). Meanwhile,the impulsive nature of the ‘I’ is both spontaneous and incalculable but at the same time
is connected to the ‘Me’ that open its door in the first place. Therefore, under extreme
condition, it can call out the degradation or sacrifice of the self from the individual forthe benefit of the group. These responses cannot be anticipated but the individual
connects it to the adaptation with their environment as stated in his quote:“The response of the “I” involves adaptation, but an adaptation which affects not only
the self but also the social environment which helps to constitute the self; that is, it implies
a view of evolution in which the individual affects its own environment as well as being
affected by it.” (Mead 1934: 214)
Thus, Mead connects the environment as one of the important key elements towards
social change or evolutionary process within the society. He also agrees to the idea ofrandom mutation within the society in terms of individual behaviour that propels thechange based on this argument. The degradation of the self or the integration towards
achieving change for the benefit of the community cannot be anticipated but will emerge47

in the time of extreme condition. In the case of a genius or an important figure within thecultural change for example is one of the good case studies for such occurrences.
Certainly, without a doubt these cases are not frequently seen throughout history, but wealso understand that the attitude of such individuals are connected to the values held by
their communities and with the society’s response towards their environment as well.
The understanding within this area of philosophical idea will help us in analyzing thecultural evolution phenomena of Mak Yong in different areas of Southeast Asia. These
concepts will not only help us understand the change within the social dynamics of acommunity or a group, but it is also in line with the Cultural Evolution theory and Hans
Joas’ philosophy of creativity in social action that we will discuss later on. In the analysis
of our fieldwork and its connection with the previous data, we will investigate theoccurrences of social change within the tradition that could open the path towards theevolution of the Mak Yong form and why the traditions differ in various localities. We
will connect this with the analysis on the opening dance of Mengadap Rebab as well as
to look for the response between the choreography with costumes or paraphernalia in the
tradition. Mead’s approach will help us understand the construction of different style of
Mak Yong’s tradition in relation to its community and environment. The paraphernalia
used in the performance can also be regarded as the objects within the environment that
also play a role in calling out responses for individuals in the community and further
construct the self of every individual as discussed by Mead in his approach.
2. 4. 4. 2 Hans Joas’ Theory of Creativity in Action
We have so far understood the importance of pragmatism as a philosophy for thefoundation of our methodology in this study. It allowed us to approach the inquiry, thenature of data and the nature of change in the tradition that resulted in the dysconnectivity
between various studies done earlier on. Mead’s philosophy will assist us in analyzing
the discontinuance of data in Mak Yong while complimenting the cultural evolution as
the foundation of methodology in this study. While Mead’s approach helps us tounderstand the formation of consciousness within individual and the connection between
the environment, the individual and our reactionary action towards change, Hans Joas’
theory on the creativity of action will further expand the discussion by Mead to focus on
the aspect of change in social action. Joas’ approach in his book ‘The Creativity of Action’(1996) does not intend to introduce a new type of action but his discussion focuses on48

the dimension of creativity in social action or action theory (ibid. 1996: 145). To begin
his approach, he proposed a reconstructive introduction of the concept of rational action
where the theories of action is based on. The three assumptions are:
1. The presupposition of actor as capable of purposive action.
2. The actor has control over his own body.
3. The actor has autonomy via other individuals and the environment.
His added creativity dimension in human social action discussed the intentional characterof human action, the specific corporeality and the primary sociality of all human capacity
for action. These were added to each of the assumptions made by the main theories ofaction.
2. 4. 4. 2. 1 Situationality
In the traditional view of philosophy of action, which centers on the means-end
schema, it implies that goal-setting is part of the process that precedes the human action.
Therefore, in having this perspective, it implies that the cognition within humancapability to construct goal-setting is part of human action. However, the teleologicalinterpretation of intentionality of action proposed by Joas sees cognition as separated
from human action (ibid. 1996: 157). What he tries to imply is that the intentionality
which includes intentions, motives and values as having its own internal world that could
affect the external one in a separate conscious act of decision. The new understanding ofgoal-setting from this approach also implies that it is both corporeal and not purely
intellectual faculty. Thus, in goal-setting itself, it needs to consider the corporeality ofhuman action and its creativity, which means that perception and cognition is consideredas phases in action where the action is directed and redirected, depending on the situation.
By this virtue, goal-setting takes place as a result of a reflection on the pre-reflective andever actively-operated aspirations and tendencies. The aspiration mentioned here are thehuman body’s capabilities, habits and ways that are connected to the environment.
What Joas is trying to explain here mirrors what has been said by Mead in his
approach as well; where there is connection between human action with the environment
through the reflection of their capabilities, experience and the given situation (ibid. 1996:
158). Within the same area of discussion, extending Mead’s approach, our perception

49

towards the world according to Joas consist of our capacities for and experiences ofaction. Thus, our relation towards the world is revealed to us in the form of possible
actions in relation to our body’s ability (corporeality) even when we do not intend to act
any immediate reaction or response towards it. Due to this, we tend to categorize theworld according to the construction of reality in relation to our corporeality, whether itis accessible – inaccessible, familiar – unfamiliar, controllable – uncontrollable,
responsive – unresponsive, etc. This means that the situation itself does not containneutral field as it is also made out of our perception towards it in relation to ourexperience and capabilities. This is also where Joas mirrors Mead’s approach where theenvironment and action influence each other but where Mead is concern, Joas added
another element that has not been discussed prior, which is the corporeality as a point oflimitation to an array of possible actions.
The final discussion regarding the situationality in Joas’ theory on creativity ofaction deals with the impulsive nature of creativity and its connection with the aspirationand success. His interest in the discussion lies in the concretization of the values and thesatisfaction of needs, as it is dependent on our ability to exercise the power of creativity(ibid. 1996: 163). Therefore it is not merely interplay between values and impulses in acreative action but rather by the creative concretization of values and the constructive
satisfaction of impulses. The aspiration acts as the motivation, or the catalyst towards
this concretization of values and fulfilling the impulsive element within the creativity
itself. In comparison with Mead, he did address this nature through the concept of ‘I’ as
the impulsive and unpredictable element in human action, but Joas added in thediscussion this idea of aspiration that propels the creative human action. Joas also impliedthat the values and ideals of successful personality and communities is also connected tothis aspiration as well, as it is regarded as part of the assessment. Here we could see thatthe argument given by Joas is closely related to the concept of cultural adaptation due tobiases in cultural evolution theory.
2. 4. 4. 2. 2 Corporeality
Within the discussion of corporeality, Joas prompted previous discussions onhuman body in action theories that were confined only within the margins of sociology.
He insisted that in order for action theory to defend itself against critiques, it is importantfor it to consider anthropological approach on human body (ibid. 1996: 167). This is due
50

to the fact that through confining them within sociology, the discussion of human social
action only centers around culturally specific or gender-based, action-oriented relations
to the world, instead of establishing universality approach as it claims to be. Anotherreason on Joas’ disagreement in adopting this tacit assumption on body in action theory
is because of the problems with associating the body to an instrumental role (ibid. 1996:
168). He argues that the action theory needs to not only consider the ability of the actor
to control the body but also the ability to ease or relinquish of the said control on the
body. Moreover, Joas argues upon the unclarified areas within previous action theory
which are the biological preconditions for the possibility of human action and secondly,
the development of ways that the body is subjectively presented to him.
In addition to having an anthropological foundation to address these issues as partof the attempt to reconstruct the introduction of tacit assumptions, Joas also proposed thereconstruction of the constitution of body schema. To support his argument, he took
several works by previous scholars such as Arnold Gehlen, Konrad Lorenz, Paul Schilder,with a particular attention to Maurice Merleau-Ponty and George Herbert Mead. His
intention in the argument is to imply the preconception of human consciousness before
the instrumentalization (or the ease of control) that came before them (ibid. 1996: 169).
He tries to point out that within the discussion on element of corporeality in theory ofcreativity of action, it is necessary to begin our discussion in the right direction by firstly
taking the non-dualist approach to construct our understanding on the role of body as animportant element in the process of social action. Furthermore, he adds that the expansion
on this discussion should not only elaborate on the ability of the actor to control or ease
the instrumentalization of their body but also on the preconception mechanism prior to
the process. Additionally, if the corporeality of the actor is present only through bodyschema rather than directly, then the ability to act further will rely on another tacit
assumption, which is the primary sociality. This tacit assumption that we will discuss
further in the next section is connected to the intersubjectivity process that constitute thebody schema in the first place.
2. 4. 4. 2. 3 Sociality
In the discussion on the third and final tacit assumptions of the creativity of action
theory, which is sociality, Joas proposed first to replace the individualism approach insocial action theory. The individualism approach in social action theory according to Joas
51

stemmed from the western culture of individualism (ibid. 1996: 184). He further adds
that even within the social sciences, only the economics adopted the principle but only
going as far as using it for a methodological starting point. Other disciplines such as
Marxism, Pragmatism or Hermeneutics directly opposed the idea. Among many
disciplines that Joas used as part of his argument within the discussion of this tacit
assumption, such as works done by Max Schiler and Hegel, he focused on the work by
George Herbert Mead that would support him in reconstructing the introduction of theautonomous ego into action theory. Through Mead, two ideas within the discussion ofsociality are important. The first can be understood as the formation of identity throughthe ability to take roles and secondly the approach of social action from nonindividualism perspective. We have so far discussed these works by Mead through hisconcept of ‘The Self’ and its construction in the previous section of this chapter. However,
Joas further extended the discussion by urging the need to employ this approach as afoundation for rational action theory specifically for the application within the social
sciences to avoid the individualism approach of the past (ibid. 1996: 1990). Furthermore,
he added that the ability of act does not occur once but needs to be refreshed periodically,
which will arise through temporary retraction of the actor’s symbolic ego boundaries via
their environment.
The next discussion made by Joas is on the discussion of overcoming the self orthe ego made by Durkheim that is quite similar with the discussion of the ‘I’ and its
impulsive response characteristics (ibid. 1996: 192 – 195). Durkheim centers his
discussion around the phenomena of totemic rituals among the Australian aboriginals
where the ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ can be understood as ‘Me’ and ‘I’ in Mead’s discussion
respectively. While the sacred is important in terms of social relation, the rituals invoke
the profane within each individual in the community to experience something that makes
them lose their own self. In having these responses, each individual produces uniquereactionary action instead of abiding themselves with the sacred of the community. What
we can conclude upon the discussion made by Joas here is the tacit assumption ofsociality is that he is interested to expand the basic foundation in discussing theindividual’s autonomy within action theory. Based on the work done by previous scholars
especially by Mead, the individual’s autonomy is constructed through the formation of
the self or the ego during socialization. The second part of the discussion within this tacit
assumption, is Joas’ elaboration on the dissolution and restabilization of this ego that52

would propel an individual to go beyond one self, resulting in a reactionary response that
goes beyond one’s ego boundaries.
We have seen thus far within this particular section of this chapter how
Pragmatism as a philosophy is inherently important for the foundation of our
methodological approach to this study. Its philosophy is not only important inconstructing the multidisciplinary approach to answer inquiries within this study but also
to understand the changing nature of cultural subject such as in the traditional performing
arts. By looking at the effects of a subject as per the recommendation from Peirce in his
writing, Mead further extended the application within his social behaviourism theory
while Joas reconstructed the tacit assumptions in social action theory. Furthermore, theapplication of pragmatism as the methodological approach in this study goes hand inhand with cultural evolution theory, as it will supplement our understanding in observing
the data pattern within a cultural subject. Our next task is to connect this methodologicalapproach with the descriptive contextual work done on the subject of Malay traditional
art’s aesthetic and on the study of Mak Yong and Malay performing arts in general inorder to fully integrate all past and present fieldwork data. This will help us produce acomprehensive understanding on the cultural evolution of Mak Yong and some parts of
its historical narrative.
2. 4. 5 The Foundation of Method and Approach
Due to the reasons mentioned earlier on, it is imperative that this study shall use
pragmatism, Mead’s social behaviourism theory, Joas’ creativity of action theory,
cultural evolution theory, together with Malay aesthetic theory as its methodology of data
analysis. These analytical approaches were chosen due to the nature of the inquiry
presented as part of the objectives that intend to be answered in this study. The first being
the nature of subject being studied which is Mak Yong, a Malay performing art tradition.
As we try to make the analysis based on the symbolic meaning behind Mengadap Rebab
dance through the data obtained from motion capture, we need to consider the aestheticof choreography behind the dance, which can best be understood through Malay aesthetic
theory. Within this aspect of analysis, we analyzed the dance in relation to its function
within the spiritual healing conventions and secondly the Malay aesthetic beauty andsymbolism.

53

The second nature of our inquiry explored the characteristics of change within
the tradition that could possibly influence Mengadap Rebab dance sequence. The issues
addressed earlier on focused on the connection between the use of accessories and how
it could also contributed to the choreography of Mengadap Rebab. While we areinterested in analyzing the probable cause of the connection, we are also interested toinvestigate the change within traditional performance and observe the probableconnection with the impact brought using accessories or costumes. In this sense, there isa possibility that we could also address issues of change in Mak Yong data obtained
during the pre-independence Malaya and post-independence Malaysia. Cultural
Evolution theory as suggested earlier will be an important key towards our understanding
in this area. As suggested by Mesoudi (2011: 54 - 55), Cultural Evolution theory,
influenced by Darwinian ideas on evolution could help us not only to analyze the change
within cultural tradition but also integrate the overlapping conceptual framework within
the social sciences. Our intention on utilizing this theory is to integrate the understandingof cultural evolution in Mak Yong, particularly for Mengadap Rebab’s opening danceand how aspects of costume and accessories will affect the choreography and theevolutionary process within the tradition. Bridging the understanding between theseapproaches, we will integrate our understanding on the analysis of motion capture
focusing on the nature of two main inquiries. The result of this integration of analysis
will inform us of the interaction and connection between the impact of costume andaccessories on the cultural tradition with the symbolic aesthetic meaning of dance
movements. In order to understand the phenomenon within the fieldwork, we analyzed
and integrated the data using the approaches of both Mead and Joas to further understandthe construction of identity in Mak Yong tradition and how the environment andcommunity propeld the change across different periods of time. It is also intriguing toassess the relationship between cultural response towards change within the tradition
through the interactions with important features of a tradition such as costumes andaccessories with its environment and community. This will result in a unique social
construct perceived or inherited by members of the Mak Yong community.
Before we proceed to the next section, we will discuss the final objective of thisstudy, which is to investigate the viability of using motion capture as a possible approachfor future traditional performing arts studies. In this regard, we will consider external
validity of using motion capture in performing arts studies by selecting another type of54

traditional performing arts that is not directly related to Mak Yong or to any Southeast
Asian traditional performing arts. Based on the previous number of studies on motion
capture, we will consider the Japanese Noh and compare its motion capture data to thatof Mak Yong. The connection between its contextual information regarding the culture
including its costume, accessories, stage size and other related data would be considered
to have better comparable data. This approach will test the validity whether thedetermination of connection and impact between accessories, costume and other related
contextual data can be seen in the dance choreography through motion capture data.
Given the time and opportunity, it is better to have more sampling using other types of
traditional performing arts as our data for analysis and comparison. However, for a more
focused study, we considered data from only two traditional performing arts. At the endof this study, we assessed whether it is worth pursuing and extending the sampling toother types of traditional performing arts in the future. To summarize the theoreticalframework for this study, below is the figure that represents the important conceptual
approach in our study. In the next section, we will discuss the method used in this study
to acquire the data for further analysis.

Contextual
Data
Inquiry

Mead’s Theory
Cultural
Evolution

Pragmatism

MotionCapture Data

Analysis ofResultHans Joas’
TheoryFigure 1 The theoretical framework
2. 5 Method of Research
The method employed within this research reflects the methodology discussed in
the previous section which is the combination of both qualitative and quantitative55

research approach. This study is divided into two phases; first is the ethnographic
approach as the initial step to understand the context of the subject, while during thesecond phase of motion capture sessions, experiments were conducted in a controlledenvironment. Before our analysis could be done, it is also important to focus on how
knowledge is being passed down within the Mak Yong community in a real setting tounderstand the process of learner’s acquisition of knowledge on Mak Yong’s bodylanguage and movements. This is crucial as during the motion capture session, the subject
being recorded is not from the Mak Yong community but the researcher himself. We willconsider and assess the impact of using this approach for this study as a means to review
and reflect whilst avoiding any unaddressed biases that would discredit the recorded
results and analysis. To look into the pattern of movements for both of the traditional
theatres, motion capture will be used in order to achieve a better result in analyzing thephysical and dramatic movements of these two traditional theatres. We will now proceed
to the list below which represents the flow and method of research employed for thisstudy.
2. 5. 1 The First Phase: Ethnographic Works
1. Conducted literature review on Mak Yong and Japanese Noh theatre. Special
focus on a specific topic regarding the literature of both performing arts are ofconcern such as the philosophy behind the art, any previous research regarding
body movements, body aesthetic, dance aesthetic, dance analysis, knowledgetransfer and other basic important knowledge regarding the art such as
terminology, conventions, structure and belief system. While these are the corefocus of our literature review, it is also important to understand the social
contextual settings of both art forms. Thus, learning the historical and social
settings of both performing arts is vital for this study to understand the ontologicalaspect of these performing arts. Learning the core aspects of this study will help
us to understand and analyze the result. The historical and social aspects allow us
to understand the environment which invokes such evolution within the tradition
to occur. This resulted in the creation of these performing arts that become partof the identity and culture of the community under study.
2. Interviewed members of Mak Yong and Noh community to further understandthe basic concepts of each performance from their own personal perspectives. For

56

Mak Yong, several members of the community were interviewed in various
stages of this study as there had been instances where clarifications were needed.
A special focus was given on Mak Yong community members in Raman, Yala, aprovince in Southern Thailand. This is because the Southern Thailand community
were given less coverage in previous research on Mak Yong. For Noh, several
members of community were contacted mainly Master D, Master A and MasterB from the same school, Master C of different school.
3. Besides interviews, other ethnographic approach employed for this study
included observation and the recording of Mak Yong and Noh performances
through the schools or community that had been contacted. Sources for thisobservation were videos uploaded by various individuals and organisations on
YouTube, live performances and workshops attended. If live performances wereobserved, this was followed by short interviews regarding the performance oranything related to the performing arts, assisted by translators whenever needed.
4. Within the three years of research on the subject, the ethnographic approach on
the subject included learning the dialect and language of the subject under study.
Due to the language barrier and cultural differences between the researcher andthe subject, this approach is vital in order to learn the contextual settings of theperforming arts under study. We will visit later some reflections on the scope andthe limitations within the study to address some potential biases that arose during
the course of the research. The difference between the researcher’s identity andlanguage or dialect used with the subject could help understand and hopefully
improve the research method and methodology of this particular research area in
the future.
5. Another important approach within this study is the participant-observation thatwas utilized to understand the performance from the perspective of the performer.
This required the researcher to obtain the knowledge of the cultural subject froma reputable source. After participating in a survey on Raman Mak Yongcommunity from southern Thailand, it became apparent that among the source ofknowledge transfer between the older generation to the younger generation isthrough the introduction of the performing arts in spiritual healing of Main Puteri,which is closely connected to Mak Yong (Alfan 2020: 5 - 6). In some cases, these
introductions may lead to invoking the interest of the patient to voluntarily learn
57the art by themselves or traditionally receive the lessons from their elders. In thecase of a Mak Yong community in Raman, one of the interviewee used theelectronic media platform to learn the art without having to meet the masters
constantly. Despite having this approach for early training, the interviewee still
kept in touch with the community and they subsequently allowed him to perform
together. Imitating this approach, the researcher decided to learn the Mengadap
Rebab opening dance performance of Mak Yong through a shared YouTube
video made by the students of Sultan Idris University of Education, Faculty ofMusic and Performing Arts. This was done prior to the motion capture recording
session made on August 2020. This dance was chosen because of its importancewithin the Mak Yong tradition and is still being kept as a staple of Mak Yongperformances despite subtle changes within the performance structure over theyears. Without undermining the importance of other parts of Mak Yongperformance, the research will take Mengadap Rebab as a sample that represents
the essence of Mak Yong’s body aesthetic and tradition due to its importancewithin the tradition.
6. On learning the art of Noh dance for this study, the researcher attended a Nohworkshop held by Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia located in Rimbun
Dahan, Kuang, Selangor between 25th until 28th of February 2019. The workshop
was instructed by two Noh masters namely Master A and Master B. The
workshop aimed to share the basic of Noh performance to 16 Malaysian
performing arts artists and performance artists from various backgrounds. The
workshop introduced lessons on climactic Noh shimai of the ‘Koukaji’ and‘Hagoromo’ story while for chanting the masters used the story of ‘Takasago’.
Another training session on Noh dance was done since August 2020 through theguidance of Master C
7. Master C was trained under the guidance of his father. Lessons learned from thisengagement includes shimai from ‘Oi Matsu’ and ‘Yuya’. During the course of
the training, some aspects of Japanese culture and Noh art in particular wereinquired to obtain a contextual understanding regarding various aspects of the
training, Japanese culture, Noh art and other related forms of Japanese art that is
related to Noh.

58

2. 5. 2 The Second Phase: Motion Capture Recordings and Analysis
8. After the acquisition of contextual data and the knowledge on Mak Yong andsome aspects of Noh dance, the research proceeded with the second phase which
was the capturing of Mak Yong and Noh dance through motion capture
technology. Using Qualisys Motion Capture system with eight cameras, Mak
Yong’s ‘Mengadap Rebab’ and Noh’s ‘Hagoromo’ Shimai was captured at
Hiroshima University Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Science laboratory,
supervised by Dr. Masahiro Shinya and assisted by Yuka Miura. The danceexcerpt from Hagoromo or translated as ‘The Feather Mantle’ was taken as the
subject for comparison with Mak Yong’s ‘Mengadap Rebab’ as the play was firstmentioned in 1524 (Tyler 1992: 96). Despite the fact that it was probably written
beyond Zeami’s time, the year of its official record shows that the play is part ofan old tradition within the Noh’s repertoire. It is also regarded as the popular
choice for an amateur Noh dancer. The story conveys the ‘swan maidens’ charm,a character’s trait that is common in the world of folklore according to Tyler(ibid.).
9. Data collected in the study were transcribed and processed using proper tools andsoftware. The recorded interview data were transcribed and extracted to seek
important information vital for the study. The data from the motion capturesystem was processed using MATLAB pre-programming functions created by
Burger and Toiviainen (2013). The details of this pre-programming and its
application will be discussed further in the next chapter as we go through the datacollection and processing stage of this study. The results of this data processing
will be presented through charts and graphs as a function of time.
10. Using the micro-macro approach suggested by Golshani et al. (2004), dataobtained from motion capture and processed through MATLAB programming
software were analyzed and integrated with contextual data collected within the
ethnographic stage. To look for the connection between accessories, costumes
and aspects of performances with the choreography, we looked at the values
presented in the graphs and charts obtained from the MATLAB programming,
observing any correlation between the values of hand movements, in the functionof lengths or distance over the function of time. Our prediction is that, the higher
the distance over time for any given reflective markers on any part of the body59will tell us the significance of that particular part of the body. We connected thevalues on certain parts of the body to the accessories or aspect of costume
important to that area. The next phase of our analysis looked into the Malay
aesthetic theory related to the art of Mak Yong dance or any descriptive research
regarding the symbolic meaning of the dance in the past in order to avoid any
potential bias. The same procedure was done on data obtained from Noh’s shimai
to see whether such correlation could be established similarly. In the next step,
Cultural Evolution theory was utilized in order to address any changes within the
tradition in relation to the values of motion capture data result with the accessories
and costumes currently used or was used in the past. Finally, we assessed andreflected on utilizing this approach in order to suggest some improvements for
future research.

We have thus so far explored the methodology and method that was utilized for thisresearch. Before we end the discussion on this chapter, let us address the scope andlimitation of this study.
2. 6 Scope of the Study
From our earlier discussion on methodology and theoretical framework of thisstudy, we focused on answering our inquiries on Mak Yong which included interpretating
data from the motion capture recording, relating it to the cultural symbolisms andrepresentation, connection with the use of accessories and costumes and lastly theviability of using motion capture for future work in traditional performing arts in
Malaysia. The method employed in this study had never been done in Malaysia, but its
implementation was present in other locations such as in Japan (Hachimura 2006,
Yoshioka et. al. 2012 & Wakita et. al. 2015). Albeit omitting the application of Cultural
Evolution theory to explain the trend and characteristics of data obtained from the study.
In other instances, the utilization of motion capture in cross-cultural studies produced aninteresting insight on the connection of similar dance movement between two seemingly
different dances from different geo-locations (Aristidou et. al. 2019). Thus, such an
intriguing connection is what drove this study to look into these trends between
performing arts and utilized Cultural Evolution theory to describe such nature. It is not60the intention of this study to construct or focus on a new novel way to extract motion
capture recording data. Although such study is recommended in the future within the
Digital Humanities research area. As such, we did not focus on the technicality of motion
capture recording or the programming aspect of MATLAB, but rather applied thesetechnology and software for the benefit of our study in looking towards the trend of dancechoreography pattern while seeing the connection within its social and cultural
background.

2. 7 Limitations of the Study
The final part of our concern within this chapter is to address several important
limitations of this study. This is to avoid any unforeseen biases that would jeopardize thecredibility of results gained with this research. The wholeness of this study is that two
distinct methods were used, namely quantitative and qualitative method. However, eachof these methods arguably have its shortcomings, which is why both methods wereneeded in the first place in order to complement each other. Despite our attempt to reduce
the errors during the acquisition of data, we can nevertheless undoubtedly find ourselves
faced with limitations that would affect the data obtained. This was seen in the previous
data extracted for Mak Yong where different reports in different time periods resulted indifferent descriptions on Mak Yong’s convention and ontological perspective. While ourconcern was mainly on biases within the ethnographic data of this study, nevertheless wealso addressed some human errors that could have impacted the acquisition of motion
capture data during the recording session.
1. The impact of identity and origin of a researcher needs to be addressed inorder to avoid the issues of credibility of data obtained in an ethnographic
data. In this particular study, the researcher’s origin is from the west coast
Malay community in the Malaysian peninsula with a background ofJavanese fourth generation immigrant. Thus, it is a different identity tothat of the east coast Malay Peninsula where the community of Mak Yongartist originated. Different dialects used throughout the interview sessions
by interviewees during ethnographic data acquisition were one of thechallenges in conveying the meaning behind every questions asked.
61Despite having these challenges, the researcher used his best effort tospeak in the same dialect with the interviewees due to his previous
exposure to the east coast dialect. Within the same issues, it is also best toaddress that the researcher does not come from the Mak Yong community
itself and some questions during ethnographic interview might prove to
be a challenge. Some concepts will need to be rectified using terms thatis understandable for both parties. This is also the same with interviews
involving Noh performers. However, to reduce the impact of these errors
during ethnographic data acquisition, the researcher made an effort tolearn the dialect and language with an additional knowledge on local
social and historical context to the best of his ability in order to have abetter communication with the interviewees.
2. Large portion of ethnographic engagement with the Mak Yongcommunity in this study focused on the community in Thailand. Despite
possible subtle differences, both Southern Thailand and east coast
Malaysian style share similarities as they are still engaging with one
another. Evidently this can be seen through some of the migration ofSouthern Thailand performers to Terengganu such as Kumpulan Mak
Yong Matahari led by Che Ning (Ghulam-Sarwar 2018: 84). While weare eager to look into these differences in the future between those ofSouthern Thailand and east coast Malaysian style, we can regard thesedifferences to be negligible for now as they shared similar identity andvalues despite operating on the opposite end of the Thailand – Malaysia
border. In reality and most ideally, we could investigate the differences ofeach group originating from Kedah, Perlis, Sumatra, Kelantan and around
Southern Thailand provinces.
3. Due to the impact of Coronavirus (CoVid-19) that struck globally since
early 2020, there were difficulties in acquiring fieldwork data within the
ethnographic stage. Thus, a longer period of ethnographic data acquisitionor physical participant-observation could not be done as per traditional
ethnographic approach. Despite these challenges, some efforts were madeto connect with the Mak Yong and Noh artist communities through online
video-conferencing

and interviews

using thecurrent available

technological software.
62

4. The time of data collection specifically on the ethnographic data phase
was between 2018 to 2021. In order to avoid having the same mistakewith our predecessors in presenting the viability of their data, we took
note on the time period of which ethnographic data is presented. Given
the recent change within Mak Yong’s performance that is trying to adapt
to the lift of the 28-years ban in Kelantan state of Malaysia, we predicted
there could be subtle changes within the conventions of the performanceand structure as it happened with its earlier form reported by Skeat around
100 years ago. While in terms of choreography, there is no way to predict
how it would change in the future. It is hoped that efforts done in thisstudy will spearhead efforts on recording intangible cultural tradition in
Mak Yong with respect to dance choreography.
5. The data acquired through motion capture recording could not be done
directly from the artists’ own expressions and performance. It was done
through the researcher’s presentation of knowledge acquired throughparticipating in workshops, private classes or from learning throughelectronic media due to the challenges face in managing the logistics
caused by the pandemic. However, this had been addressed whereby theapproach is intended to imitate the knowledge acquired by new membersof Mak Yong and Noh community hypothetically. As the focus of thestudy is to acquire the pattern of body movements and aspects ofchoreography, it is sufficient to have the level of an amateur performance
instead of a professional, as long as the choreography was performed welland completed as per the instructions from the source or the instructors.
As of now, we shall have the reservation to acquire professional level
performance in the future should the study prove to be viable for
implementation in future traditional performing arts motion capturerecordings.
6. It is worth noting that the performance captured through the controlledenvironment in a laboratory of motion capture will not capture theperformance as it happened in the fieldwork due to certain circumstances.
Firstly, the need to wear special reflective markers and attire during
recording sessions could not be seen as normal circumstances. Thus, if
real performers participated in these recording sessions, such environment
63

could have affected their psyche and indirectly affect the performance.
Some adjustments need to be made, such as using only important
accessories or costume that is practically needed for the performance.
Secondly, the choreography will need to be adjusted according to thespace given or availability in the laboratory. The area that is able to be
captured by the motion camera might only be sensitive to a certain degree.
Before a performance for recording can begin, the performers and the one
who manages the recordings should discuss and have a few rehearsals firstto avoid interruption and loss of data during a performance. Although thismight reduce the scale of performance in terms of its physical dimension,nevertheless it does not affect the entire choreography. However, should
the performance need to be scaled down by a large percentage, researchers
should bear in mind of the impact that it could have on the data recorded.
7. Due to the time constraint in this study, we used a pre-programmed
MATLAB toolbox developed by Berger and Toiviainen (2013) to process
the data obtained from the motion capture as the main means of analysis.
This is to have a more focused study where the discontinuance of data will
be given the top priority rather than the technicality of processing motion
capture data.
In this chapter, we have gone through the important aspects of this research which
is charting the approach on answering inquiries regarding our subject of concern; Mak
Yong. We have now understood some of the problematic discourse between various past
ontological researches on Mak Yong due to some unforeseen biases and the notion where
cultural subject is seen as possessing unchange nature. The fact that some features ofaccessories in Mak Yong performance is different than the one reported around 100 years
ago by Skeat, this challenged the previous approach and perspective in research. It is
more practical to approach on learning this cultural subject by employing different
methods to complement some disadvantages using only qualitative or quantitative
method in research.
To conclude, employing a theoretical approach of pragmatism that uses both
qualitative and quantitative method is deemed appropriate to answer the list of inquiries
mentioned due to the dysconnectivity of data between different time periods of64

ethnographic research on Mak Yong within one hundred years’ time frame. Despite our
proposed approach to this study, it is advisable that some aspects of focus and limitations
are addressed to avoid unforeseen biases that would affect the credibility of the result
obtained by the end of this research. It is also within the intention of this research to seek
for internal and external validation, which is why it is important to assess whether theapproach in this research is viable for future research on traditional performing arts in
Malaysia. In the next chapter, we will discuss on data obtained within two stages of thisresearch, which is the ethnographic and quantitative stage. Some aspects of techniqueand system used in the data acquisition that could not be shared within this chapter will
be provided for future reference.
2. 8 Significance of the Study
The study of Mak Yong on its dramatic movements is important as it helps us
understand the signified cultural representation. In the process to construct theunderstanding through our literature review, we are now aware that there has never been
an in-depth study on Mak Yong’s dramatic movements using motion capture as ananalysis tool in Malaysia. Extensive research covered the structure of the performancefrom its preparatory stage; the training and dramatic text or the story telling of theperformance and its principles. What is required to enrich this field of study is to look at
the micro view of Mak Yong’s dramatic movements using quantitative method of digitaltechnology while supplementing the ethnographic approach to understand the context ofthese dramatic movements.
Since the early 2000s, research on Japanese digital humanity took its initial step
towards this direction through studies made by Kozaburo Hachimura in Ritsumeikan
University around 2004. Hachimura’s study digitally archived Japanese Noh theatre andother ethnic dances in Japan (Hachimura 2006). Through this digital archive study, henoted a few benefits gained from the process. One of the interesting reflections made by
the respondent of Noh dance was that the digital data recorded in the dance can be used
for their reference in order to observe and measure their own performance, especiallywhen these dancers are subjected to natural ageing progress (Hachimura 2006: 52). Other
than the direct benefit to the participating artists, Hachimura also suggested the utilizationof motion capture in research for the purposes of edutainment by using a combination of
motion capture data and simple 3D animation sequence. The use of CG animation can65enhance the understanding of the audience on Noh performances, as even the adults find
it difficult. In terms of scholarly contribution, the use of motion capture has been usefulespecially for studies that require the combination of technological application,
performative analysis and data management system. Due to the storage size data needed
for this area of study, data management system is another pivotal study that requires abetter management system in handling massive amount of data.
Through Golshani et al. (2004) and Aristidou et al. (2019) we understand thatstudies in big data management system on digital dance ethnography is ever growing
with the progress of information technology. However, there is less emphasis on utilizing
this approach for a contextual study of comparative studies. Aristidou et al. for example,
commented on the similarities between the Egyptian belly dance and Xin-Jiang ethnic
dance due to Turkic Uyghur people (Aristidou et. al. 2019: 16), without extending muchof its discussion other than the data presented. Thus, despite the progress of technology
enabling such research to be done, there seems to be no effort in explaining thisphenomenon by the ethnographers as highlighted in the present literature review. This
creates further distance between the positivist approach by digital dance ethnographerswith that of the constructivist nature of the traditional dance ethnographers. While thisstudy does not necessarily provide a novel approach in digital ethnography, it
nevertheless will attempt to close the distance between both paradigms of traditional anddigital ethnography. More importantly, through this study, it is hoped that more digital
ethnography studies in Malaysia can be done in the future to supplement our
understanding on the richness and various forms of ethnic and traditional dance within
the region.
In order to achieve this, we have suggested the use of cultural evolution theory
with a supplementary understanding of change in social action through George Herbert
Mead’s social behaviourism theory and Hans Joas’ creativity of action theory. While theuse of concepts in cultural evolution theory helps us understand the pattern of culturalchange, Mead’s and Joas’ theory assist us in understanding the mechanism behind thechange. This will enable our understanding of the connection of environment, socioeconomic and cultural effects on choreography. Mead’s theory of ‘I’, ‘Me’ and the‘Generalized Other’ will provide us with the mechanism behind the change of tradition
through individual acts. Meanwhile, Joas three tacit assumptions are important in66

understanding the relational elements of human creativity in social action. The integrated
approach of this analysis will cover the aspect that invokes the change in Mak Yong’s
tradition but without neglecting factors concerning the environment and other importantelements. Therefore, using only cultural evolution, Mead’s or Joas’ theory is insufficientto understand cultural change through the analysis as each provides different perspectives.
The same can be said with only using motion capture to understand the change within
Mak Yong’s tradition. Each element within the analysis tool will provide us withinformation on the mechanism behind cultural change.

67

CHAPTER 3DATA COLLECTION

The concern within this chapter will begin with the earlier steps of our inquiry
into the ethnographic fieldwork before moving on to the second phase, which is the
motion capture laboratory work. As we had explored our options in the previous chapter
regarding the choice of strategy to answer these inquiries, we will require the
combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods due to the lack ofconsistency from past studies. Before we begin to analyse the Mak Yong Mengadap
Rebab dance choreography data pattern, we need to understand the nature of knowledgetransmission within the community members. Having data analysis without context on
its nature of knowledge transmission will be less helpful in discussing the cultural
evolutionary process that is taking place within the community. Central to the discussionof cultural evolution analysis will mainly consider the quantitative data. Still, throughmotion capture data, we could only determine the connection between several elements
associated with the dance movements, such as accessories or costumes, without including
the discussion on knowledge transfer of the choreography.
3.1 The First Phase: Ethnographic Fieldwork and Participant-Observation

The first engagement with the Mak Yong community members begins with aretired lecturer from Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Mr A in April 2019. This interview
is essential to get preliminary data regarding several aspects of Mak Yong’s knowledge
inheritance within its players, including acting aspects of characters and the training styleof the late Khatijah Awang. Other aspects covered in the interview included his doctoral
research on several Mak Yong group’s styles of management, aspects of performancesuch as dance movements in Mengadap Rebab and some thoughts on the differences
between Mak Yong in Malaysia, Thailand and Riau from his experience attending the68

SEAMO-SPAFA’s Mak Yong Spiritual Heritage conference back in 2011 in Bangkok,
Thailand.
Borne in Kelantan, Mr A’s interest in Mak Yong stems from his experience
growing up watching Mak Yong performances despite his family’s religious background.
His participation in Mak Yong performance starts with his engagement with Khatijah
Awang’s Mak Yong group during his doctoral study. Initially, he was a make-up artist
for a dinner performance for the Supreme Head of Malaysia (YDP Agong). Later on, he
was given minor supporting roles, such as the Inang, one of the maidens of the princess(Puteri). His teachers of his 20 years Mak Yong experience were Khatijah Awang andher daughter, Noorhayati Zakaria. The most recent performance was in 2019 at Prince ofSongkhla University with a Southern Thailand group consisting of Mok A6 and Mr B.
His contribution to the Mak Yong community is important, especially in 1999 when
Khatijah Awang was given the highest award for an art practitioner, the National Art
Award (Anugerah Seni Negara). He played a huge role in preparing and submitting thenecessary documents for her nominations.

3. 1. 1 On Khatijah Awang and Her Training Method

His engagement as a member of Mak Yong community in Kelantan since themiddle of 90s led to him witnessing the early establishment of Mak Yong students taught
by Khatijah Awang at The National Art Academy (or Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (ASK)back then, now renamed as Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan,(ASWARA)). According to Mr A, Khatijah Awang’s interest in Mak Yong was
influenced by her mother-in-law, Che Kemala Che Muhamad, a Mak Yong Primadonna
in her younger days. Che Kemala was married to her second husband, the then Speakerof Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmud. According to Mr A, she wasmesmerised by Che Kemala’s exquisite Mak Yong performance. It is also worth notingthat Che Kemala also had her own Mak Yong group called ‘Makyong Diraja Che

6‘Mok is a term of endearment applied to a female elderly figure or mentor; the literal meaning is"aunt."

69

Kemala’. The group was created before Khatijah Awang established the Sri Temenggunggroup in the 70s (Nor Hatina Shuib 2018).
During the early establishment of Mak Yong in the National Art Academy, Mr A
managed to catch training sessions led by Khatijah Awang. He recalls those earlyteachings that her method looks ‘unsystematic’. It usually started with her giving scriptsthat needed to be understood by the students before she assigned the role to potential
students with the quality needed for the role. Students will have ample time to understandthe scripts before the training session begins. Usually, she will teach the steps for dance
movements first before they begin training. During the acting part, she would usually sit
in the middle of the class and ask them to perform their part with her instructing,described by Mr A as “…with her loud voice, correcting them.” Should the students nothave the correct posture or movements, she will then step up and place herself beside thestudents to show the proper execution, including the posture and movements for thecharacters. In selecting her students for the main role, such as Raja (King) and Puteri(Princess), she would usually pick students with physical quality and good looks, thetalent to act, sing and dance. He describes that the character for Puteri must be slim in
figure with a good bust posture (dada bidang) while the Raja/Pak Yong needs to have a
middleweight body, not too thin or too chubby. The character needs to have a good bust
posture to show his proudness as a king but also soft in his touch at the same time.
Therefore, the role can be given to a male or a female lead— if the actor/actress can play
the character accordingly. Khatijah Awang also usually will give the role of Inang, andthe leader of the Inang called Ketua Inang to a more effeminate male person as she saw
the entertaining quality that they can bring on stage and thus further enhance theaudience’s experience. Such practice also presented her views on gender equality inperformance, according to Mr A and such role assigning practice was never used by anyother group prior and had only been started by Khatijah Awang. He further added that
her training is an experience that makes indifferent students fall in love with the art.
Usually, training sessions by other Mak Yong troupes will depend on the individual
eagerness to learn and efforts to seek knowledge.

3. 1. 2 On Mengadap Rebab Dance Movements

70

The earliest lesson taught by Khatijah Awang to her students in learning thisdance is body posture. The important posture in this section is the ‘Seding’ and ‘Ghey’,with the former sitting on the backbone. The latter is the bending of the backbone throughinhaling and exhaling breath. The quality of the hand movement in this section is that it
cannot look ‘dead’ or ‘soft’ but have both quality of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’. The bending of thehand is also important during hand movement. At times the eyes need to follow the
movement of the hand. There is a hand movement in this section as if trying to ‘grab’ theaudience, locking their gaze to the performer's eyes, mesmerising them. The meaning of
this movement was told by the late Khatijah Awang as ‘melimbai’ or ‘melambai’. Someof the hand movements in the section are said to imitate the movement of a snake. The
whole dance section expresses the coming of the Raja to the realm depicting the
movement as confident and smooth as a snake slithering its way. Another expression of
the king’s arrival during this section includes the movement of the elephant's trunk. Other
than these descriptions and movements, another is the finger's movement that shows thefive pillars of Islam. The index finger pointing upwards (towards the ceiling) expresses
the one God, Allah. This symbolism shows the Islamic layer in the complexity of culture
in Kelantan. The dance section was only recently incorporated and exclusively available
in Sri Temenggung’s version, such as the Tarian Ragam. The movement of the dance,
according to him, was influenced by another Kelantanese-Thai traditional performing art
called Menora. The style of walk in the dance, particularly, was akin to the style of walkin Menora, where the feet are only elevated slightly higher than the ground and need to
be executed with grace rhythmically.
3. 1. 3 Criticism on Mak Yong
As he had been exposed to the art since childhood, a deep interest, love, andinsight for Mak Yong were developed. However, he would sometimes differentiate his
identity as a Sunni Muslim and a Mak Yong practitioner. In one instance, he advised oneof his fellow co-performers, Mat Din, to not proceed with the pagan practice of the old
tradition in Mak Yong of having to fulfil a certain deed/offering called pelepas to keep
the bad spirits away. He instead asked Mat Din to recite the Quranic verses instead of
depending on an RM1 or 20 cents coin as a protective measure against bad spirits.
Although reluctant, Mat Din still performs with the troupe that night despite not making
the offering. Mr A believes such practice has already been left out of favour due to Mak
71

Yong’s ban status in the state of Kelantan 7. Even in the mid-90s where the late Khatijah
Awang practised having ‘Buka Panggung’ offerings (Telur Jurai, Tumeric Glutinous
Rice and Roasted Chicken) before the performance, he believes that such practice wasdone out of tradition and not because they truly believed it. In the case of Mat Din, headvised and made clear to him that he does not have to depend on such practice for themto have a successful show and keep reminding him that he is a Muslim and such belief is
not in line with the Islamic value.
His experience practising and participating in the art for more than 20 years
makes him deeply understand Mak Yong, especially the roles of characters in theperformance, its conventions, language. He also commented that some of its weak points
need to be changed to suit the contemporary audience. Khatijah Awang, with whom hehad established a connection through research and performance, was highly regarded asa performer, teacher, and the main catalyst in the revival of art in the contemporary period.
They also shared the same aspiration on getting more attention to the art either by the
local or international audience. Among his criticism towards Mak Yong during theinterview was the lack of interest by Mak Yong practitioners in the context of its
relevancy with the contemporary audience. Mak Yong practitioners were too engrossed,
especially in the interaction and improvised acting during the show, that they tend toforget the demography of their audience and their understanding of the dialect used in
Mak Yong. This attitude will likely turn the audience away as the time taken for a
performance to complete tends to be more than one hour. With the revival of the art
through Sri Temenggung, the Mak Yong nowadays, especially the one connected to thetroupe, tend to complete the performance much earlier than the Mak Yong troupe in therural Kelantan or Thailand; between one and a half hours to two hours.
In discussing the learning process in Mak Yong, he commented that one should
learn the art through a practitioner that is known to play the lead role. Usually, the roleis only given to a person who would lead the entire troupe, as such in the case of Khatijah.
Their understanding of the entirety of the art itself will give a better insight to the eager
students who would seek lessons from them. Another reason being is that, naturally, themain lead or the Pak Yong will have to know the art inside-out to bring the performanceto success; from cues, roles, music, its conventions, and the awareness of the air during

The banning of Mak Yong by the state government of Kelantan in the 90s was as a result from such
pagan practice that is not in line with Islamic practice and belief.
772

a performance (which includes unscripted incidents on stage and audience reactions).
Therefore, according to him, the role of Pak Yong is the hardest one to play in Mak Yongas it demands a total commitment and a deep passion towards the art from the actor tounderstand the many aspects of Mak Yong performance. To start the journey, herecommends that the actor take the small parts of the performance while making their
way up the ladder until they can be the lead actor/actress. Another crucial part of theirlearning journey is understanding the classic Malay-Pattani dialect rich within the art.
Since some of the terms used in the performance also confuse the contemporary
Kelantanese audience, therefore a good Pak Yong needs to be the one who teaches theart. The pronunciation of the dialect, rhythm, and melodies are of concern in the training
if one wants to be a good Mak Yong actor.
3. 1. 4 Difference Between Mak Yong in Different Regions
The final part of this interview is his thoughts on the difference between Mak
Yong in Thailand, Kelantan, and Riau through his previous experience of watching them.
In 2011, a Mak Yong convention organised by the Southeast Asian Center forArcheology and Fine Arts (SEAMO – SPAFA) was held. It gathers different Mak Yongtroupes from regions across Southeast Asia; Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The
convention had been participated by three Malaysian Mak Yong troupes, each from
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (led by Noorhayati Zakaria), from ASWARA and one
Kelantan Mak Yong group led by Mr No, two groups from Narathiwat and Yala, andlastly, one group from Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands, Indonesia.
According to him, a significant difference between the Mak Yong group fromThailand and the Kelantan village group with the troupe led by Noorhayati Zakaria. It
has a longer story development, and the duration of the performance is also longer as it
depends a lot on the improvised acting skills of its actors. If we compare the performance
duration between the Thai group, village Mak Yong and the one led by Noorhayati, thelongest performance would be the Thai group, followed by the Mr No’s group and lastly,
Noorhayati’s group. One of the reasons for the huge difference is that the group led by
Khatijah Awang had gone through improvements to suit audiences of different
backgrounds and nationalities. Therefore, the group had a ‘friendlier' approach to foreignaudiences instead of the Thai and the Kelantan Village group. Khatijah Awang, whosought to revive the art for a contemporary audience, had shortened the play and73

improved the elements of costume and dance. Her exposure to many local dance
performances (such as Asyik, Zapin and Inang) and international stages had opened hereyes to improve Mak Yong’s aesthetic, according to Mr A. Her vision was that she
wanted Mak Yong to have an aesthetical grandeur look; through beautiful costumes andbetter stage construction. To do that, she had her research to better represent thecharacters according to the local traditions. This value differentiates her from her
Thailand counterpart. In one instance during the Mak Yong conference by SEAMOSPAFA, Mr A said some of the group even rented a bride and groom’s marriage costumeand used only jogger pants for the performance. He feels that it did not aesthetically fit
the characters portrayed on the stage.

3. 1. 5 The Case of Mak Yong Community in Raman, Southern Thailand
Through Mr A contact, we extended the ethnographic fieldwork to Raman, a
district in Yala Province, Southern Thailand. The main contact person of this community
is Mr B, who provides space for various cultural activities within his family’s compound,designated as ‘Kemeng Folk Museum’. These cultural activities include martial art
training of Silat, Menora and Mak Yong. Other than Mr B, Mok A, Pok A8, Mok B, Pok
B, Mok C and Ms W were interviewed from 11th to 12th September 2019. Other than Ms
W and Mr B, the age of these Mak Yong community members are between 60 – 80 years
old. It is worth noting that all members interviewed for this study do not constitute a
permanent line-up for a Mak Yong performance but are part of the loose collective within
the network of Mak Yong artists. As it were with how Mr A operates with his Kelantan
Mak Yong community, if given the invitation, so does this community. They will first
discuss which artist and ensemble can be invited for a performance.

8 Pok is a term of endearment applied to a male elderly figure or mentor; the literal meaning is "uncle."

74

Figure 2 – Ke-meng Folk Museum Chalermraja Cultural Center in Raman, Yala
Province.
3. 1. 6 Knowledge Inheritance Within Mak Yong Community in Raman
Previously, we encountered the Mak Yong community in Kelantan, whereknowledge transfer was done formally in the higher institution witnessed by Mr A in the
90s. This knowledge transfer path has been common for the past few decades as Mak
Yong had been part of the curriculum in several higher institutions. Among these
institutions are the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA), MARA
University of Technology (UiTM), University of Malaya (UM), Sultan Idris Universityof Education (UPSI) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Despite the decreasing
popularity of traditional performing arts over the years marked by the extinction ofseveral performing arts such as Mak Yong in Kedah and Perlis, how can the Mak Yongcommunity in Raman survive and transfer their knowledge within the contemporary
context? It is one of the questions that drive the interview. The inquiry was divided into
several series of related questions to understand the reality these Raman Mak Yongcommunity had experienced.
Most of the respondents from the Raman Mak Yong community interviewed
came from the Mak Yong family of performers or actively participating in various Malay75

cultural activities, including Menora and Mak Yong. Pok B stated that Mak Yong had
been part of his life growing up as he did not go to school and would follow his family
wherever they may perform. The same goes with his younger brother, Pok A as well,where much later in life, they performed as Peran in Mak Yong, forming a comic duo
loved by their audience. While this is the case with most interviewees, we have seen
people other than the immediate family of performers participate in the activity. One ofsuch instances is in the case of Ms W. He acknowledged that his participation in Mak
Yong performance stems from his experience of getting healed through the spiritual
healing of Main Puteri when he was around 10 years old. As he was feverish for about ayear, his granduncle suggested that Main Puteri could help him get better. His firstparticipation in Mak Yong was during his adulthood of 28 years old, where he played as
Inang, one of the king’s maiden. His relationship with Mak Yong is a spiritual one, as hesaid it gives him vitality and refresh his spirits after a performance. Ms W’s relationshipwithin the community’s network is not uncommon as such a case is also seen in Mok
Mok C or Mok B, wife to Pok A. Despite having her mother that also performed in a
Mak Yong group, she started training with one of the family members of Pok B, whichis Mok D, who was also responsible for healing her spiritually. Other than Mok D, shealso learns Mak Yong from Pok B.

Figure 3 –Mok A during an interview at the Ke-meng Folk Museum76Regarding the age of exposure, an average of around 10 – 13 years old or preteenage is observed from the interviews conducted. Respectively, Mok A first started
training at 13 years old, Pok B at 10 years old, Mok C at 13 years old. Despite having
either parent as a member within the Mak Yong community, the knowledge transfer does
not necessarily happen between the child and parents. The case is true for Mok C and Ms
W, where they received training from community members outside their nuclear family.
However, it is worth noting that their exposure to the art that will influence theirsubsequent participation in the art is also an important context to understand. While
training is received from the senior members of the community, the exposure in theyounger community members could be initiated by its way of life where the community’s
inclusion of younger family members in the cultural activities is often done even withthe travelling nature of the community.
3. 1. 7 The Travelling Mak Yong Groups
While previous studies focus on certain conventions within the Mak Yongperformance, this travelling nature of the community was deeply discussed in theprevious studies. Our discussion on Mak Yong is important because the form travels
from its original state within the Patani – Kelantan region to other parts of the peninsula
such as Kedah, Perlis and even goes out as far as Sumatera and Riau islands throughSingapore. This context is especially important in discussing Mak Yong’s cultural
evolution. We will try to observe some cultural contexts that could give us the
background information for this discussion. The community members share various
stories regarding Mak Yong performance and their travels which might enlighten us onsome perspectives regarding this area of concern.

77Figure 4 – Pok A during an Interview at his house in Raman
Pok B provides some interesting stories about how Mak Yong was performed
during its heyday. It is said that Mak Yong groups that travel to perform in various places
will go out and travel for months before returning home. Some of the group had evenreached Penang other than the neighbouring Kelantan. The performance can sometimes
be ticketed according to the host's agreement that provides the space for performance.
The ticket price for a Mak Yong performance was charged at about 3 Baht (‘Kok’) during
the post World War II. Mak Yong can also be a communal activity as the players andactors often bring basic clothes and instruments. The costumes may be provided with thehelp of the village people in the area where they perform. Mok A explains that theperformance can be located anywhere from the middle of the paddy field to a cattle barn.
Pok B said that sometimes they performed in the shophouses and cinema owned by
Chinese business entities. There is even a story where Mak Yong shows in the cinema
managed to have more audience than a Hindustani movie showing at the same time. The
performance duration can be lengthy as it could be extended into dance sessions after
Mak Yong ended. Pok B recalls being sleepy playing the instrument in these sessions as
they have been playing music all night into the morning.

78

Figure 5 – Mok A (most front), Mr A (Right) and Ms W (Back) in a Mak Yongperformance at Prince of Songkhla University, Pattani Campus, several nights before
the meeting. (Courtesy of Prince of Songkhla University Pattani Campus)

3. 1. 8 The Mak Yong – Main Puteri Relation
Another interesting observation based on the fieldwork in Raman is theimportance of Mak Yong – Main Puteri relation within the sustenance of network andlongevity of the art form in Southern Thailand. There are three possible performance
structures regarding Mak Yong and Main Puteri. These are either Mak Yong or Main
Puteri without the other, and then there is the Mak Yong – Main Puteri performance(Yousof 2004: 41). While both Mak Yong and Main Puteri is interrelated to one another,
the objective is different. The former usually aims to entertain, while the other is for
spiritual healing purposes. The spiritual healing is often initiated by two main personnel,
mainly tok bomoh or tok puteri and tok minduk, with additional help from the musicalensemble consisting of Rebab, the bronze gong called tetawak and a pair of doublebarrelled drums (gendang). The additional instrument may include a pair of cymbals(canang) and an inverted gong called kesi.
Main Puteri typically starts with Buka Panggung ritual as with Mak Yong andWayang Kulit Siam. Usually, this spiritual healing is often done after the late-night
Muslim prayer (isyak). After a series of invocations, incantations and musical preludes,
then the period of trance by tok bomoh will begin. The objective is to diagnose which
spirits descended in the body of tok bomoh to be the ones who plagued the patient. The
spirits descended will be interrogated by the tok minduk, and persuasion between the79minduk and the spirits ensues. The former often provides an offering to the spirits to not
disturb the people involved in the ceremony. Should the spirits responsible for thepatient's illness be identified, tok minduk may strategise the negotiations either gently,
coerce or threaten depending on the situation at present. Periodic treatment to supplement
the cure for the patient is not uncommon, and in some cases, treatment may need to bedone for several nights. Depending on the nature of the illness that inhibits the patient, if
it is connected to angin mak yong or the wind of Mak Yong, the patient might need toperform a certain part of Mak Yong story to appease the spirit. Tok bomoh/Tok minduk
will appoint their patients to play a certain role in Mak Yong performance and guidethem through until spirits are satisfied, no longer putting the body of patients in harm’s
way. Such is the performance of Mak Yong – Main Puteri where the combination of bothelements of Main Puteri and Mak Yong is needed to cure the patient’s illness that is
associated with Mak Yong. Other types of illness that could be diagnosed through Main
Puteri includes angin silat, angin joget, etc. These illnesses are often associated with their
attachment within the linguistic perspective. It also incorporates the possible treatment
given to the patient to satisfy the prerequisite element of said sickness before the patient
recover. Several causes, concepts and methodology of treatment had been discussed
widely by Ghulam-Sarwar, Carol Laderman, Hardwick on this area, providing detailed
accounts of their observation (Yousof 2004, Laderman 1991, Hardwick 2009). Amongthe key concepts here that will be important in our analysis is the discussion revolves
around the concept of ‘angin’ or ‘wind’ as a descriptive Malay linguistic take on illness.
It is also associated with the concept of ‘semangat’, the Malay’s complex notion of thesoul previously discussed in the first chapter.
Within this study, we have observed another point of view regarding therelationship between Mak Yong and Main Puteri within the community. Through thecase of the Raman community, it is clear that the relationship between Mak Yong andMain Puteri performances goes beyond its function as a means to heal or revitalise thepatient’s spiritual aspect. Given the cases such as Mok C and Ms W, we understand that
Main Puteri acts as a tool for spiritual healing within the community and as a path to
introduce the art or to initiate new members to be included in the community (Syafiq
Faliq 2020: 9). This observation is crucial in our understanding as we need to confirm
how the art is sustainable within the community despite the decline of interest in theyounger generation. There seems to be a challenge in the direct inheritance of the art
within the community, evidently, through the cases of Mok A, Pok B and Pok A, where80their children are not interested in inheriting and continuing their legacy. However,another study on the same community relatively within the same period suggested a sparkof interest within some of the much younger community members (Beng & Shafii 2021).
Future studies will need to focus on these cultural mutations within the community
concerning their interest in the art. This study could help us understand the rate of decline
in the interest among the younger members of the community. Nevertheless, what we
could gather so far is the lack of systematic inheritance within the community that thesustenance of the art through the interest of its new members solely depends on the
random mutations within the younger community. Currently, it seems that the children
have no obligation to inherit the art from their parents. The data so far only suggested
that the mutations of interest within the community only appear randomly. Thus thequestion relevant to this discussion is on how the increased odds on random mutations
could, in turn, increase the probability of inheritance and sustain the art throughsubsequent generations.
Another interesting observation within this aspect is the characteristic of cultural
inheritance where oblique and vertical pathways can be seen from the data gathered. In
the case of the veteran members of the community such as Mok A, Pok A, Pok B, Mok
Mok C and Mok C, they received the knowledge regarding the art either from theirparents or the older generations such as their uncles, aunties or grandparents. The
younger generation, such as Mr B and Ms W, are also influenced by their parents or theolder generation. Another observation is that despite the cultural inheritance being thesame throughout the community members, each member is open to a unique experienceof cultural inheritance, such as the horizontal pathway seen through Pok A. In his case,he received the influence of Bangsawan in his younger days. He recalls that his focus onpractising traditional performing arts are not as focused as his brother, Pok B. It is yet
unclear how his participation in other types of performing arts had influenced him in his
performance of Peran in Mak Yong. However, this is a discussion that could be extended
in future studies. The Bangsawan group that Pok A participated in took advantage of theperiod movies shown in the cinema during those days and performed the same stories fortheir production. What can be understood through this observation is that each member
received core elements of cultural inheritance that they are exposed to earlier on.
Meanwhile, other experience is also possible that could have also influenced theirpersonal development as they matured in their inherited culture. Further analysis on theprobable impact on the cultural evolution of Mak Yong will be discussed later in the next81

chapter, with a special focus on the aspect of mutations within the traditions of theinherited culture. We will connect these contextual findings on the observation regarding
various disconnected data observed between the different periods of Mak Yong’s
documented history.
Concluding the first phase of data collection in this study, we have understood a
few vital contextual information regarding Mak Yong and several observations with thehelp of Cultural Evolution theoretical understanding. Among these vital information
includes approach in the body acting of Mak Yong actors, training method in the higher
institution and also within the community, some thoughts on the difference between Mak
Yong in Kelantan and its variant in Riau and Thailand according to its community
members, the revitalised version of Mak Yong in the city and higher institution and its
difference with the one still being performed in the villages, issues of knowledge
inheritance in the community and finally the relationship between Mak Yong and Main
Puteri in the cultural evolution context. This contextual information will be utilised as
background information in the next chapter as we discuss the qualitative and quantitative
data obtained in this study through Cultural Evolution Theory. More importantly, thisinformation will help us understand how the cultural evolutionary process within the Mak
Yong performance tradition resulted in the change we see today. It will also help us findanswers on the dysconnectivity of ethnographic data over different periods. Before
proceeding with the motion capture recording of Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab dance,
we will discuss the process involved in acquiring the knowledge on body movements for
Mengadap Rebab through participant-observation.
3. 1. 9 Acquiring Knowledge on Body Movements
The aspect of body movement knowledge acquisition within this study is vital forunderstanding the question of knowledge inheritance within the Mak Yong body culture
and its impact from a cultural evolution perspective. Another important discussion in thisstudy is the connection between dance choreography and other elements within theenvironment such as costume, performance space or accessories. Therefore, to prove theuniversality of this approach in determining knowledge inheritance, a comparison must
be made between two different performing arts that have no historical connection with
one another. Through our literary review, we have chosen Noh dance from Japan as a
candidate for the comparative motion capture data as there are no indications of any of82

its historical connection with Mak Yong. We will be visiting these resources andliterature as a context in comparing the motion capture data with a special focus on theconnection between the data and aspects that could influence them, such as accessories,
costumes, or stage. We will not be visiting the extensive literature available on Noh as
this will deviate our study from the focus on Mak Yong as the subject of interest. Rather,
the contextual information regarding Noh will be used as part of the comparative analysis
between the data from Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab and Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai. In
the next section, we will explore the next stage of this study, where knowledge on body
movements on Mak Yong and Noh was acquired through several methods. Thesemethods aforementioned are, imitating using online YouTube video as a reference for
Mak Yong and through workshops and classes for Noh.
3. 1. 9. 1 Acquiring Knowledge on Mak Yong’s Body Movement
Through the ethnographic work on Raman’s Mak Yong group in Yala, we were
informed by Ms W that he watched videos of previous performances by Mok A to help
him train and prepare for Mak Yong’s performance. We could understand that within thecultural inheritance of Mak Yong today, some members in the community will utilise thetechnology to acquire knowledge on the performance aspect of the art. However, thisapproach does not necessarily mean that it is the main method of knowledge acquisition,
but rather it is one of the possibilities within the community. Other more traditional
methods, such as those acquired by the previous generation, such as Mok A, Pok A, Pok
B, acquired the knowledge through constant exposure and observation since they were achild before being allowed to perform with the rest of the group. This path could beconsidered the informal acquisition as members obtained the knowledge through oral
traditions from their predecessors. Within the Malaysian higher institution, students
received formal education on performing arts-related programme where Mak Yong are
one of the subjects they need to learn and will be assessed. This path can be considered
a formal pathway where the impart of knowledge happens within a structured formal
system with its way of assessment.
The path of knowledge acquisition utilised for this study will be of informal one
where video on the performance of Mengadap Rebab made by students at the Sultan Idris
University of Education from the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts will be used asa reference for practice and motion capture recording session. Before the recording83

session, ample time will be taken to practice the dance steps of Mengadap Rebab tomemorise every movement. The video reference will also be used during the recording
session to avoid misrepresenting the temporal movements. Our objective is to record thepattern of the movements and the aspect of the movement concerning time. Thus, thetemporal aspect of the dance, as it needs to be performed alongside musicalaccompaniment, could not be disregarded. In the next section, we will discuss theexperience of acquiring knowledge of Noh’s body movements in Hagoromo Shimai.
While the acquisition of Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab can be considered informal, thebody movements acquisition for Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai can be considered semi-formal.
It was acquired through participation in an organised workshop done in several days.
3. 1. 9. 2 Acquiring Knowledge on Noh’s Body Movement
On 25th to 28th of February 2019, a workshop by Master A and Master B locatedin Rimbun Dahan, Selangor, Malaysia, was attended for the study. Both of them camefrom a place that has has strong roots in Noh tradition over hundreds of years. According
to Master A, his family line started to branch off from the main school around 400 years
ago. As with the tradition in Noh, Master A started his training at the age of three. The
workshop's participant's demographic ranges from the early 20s to 50s, with most, havea significant background in the performing arts, be it music, dance, or theatre.
During the first day, we were introduced to the two dance pieces that we willlearn throughout the workshop, namely Shimai dance from ‘Hagoromo’ and ‘Kōkaji’.
Master A performed the Kōkaji Shimai, while Master B performed the Hagoromo Shimai.
The Masters chose both pieces as it represents happiness and celebration. Sixteen
participants were then divided into two groups of eight people each. The lesson started
with the correct posture of a Noh player. The posture is performed with the hip slightly
bend to the back, straining the posture unnaturally. This position is called Kamae.
Another important aspect of this posture is the elbow needs to be pointed towards theside. One needs to be careful not to strain the elbow too much, resulting in a stiff andunnatural posture. Another important part of the movement is the Hakobi, where a Nohplayer moves almost gliding on the stage while maintaining the body’s point of gravity.
The player needs to show their grace movement to the extent that even as the piece needs
the player to turn in any direction (clockwise or anticlockwise), the feet needs togradually bend to the direction of the movement while maintaining the distance between
84one foot and another throughout the whole sequence. The front and back foot should not
be too far apart during the turning steps, with the back foot touching the front foot's heel.
For the Kōkaji Shimai, since the character depicted is of masculine one, a male fox god,
the body's posture is different from that of Hagoromo due to the gender depicted. The
footing position for this character needs a slight distance between feet.

Figure 6 – Master B held a Noh mask while Master A explained its function to
the workshop participants.
The second day started with an interesting explanation of some of the masks usedin Noh. Brought on that day were four masks that can be generally divided as male-typecharacters and female-type of characters, both two masks each. One of the mask
characters is a demon called Shutendoji that loves to drink sake. Usually, before wearing
the mask, the actor nods their head while facing the mask’s front side. This etiquette isdone as a symbol of respect towards past performers and ancestors who had donned themask. There will be a person in charge of tightening the mask for the performer. The
experience of wearing the mask could even be elevated to a trans-state, as at times, thelong duration of wearing them will result in pain to some parts between the face and themask. To respect the mask, one should only touch the side of the mask when wearing it.
We are then allowed to try and wear the mask. Understandably, a Noh performance isalmost an out-of-this-world, semi-trans experience as it propels the consciousness intoanother space and time where vision is quite limited. With no visibility on one’s feet, this
could be the reason why one needs to be cautiously concerned about the steps and space
they occupy on the stage to avoid mishaps and tumbling during a performance. A Noh

85

player like Master A requires 15-17 years of training before putting on the mask in
performance.
After the explanation by Master A, participants are then told to move around withthe mask that they wore. In Noh, the chin must be down, almost touching the neck, during
the entire performance. The only way to turn the body is by gradually changing thedirection of the steps without moving the body to the side of the head. Some participantscommented that female masks' holes are smaller than male masks. We then proceed tothe training session, continuing the previous day's progress. The second half of the Kōkaji
is harder than the first half as it involves many physically demanding motions such as
jumping and stomping steps. The jumping movements in this Shimai reflect thecharacter’s emotion of happiness. After successfully tempering the sword for emperor
Ichijo, the fox god was so happy that he stomped the ground before presenting it to theemperor. He then climbs on the clouds before arriving at the topmost cloud above themountains where he resides. During practice, some of the participants had physicaldifficulties due to the strain caused by the jumping motions. Some almost sprained theirmuscles as the motion demanded a quick change of pace while maintaining a good
posture after the jump. Another cause of this difficulty is the direction for the jump, which
demands a 180 degrees turn after the initial position. A tip for this part lies in theunderstanding of the landing posture. A too high jump will risk the player spraining theirlegs or thighs. Some participants almost sprained their ankles even though they alreadyhad their warm-up before training started. Master A told the participants not to jump but
instead replace it with a changing pose on the legs and thighs to ease the practice andavoid injury. Understandably, there are cases of injury during Noh performance, such as
the one performed by Kinue Ōshima from the Kita-Ryu school (Oshima 2017: 20). This
incident shows that even experienced players also have to face the risk of physical injury
during a performance. After the final review, the participants were asked to dance in agroup of four due to the limited space. After the performance, a discussion session was
done to review the whole training process before learning about the Hagoromo Shimai
after the lunch break. The group that had learned Hagoromo Shimai in the last two days
will now learn the Kōkaji Shimai, continuing the training to the next day.
The approach for Hagoromo Shimai is slightly different from Kōkaji Shimai. As
mentioned earlier, the character is feminine; hence the footing, especially the left andright feet, is close to one another as a sign of feminine character. The story of Hagoromo
is about a maiden that descended from the heavens. Her feather robe was taken away by86

a fisherman who stumbled upon it hanging on a bough. The maiden then asked the man
to return the feather robe, to which he agreed on a condition that she dance first for him.
The maiden replied that she needed the robe to dance, but the man suspiciously argued
that she may fly off and would not fulfil her promise. The maiden replied that only amortal would do such a thing as it is not of concern to the people of heaven. The maiden
then receives the feather robe and, as promised, dances for the man before ascending
back to heaven. The first half of the Hagoromo Shimai is not hard as it has a repetitive
sequence. Another huge difference between this dance and Kōkaji Shimai is the use of
the fan. The former needs the fan to open since the beginning, and the latter needs it
closed all the time. After the session ended, the participants moved on to the next training,learning Noh chant or Utai in ‘Takasago' after a short break. Among the tips shared
during the training was the chant's technique. The usual chant technique lets the air into
the body instead of letting the air out of the body in modern singing. Such notion andtechnique make the Noh chant unique as it creates a deep and whole sound, almost
restrictive in sound but powerful. During practice, Master A reiterate the application of
the Jo-Ha-Kyu concept in certain steps to give a better feel at the approach. The concept
can be understood as beginning-climax-conclusion flow to the dance steps. The concept
is important to give the performer awareness that needs emphasis. Both Masters will
frequently refer to the steps and movements following the chant accompanying the dance
during training. The whole performance lies within the tempo and the chemistry createdbetween the chant and the dancer. The musical accompaniment will add another level ofcomplexity and challenges for the performers to achieve perfection in harmony. Before
the discussion sessions ended, both Masters shared their thought on the concept of Hana(translated as ‘flower’). They feel that Hana is a very complex and philosophicalexplanation whereby it can be seen from any Noh players regardless of age and stage
within their Noh journey.
The third day of the workshop picks up from the previous day as we continue ourtraining into the second part of the Hagoromo Shimai. We went through a refresh trainingof the first part before going into the second part. The second part of the dance is muchharder than the first part. Although not physically as challenging as Kōkaji Shimai, thedance poses some challenges in emphasising certain steps. Master B reminded theparticipants many times during the practice to imagine themselves as the most beautiful
maiden in the world, longing to fly out of the stage towards the sky, her home. Such acomplex emotional state needs to be shown through a minimal gesture of hand87

movements, the quality of footsteps. Additionally, the tilted head angle (as if thecharacter are looking at the moon, the home of the maiden) and the gracefulness of the
fan’s beauty during the dance are also important elements. It could be said that the second‘performer’ of the dance is unknowingly the fan itself. The fan in the second part isutilised to symbolise some actions and images told in the passages of the Hagoromo chant.
For example, placing the fan to the shoulder and swinging it back and forth a few times
symbolises ‘wind’. In another sequence, the fan has to move slightly facing downward
motion, almost like a bow symbolising the notion of respect of the maiden towards theearth as she made her way to the moon. Interestingly, the dance sequence gradually gets
intense as it switches from the first part to the second part, demonstrating the Jo-Ha-Kyu.
After the presentation ended, a discussion was made before the lunch break to discuss
the outcome of the presentation. The participants were instructed to choose one Shimai
to perform on the workshop's final day. After a decision was made among the participants,
they trained for a few more rounds to improve their understanding and refresh theirmemories. After the training, the participants were then proceeded to the chant trainingof Takasago before calling it a day. During post-training discussion, Master B
commented that although the fundamental steps and framework of the dance is known,
Noh players should bring themselves out of the framework using their imagination.
Some participants arrived early to train before the final presentation on the final
day. Most participants chose to perform their dance pieces in their best dress. After the
performances, Master A and Master B performed each shimai in full costume. Bothmasters added emphasis and elaborations in terms of performance context, and one could
imagine the steps they taught were a basic framework. In contrast, the real performance
added decorations and ornaments that created a great painting altogether. After the
performance, they commented on their experience for the last four days of the workshop.
For the last part of the final presentation, they decided to choose one outstanding student
from each group to perform with the mask or robe. It seems that the participant was
having trouble performing despite the great early performance without a mask. The
participant was asked after the presentation and shared his experience. He felt as if he
was in another space due to the limitation on visibility.

88Figure 7 – Participants of the Noh workshop at Rimbun Dahan in the final photosession after the final presentation during the last day of the workshop.
After the performance ended, participants had a lunch break, followed by areflective discussion on the art of Noh. The participants were then asked to return the
Shimai fan used during the workshop before heading home. According to Master A, thefan or ‘Ougi, is the extension of a Noh player. It is an object that needs to be shown
respect, to the point that the surface of the fan is not to be played with unnecessarily
unless the occasion calls for it. Such instances are those like in Hagoromo Shimai, where
one needs to hold the decorated side of the fan and other times where one needs to close
it partially. A supernatural trait is also attached to the fan. Master A explained that god
inhibits the decorated side of the fan; thus, it needs to be treated with respect. The
workshop's overall experience provides a contextual ethnographic source for theconnection between choreography, accessories and clothing. One could argue on thisconnection and question how the decision was made in the past to introduce a newelement in the performing art subject. The new element is passed on across several
generations and possibly adapted to provide a beautiful aesthetic experience for theaudience while adhering to the core aesthetic. Concerning this study, we are then left
with questions on how the decision to change Mak Yong’s tradition was made in the past,
what process might occur and how the continuance of practice in later generations is
possible while the oral narrative within the past generations faded with time. These
questions can be seen in the two distinct styles of Mak Yong that existed today withreference to the past ethnographic data, the mask style and the non-mask style.
89

After the workshop, another Noh training class was attended under the guidanceof Master C between August 2020 and March 2021. Due to the restrictions caused by the
CoVid-19 pandemic, the training sessions were done remotely through Zoom online
platform. Two Shimai dances were taught in these sessions: ‘Oi Matsu’ and ‘Yuya’.
Sessions were done two times per month with a duration of training between one hour to
one hour and forty-five minutes per engagement. As these engagements are done througha one-to-one session, a lot of discussions on the art of Noh was done to enlighten further
several aspects of the art that was not able to be covered during the Noh workshop in
2019. Also, among the topic discussed in these sessions was the background of his family.
He shared his father's journey learning the art of Noh. It is interesting how the family has
continued as Noh actors since his father’s apprenticeship. Master C shared that before
his father became a Noh actor, the previous family member before his father that pursued
the path of a Noh actor was probably his ancestor, several generations prior. Some
aspects of Noh touched during these training sessions were discussions and the trainingof Utai or chanting. The previous workshop was not comprehensive, probably due to thedifficulty of reading the text and notations for the chanting melody. Vital to Shimai
learning, chanting provides a rhythm for the performance other than cues and thesemiotic of movements. We will visit these aspects within the next chapter as we discuss
the approach of movements in Mak Yong and Noh concerning their motion capture data.
Using the information obtained within the first phase, we will move on to the next
phase of this study which covers the quantitative aspect of this research. Due to thesubject captured in the next phase will not be the Mak Yong or Noh actors, this contextual
information and participant-observation ethnographic approach is imperative to havemotion capture data that sufficiently represents the art. Therefore, the important steps forthe next stage of this study are acquiring knowledge on body movements and the need tomirror the process undergone by community members. In the case of this study, Mak
Yong’s Mengadap Rebab body movements will be acquired through training andreference based on videos of other performers, like the one done by Ms W, a Mak Yongcommunity member in Raman. Meanwhile, for Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai, knowledge
acquisition is through contextual understanding and training by entering classes done bymasters of the art. Before going through the process of motion capture recording for both
Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai, we will first visit the history and importantconcepts behind motion capture technology and MATLAB®, the programming language
used to process, analyse and represent the data.
903.2 The Second Phase: Motion Capture and MATLAB® Data Processing

3. 2. 1 History of Motion Capture
In the previous section, we have understood several underlying aspects andcultural evolutionary processes that could provide us with vital information towards
achieving a holistic understanding of Mak Yong. At the same time, we managed toanswer some of the inquiries regarding the dysconnectivity of data spanning several
periods in time. In the second half of this chapter, we will explore the other important
aspect of this research: the quantitative research approach through the utilising of motion
capture technology. In general, motion capture is a technology that could help us translate
or process a live performance into digital performance (Menache 2011: 2). Conceptually,
Menache’s description of motion capture technology can be read as below:“Motion capture is the process of recording a live motion event and translating it into
usable mathematical terms by tracking a number of key points in space over time andcombining them to obtain a single three-dimensional (3D) representation of theperformance.” (ibid.)
Meanwhile, Kitagawa and Windsor, in a much practical nuance related to performancein the animation or entertainment industry, define motion capture as,91

“is sampling and recording motion of humans, animals, and inanimate objects as 3D
data. The data can be used to study motion or to give an illusion of life to 3D computermodels.”(Kitagawa & Windsor 2008: 1)
By looking into these definitions, we could understand that motion capture provides us
with a way to transform live 3D performance data into digital data. These data could be
used to study the performance aspect or to utilise it for animation or the entertainment
industry.
Historically, the technology for translating live performance into digital form has
been around since the nineteenth century. Setting up the stage for the emergence of thistechnology was from the photographic pioneers of Edward Muybridge, Etienne-Jules
Marey and Harold Edgerton. Muybridge’s zoopraxiscope invention in 1879 was derived
from his previous commission, where sequential photos of a horse’s feet movements
were captured by a dozen cameras (Menache 2011: 13 – 14). The device that wasconsidered as a precursor to motion picture technology was, in principle, could project
sequential images that were printed on disks in fast succession. Then in 1882, a meeting
between Etienne Jules Marey and Muybridge in Paris had inspired the former to inventa chronophotographic that enables the capture of multiple images in a single platethrough the application of time shutter in the application of the fixed single plate camera.
What sets this technology to be the basis of contemporary motion capture technology
today is the use of a special suit by the human subject to help plot the movement fromthe image and subsequently extract it. The third and final pioneer of motion capture
technology is Harold Edgerton. His invention of the stroboscope in the 1930s was a byproduct of the maintenance and testing of rotating machinery parts. This principle isrooted in the strobe light technology invented in the 1830s, albeit with an expansion
whereby Edgerton’s invention can be used to photograph fast-moving objects on film
through electronics that could match the flashing light to the revolution of a rotary motor.
Edgerton’s invention sets the ground for our current optical motion capture system,
where its application ranges from entertainment to sports science research.
While early inventors, as mentioned previously, paved the way for contemporary
motion capture technology, the predecessor to motion capture we know today could be92

credited to the Rotorscope technology created by Max Fleischer in 1915 that later
produced Betty Boop (1930) and Popeye (1933) (Menache 2011: 3, Kitagawa & Windsor
2008: 5-6, Delbridge 2015: 15). This technology aims to project live-action films one
frame at a time onto a light table where the cartoonists could trace the frame’s image on
the paper (Menache 2011: 3). Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the process, themethod is not in favour of the studios as even Fleischer took a year to produce a one
minute cartoon using the technique. Another example of rotoscoping came in 1937
during the production of ‘Snow White’ by Walt Disney Studios, where some of thecharacters were partially rotoscoped. The studio, too, had the same trouble ofoverbudgeting due to the complexity of the process (ibid.). With the advancement oftechnology towards the 1980s, motion capture was invented to meet with the growing
application of 3D animation in commercial media, as did Rotoscope for 2D animation in
the early twentieth century. The application of motion capture technology had started as
early as the 1970s in the medical and military research area. However, the real application
within the digital media is through a commercial project called ‘Brilliance’ in 1985
(Delbridge 2015: 15). This commercial produced to promote cleaning products aired aspart of the 1985’s Superbowl and was done by Abel and Associate (Menache 2011: 4 –6). The project had an 8-week schedule given by their client, and conceptually it uses
motion on 18 hinge points to produce a human-like motion for the animation. Throughframe-by-frame, these 18 hinge points were marked as black dots using black markers
and captured by the camera from multiple angles, whereby the model was asked toperform the movements on a stool with 360 degrees rotation. These image data was thentransferred into SGI Iris 1000 system, where the distance between markers was calculated
and combined to form algorithms for the animation.
Over the years, despite their niche application, motion capture has become one of
the important technology developed and widely used within the entertainment and media
industry. Since Abel and Associates project, other media companies had to utilise themotion capture approach as part of their solution for their projects between the 1980s andearly 1990s, such as Pacific Data Images, deGraf/Wahrman, Kleiser-Walczak
Construction Company and Homer and Associates. These attempts have also contributed
to the development of this technology. It also provided several options for solutions basedon the type of project. As of now, there are several types of motion capture technology
used in the industry. These different types of technology can be understood through the93system that is being adopted relative to the placement of sensors and capture sources
outside-in, inside-out, inside-in systems.
a) Outside-in is the system that collects data from the markers placed on the
body. The optical motion capture system will be an example of this system
where the camera will capture the positioning of the reflective markers withina space.
b) Inside-out is the system that collects data from an external source using
sensors placed on a body. An example of this system is electromagnetic
motion capture.
c) Inside-in is the system that collects data from sensors that detect the joints'
movement on the body. Thus the source of data comes from the movement of
the joint itself. An example of this system is the electromechanical or inertial
system.
In this study, we will be using an optical motion capture system provided by thelaboratory under the supervision of Dr Masahiro Shinya in Hiroshima University
Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Science. In the next section, we will familiarise
ourselves with the optical motion capture system used in this study to understand the core
principle behind the tool used for this study.

3. 2. 2 Optical Motion Capture System
An optical motion capture system is generally regarded as a system that can
provide very accurate motion capture data, especially for certain motions. A typical
optical motion capture system consists of two components which are a centralised
controlling unit, the computer and the second element, which is the capturing tool,
Charged-Coupled Device cameras. A CCD camera is a type of camera-equipped witharrays of photoelectric cells, which can also be called pixels. This light-sensitive feature
will allow the camera to capture any light source and thus create a digital representationof the physical image where the source originated. With this in mind, it can be said thatthe higher the resolution is, the better it will be. A typical range of optical motion capture
pixels product for professional use today is between one to twenty-six megapixels

94depending on the application. This number is expected to be increasing every year as
technology progresses and expands. The principle workings of the optical motion capturesystem require a good amount of undisturbed light sources to be clean and accurate. The
company has taken several steps to improve this accuracy. An in-built step for this systemis establishing light sources from the camera that could have a directional reflection fromthe markers. These markers are also provided by the company that supplies thetechnology. However, one could also build these markers by covering a spherical object
with Scotch Brite tape. Another in-built solution to this aspect is during the postprocessing stage, where the system’s software could have the function to reduce the noise
captured during the recording session provided that this noise or occlusion is notextended for a long period. Before a recording session could be initiated, the system
usually requires the camera calibrated. This calibration is usually done by having cameras
tracking an object with a known dimension, such as a cube-shaped object or wandequipped with reflective markers. Another aspect that needs consideration during thecalibration is the position of each camera. The positioning of the camera is important intracking reflective markers and establishing optimum space for motion that can bepresented during a session. As a point of reference, two calibrated cameras will be needed
to track a single marker. Additional cameras will maintain a direct line of sight from twomarkers. Due to these recommended settings, it is advisable to have at least eight tothirty-two cameras per recording session. Due to the load, it will have during the postprocessing stage, having two cameras does not always mean a better recording session.
Thus, one should bear in mind the considerations between the different aspects of the
project, be it the type of motion that need to be recorded, its speed, length, the timeneeded and the overall cost. As the data processing could be extensive, it is one of its
drawbacks as it requires high operating costs. Another limitation of optical motion
capture is its lack of ability to operate in real-time if the motion requires is complex or
requires a high number of performers. However, with the advancement of contemporary
technology, we have seen that this is possible with in-house software such as Qualisys
Track Manager and the integration with other third-party software for live-streaming
purposes (Qualisys n.d.). After the completion of the calibration stage, the recording
session will usually continue with three post-processing steps which are:
1. Producing clean playback of markers
2. Determining 2D coordinates of each marker per camera.
95

3. Identifying marker for each sequence
The data output from motion capture will give us the information on the sequence of
global marker positions against time where each marker’s Cartesian (x, y and z)
coordinates will be listed for every frame. These coordinates will then be processed in
the next stage of our study through MATLAB® programming language using preprogrammed functions and toolbox made by Berger and Toiviainen back in 2013. Before
we explore the workings behind Berger and Toiviainen’s pre-programme toolbox, we
will proceed with the motion capture recordings for this study. In the analysis section
within the next chapter, we will discuss the reflections made after the motion capturerecording sessions done in the laboratory, as these are important for future improvementsof this study.

3. 2. 3 Capturing the Dance of Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai
For the motion capture recording in this study, we will be using Qualisys motion
capture system with eight cameras to capture both Mak Yong and Noh dances. The model
used for this experiment is Qualisys Miqus M3, and the time resolution of the motion
capture is set to be 250 Hz. A total of 28 reflective markers with a diameter of 14 mm
will be used to construct the skeletal 3D model of the performances. These carefully
located markers will also become an important tool for the motion capturing process as
they will also record the values of motion at a certain part of the performer’s body. Values
obtained from these markers will be used for kinematic and time-series analysis tocompare Noh and Mak Yong choreography. While using Qualisys motion capture system
will provide the data needed for the analysis, it is only valuable to this study after being
processed into readable statistics. Thus, for this step, we will be using MATLAB®
(shortened from matrix laboratory) software as the programming language and its
toolbox programmed by Berger and Toiviainen (2013). This selection is because of its
integration with Qualisys Track Manager software, where the files could be easilytransferred and processed from the Qualisys Motion Capture system. As a fourthgeneration programming language, it was built with a special focus on numerical96

computation applications with other benefits such as built-in features that could enable
users to work with vectors and matrices types of data.
V
RA

Sca

LA

RLE

Ste

LLE
RAS
LAS

LAS

LUS

RUS
RB3

LB3

RAS
RP

LLC

RLC

LP
RT1

LMM

RMM

LP

RP

LTi
LT1

LTo

RTo

Figure 8 - Location of 28 reflective markers used for the mocap recording
MarkerPosition

Reference

Abbreviation

1

VertexHead

V

2

Right Acromion

Right Shoulder

RA

3

Left Acromion

Left Shoulder

LA

4

Sternum

Front Body

Ste

5

Scapula

Back Body

Sca

6

Right Lateral Emicondyle

Right Elbow

RLE

7

Left Lateral Emicondyle

Left Elbow

LLE

8

Right Ulnar Stylion

Right Hand

RUS

9Left Ulnar Stylion

Left Hand

LUS

10

Right Ringfinger Proximal

Right Finger

RB3

Left Finger

LB3

NumberPhalanx
11

Left Ringfinger Proximal
Phalanx

97

12

Right Anterior Superior Iliac

Right Side Waist

RAS

Left Side Waist

LAS

Spine
13

Left Anterior Superior Illiac
Spine

14

Right Trochanterior

Right Hip

RT

15

Left Trochanterior

Left Hip

LT

16

Right Lateral Condyle

Right Knee

RLC

17

Left Lateral Condyle

Left Knee

LLC

18

Right Patella

Right Knee Cap

RP

19

Left Patella

Left Knee Cap

LP

20

Left Tibia

L

LTi

21

Right Pternion

Right Heel

RP

22

Left Pternion

Left HeelLP

23

Right Medial Malleolus

Right Ankle

RMM

24

Left Medial Malleolus

Left Ankle

LMM

25

Right Toe Fifth Joint

Right Fifth Toe

RT5

26

Left Toe Fifth Joint

Left Fifth Toe

LT5

27

Phalanges Distales I

Right Toe

RTo

28

Phalanges Distales I

Left Toe

LTo

Table 1: List of reflective markers and their designated abbreviation
The Motion Capture Toolbox by Berger and Toiviainen is a set of MATLAB®
functions made to process music-related movements data coming from infraredreflective marker-based optical motion capture system. It can transform Motion Capture
data for analysis and visualisation where applications in combination with other
MATLAB® toolbox are also possible. These 64 functions are categorised into nine
categories which are:•Data input and edit functions•

Coordinate transformation functions•

Coordinate system conversion functions•

Kinematic analysis functions•

Kinetic analysis functions

98

•Time-series analysis functions•

Visualisation functions•

Projection functions•

Other functions
Function categories that will be utilised for this study are kinematic analysis

function of {mccumdist} to calculate cumulative distance travelled by certain markers,
the {mcstd} function categorised as time-series analysis function, which will calculate
the temporal standard deviation of data while ignoring missing values. For time-derivatesanalysis on motion capture data, we will be using the function of {mctimeder} todetermine values of velocity for markers and {mcplottimeseries} in the visualisation
function category to give us the plotted graph for data in time-series. After visualisingand comparing data, we will then proceed to macro analysis to contextualise the data.
Through ethnographic fieldwork of participant-observation and cross-checking with thehistorical context of both Noh and Mak Yong, we will try to uncover and support theanalysis obtained in the microanalysis stage. The utilisation of this approach is in linewith suggestions made by Golshani et al. in making a comparative analysis between two
cultural subjects captured through a motion capture recording system (Golshani et al.
2004: 99).

Figure 9 & 10 – Motion capture session for Mak Yong Mengadap Rebab (on the left)
and Noh Hagoromo Shimai dance (on the right).
As the comparative study will not look into different tiers of dance quality
presented, the approach is intended to record two takes for motion capture data that has
the level of 90% readability for certain markers out of the entire performance duration.
Our focus markers will be the head, hand, and toe markers. The reason is to avoid too99many errors or missing data in a take which will take a while to sort and make somecorrections in case the cameras were not able to capture at any given time. After eachtake, we will check the quality of the recording and discuss whether or not to do anothertake due to technical errors or performance errors of the dance. We cannot fully utilise
Mak Yong and Noh costumes in each take due to the demand of the Motion Capturemachine needing specific attire for capturing the reflective markers. Instead, we will use
practical props such as the Noh’s Ougi or folding fan as it impacts the movement andoverall choreography. As a reference, Figure 11 & 12 shows the motion capture outfit
and performance accessories used during the recording sessions. Some costume oraccessories elements could not be omitted from use during the recording due to thepractical effects it has on the choreography and performance. For example, in certain
steps of the Hagoromo Shimai, holding and opening the fan is needed. Without theseactions, it will falsely create the supposed movements, which is not the intention of thisstudy since hand markers are important ones that we will focus on for the comparative
data.

Figure 11 & 12 - Stick figure representing the connected markers on the dancer’s bodyfor Mak Yong and Noh performance through the interface of Qualisys Track Manager
software.
The next phase of the experiment is to process the result and visualise it through
MATLAB® software. Before calculating data for every recording, some pre-processing
steps are needed to produce smooth data. The steps include filling gaps if there are any
missing data from the recording session and reducing unnecessary noise. The function of100

mcfillgaps and mcsmoothen provided by Berger and Toiviainen will be used for thispurpose. The algorithm details of this function can be found in the appendix for reference.
It is also worth noting that we will be using the value of 0.2 Hz as the cut-off frequency
to smooth our data. Finally, the example of the programming structure for numericalcalculations of the marker values can be referred to below:
Cumulative distanceload MakYong_0001.mat;mcread MakYong_0001.mat;d2dist=mccumdist(ans);
mcplottimeseries(d2dist, [27 28]);

Velocity
load NohHagoromo_0001.mat
mcread NohHagoromo_0001.mat
d2v = mctimeder(ans, 1);
mcplottimeseries(d2v, [1 8 27], 1);

Standard Deviationload MakYong_0001.mat;load NohHagoromo_0001.mat;
d1=mcread ('MakYong_0001.mat');d2=mcread ('NohHagoromo_0001.mat');std1 = mcstd(mcgetmarker(d1, [1 8 27]));
std2 = mcstd(mcgetmarker(d2, [1 8 27]));101

figure, set(gcf,'Position',[40 200 560 420])
subplot(2,1,1)bar(reshape(std1,3,3)), xlabel('Dimension')legend('Head', 'Right Hand', 'Right Toe'), axis([-Inf Inf 0 1000])
title('Mengadap Rebab')
subplot(2,1,2)
bar(reshape(std2,3,3)), xlabel('Dimension')legend('Head', 'Right Hand', 'Right Toe'), axis([-Inf Inf 0 1000])
title('Noh Hagoromo');

There are three movement patterns that we will look into for the microanalysis of bothdances, as explained earlier. The cumulative distance for toe markers will tell us thecharacteristics of the dance in terms of space occupancy. We will look into the correlation
between the result and the macro analysis of both dances regarding the space size of the
Mak Yong and Noh dance. There is a probability of correlation between the traditional
space provided for the dance and the choreography tradition. Another element that wewill investigate is the value of standard deviation in several markers. The standard
deviation will tell us which part of the body is most prominently used in the dance. We
could also observe body parts not prominently utilised for each dance and the symbolic
meaning of the decision for such communication in the dance choreography. Lastly, thekinematic analysis on the velocity for head, hand and toe markers will tell us the
movement pattern in terms of velocity for each of these markers. This kinematic analysis
will allow us to look into the pattern of change in the movement for a certain part of the
body throughout the whole performance. The change in movements could tell us theimportant part of the body, the focal point between performer-audience interaction.
In summary, the process of steps of acquiring the motion capture data for both
Mak Yong and Noh could be simplified as below:102

1. Identify the number of markers needed for the skeletal representation of thecaptured body in the performance. Important markers that will be used in thisstudy is a head marker (Number 1), hand markers (Number 8 and 9) and toe
markers (Number 27 and 28).
2. Change outfit and stick reflective markers on important points in the body.
3. Calibrate the cameras and position them accordingly to capture these important
markers; head markers, hand markers and toe markers.
4. Test run a few times and review the percentage of captured markers data.
5. Should all important markers have more than 90% captured, frame and at least
two sets data of dance was recorded, proceed to the next steps. If not, repeat thewhole recordings.
6. Transfer all data to the MATLAB® software and check missing frames forimportant markers using the function of {mcmissing}
7. If any markers have missing frames, use {mcfillgaps} to fill missing frames.
8. If all markers’ frames have been filled, proceed firstly with cumulative distancefor each dances’ head, hand and toe markers through the function of{mccumdist} and execute programming to obtain the graph throughthe{mcplottimeseries} function.
9. Proceed with the calculations of standard deviation values of each dances’ head,
hand and toe markers and display both dances’ values in a graph for comparison
through the function of {mcstd}.
10. Finally, proceed with the calculations of velocity for each dances’ head, hand
and toe markers and display values through the functions of {mcplottimeseries}.

In this chapter, we have discussed the two stages of data collection for this study
consisted ethnographic fieldwork data provided by the Mak Yong community in Raman,
Southern Thailand. The community shared important insights on the knowledge
inheritance over several generations, including from the start of their journey when they
were still a child until their adult years, inheriting their knowledge onto the next
generation. Some of these channels of knowledge inheritance were shared by one of thefamily members named Ms W where he learned by observing the video recordings of his
teacher’s performances. This method was employed as part of the participantobservatory method in acquiring the knowledge and presenting it during the motion
103capture recordings in the next phase. Before the second stage of the data collection forthis study, another knowledge acquisition was made on Noh dance from japan to compare
the data with Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab. This comparative study intends to look at
the effectiveness of using motion capture data as a tool for studying the effects ofelements within the dance tradition on dance choreography. Suppose a causal link
between these elements to Mak Yong’s choreography by the same hypotheticalassumption. In that case, the same could be said to other performing arts regardless of
their culture of origin. If data extracted showed the same causal link between the elements
and their effect on choreography, then hypothetically, motion capture could beconsidered a good tool for such purposes in dance study.
In the second stage of this study, we had explored the historical significanceorigin of motion capture technology and learn about the many types of motion capture
technology that existed in the entertainment and media industry. We have chosen opticalmotion capture technology for this study as it is convenient for our purposes. Together
with the consideration on the type of motion capture comes the programming language
to process, analyse and visualise the data of motion capture recordings in this study which
is MATLAB® software. Before the recordings, we have identified several importantelements for the sessions to consider, such as important accessories for the performance.
This step is important to have the best data representing the numerical analysis
performance. After completing recording sessions, we then transferred the data to the
MATLAB® software before proceeding with the computation of data and displaying it
through graphs or charts using the MoCap toolbox developed by Berger and Toiviainen.
The toolbox specifically caters for projects that analyse movement data recorded by
optical reflective marker-based motion capture systems concerning time. After the initialrun, we have considered head, hand and toe markers (marked by numbers 1, 7, 8, 27 and28) as important data for the analysis due to their 90% frame readability. What this meansis that 90% of the frames in the recordings for these markers were successfully detected
and recorded, thus resulting in reliable output data and being eligible for numericalcomputation analysis. The next chapter will discuss the findings from the numericalcomputations using MATLAB® and the graphical representation of data from thisanalysis method.

104

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGSIn the previous chapter, we obtained two types of data for our analysis. Within
two phases of the study, we collected both ethnographic and motion capture data thatneeds to be integrated with one another to rectify issues on Mak Yong’s fieldwork data.
However, before the analysis could begin, a discussion on some of the approaches on
dance analysis and understanding the nature of data presented was carried out. Based on
several important dance studies, categorization of visual components in dance can bedivided into movement, dancers, visual setting, and aural elements (Adshead 1988:
Location 416). As the first step in the dance analysis, these components provided thebasic structure before further analysis was conducted to construct a deep understanding
on a subject. Adshead further describes,

105

“Again, the selection of particular directional emphases derives from the historicalorigins, purposes, and significance(s) of each dance.”(ibid. location 440 – 452)
However, to achieve this understanding, there is a dilemma in finding a unifying
analytical method that would fit all types of dances that existed in the world. This wasaddressed by Adshead who added that there were issues fraught upon in the process ofanalysis, namely impracticality and unfit for a specific dance. In general, there are two
types of approach in dance analysis. The first would be anthropological method as canbe seen through the scholarly work by Kaeppler and Hanna (ibid.: Location 475 - 489).
Nonetheless, Bartienieff and Hanna argued that there is a need to develop a methodologythat specifically caters for dance analysis (ibid.: Location 489). This led to the tendency
of movement analysts to use another preferred method of dance analysis, which is theapplication of Rudolf Laban’s movement theories. The application is then seen in its
development in Europe and the USA, where the former was through the works done by
Knust and Hutchinson Guest while the latter through Bartenieff et al.’s choreometrics
and the Dance Notation Bureau’s notation. The development of these approaches has led
into ‘Laban Movement Analysis’ (LMA) or ‘Labananalysis’ where both Labanotation
system and the approach of effort-shape is utilized to create a more comprehensive
analysis. Often researchers within this field attempted to create an approach that would
enable the possibility of cross-cultural analysis. Thus, the idea of an attempt to investigate
different types of dance across cultural boundaries is not a contemporary idea but has
been around for a while. Bartenieff for example had expressed the need to categorized
dances across various culture according to their regional and functional families. The
intention is for the ease of learning its cultural and historical contexts (Bartenieff 1967:
92). This has become a huge challenge to scholars as they seeked out to not only create
a comprehensive analysis method for all dances, but also the drive to understand thecross-cultural elements between different cultures within the analysis approach. It is thenimperative for this study to employ the cultural evolution theory, as it will enable us tounderstand the changes within different subgroups of people within the same community
or across different communities. Later in the chapter we will visit the important conceptsof Cultural Evolution theory used as a tool for analysis on the data obtained from bothethnographic and motion capture data. As we are presented with the type of data obtained106

in this study, what should be our approach to connect the elements of the dance with thequestion of cultural evolution?
Out of all the components listed, we are inclined to consider the movement
component for the analysis due to the nature of data obtained and how formalistic
analysis will assist us better. It will also correspond towards the element of change in thesocio-cultural environment. Thus, the analysis that we require is not merely describe ortheorize the symbols that matter to the communication of dancers in a Mak Yong dance,
but rather to use the opportunity to see how these elements could help us answer thedifferences that existed between ethnographic data in the past with the contemporary. As
we recognise the approach of these dance analysis, the first step in understanding themis to break down the dance into components that is important in the expressions andcommunication of the cultural subject. In reflection of this, we could apply Golshani etal.’s (2004) approach of micro-macro analysis to construct our understanding. The
practicality of applying this method is due to the comparable nature of its data to ourstudy. At the same time, it adopts a similar approach to understanding dance by breaking
down the elements in a dance.

4.1 The Macro – Micro Approach for Motion Capture Data Analysis
Golshani et. al’s (2004) analysis begins by deconstructing the subject into several
elements that constitutes the symbolic meaning and significance of the subject as a wayof communication. To achieve a similar effect in understanding elements needed for thiscomparative study, we used samples of motion capture 3D data taken from Noh and Mak
Yong dance as the data for micro analysis. Noh Hagoromo Shimai dance from the Shitekata school of the workshop was used as a sample data. For Mak Yong, the opening
sequence dance of Mengadap Rebab was employed to represent the Mak Yong data. Dueto the difficulty of the long process in motion capturing and data processing, the authorof this study performed both dances. As reflected by Golshani et. al’s study, part of therequirement in this study is the need to have hybrid researchers who understand thescientific process of acquiring data while at the same time having an artistic background
who also understands the creative process involved in the dance. Though this can be
regarded as a form of bias in this study, nevertheless, such experimental approach is107needed to obtain the required data for comparison. It is also worth noting that as thisstudy is an inter-cultural analysis, hence the high level of precision in executing
performances for each dance as done by professionals is not an important variable toconsider. Only a general choreographic understanding on the dance is needed withenough preparation time and training before the recording to ensure each step were
executed as per instruction or as close as it could to the one performed by masters.
However, this approach could only be used as an approach to connect the qualitative andquantitative data in this study. It will not be able to help us describe the phenomenon forour observation. Thus, it is pragmatic to combine this approach together with Cultural
Evolution theory to understand Mak Yong as our cultural subject of interest. Before we
begin our analysis, we will look into several key concepts that will be beneficial inunderstanding the process of change happening within a culture.

4.2 Cultural Evolution Theory

Theory on cultural changes in society is not a recent development. In fact, Darwin
made an early observation on the connection between cultural and biological evolution
in 1871:“The formation of different languages and of distinct species, and the proofs that bothhave been developed through a gradual process, are curiously parallel . . . The survival
or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural
selection.”(Darwin 1981, 59 – 61)
Within these pages, Darwin was making a similar observation between language andbiological evolution through natural selection. He described how different languages
could have homologies and analogies to one another due to the common processes
occurred acting upon its development. Thus, an instance where a certain word survived
or preserved over a long period of time shows that it had actually undergone a similar
process with any species that prevailed in the wild. If we could apply this concept to108

language, then similarly we could apply this to other elements of culture as well as
traditional performing arts. By definition, Alex Mesoudi described culture in several
definitions. These definitions can be understood as:
1. Referring to a group of people in a nation
2. Referring to high culture such as literature, classical music, Noh or Mak Yongdance, etc.
3. Describing shared values practice in a group or an organisation
Thus, when referring to culture, scientists are referring to a broad term encompassing allof these elements. We can also conclude that this broad term of culture can be defined as
information received by an individual from others through social transmission
mechanisms such as imitation, teaching or language. Here the word ‘information’ can beunderstood as knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, norms, preferences and skills. However, weshould distinguish the difference between culture and information gained through genetic
stored as a DNA. We should also distinguish culture with information acquired throughindividual learning. The difference between the former and latter is the absence of socialtransmission mechanism. As a social animal, human spread information from individual
to individual through interactions with one another. Embedded within the information
lies language, beliefs and other information that encompass within the broad idea ofculture.
Mesoudi further explained, to understand the base of cultural evolution concept,
one will need to go to the original source from Darwin through his work in the ‘On theOrigin of Species’. In the book, Darwin introduced three important elements in his ‘longargument’ which are variation, competition and inheritance (Darwin 2009). If any ofthese could not be proved than evolution does not occur. Thus, similar to the biologicalevolution, if cultural subject exhibits variation, competition and inheritance, only thencan it be considered as an evolution. Observing human culture, we will notice that acrossgeopolitical boundaries, human exhibit variations of beliefs, norms, preferences, cultural
traditions, languages and other cultural elements. Meanwhile, other elements that causes
the evolution is also observed. Technology, language and forms of performing art aroundthe world exhibits these characteristics. A dominant traditional performing arts forexample will find itself close to the source of capital. Why do certain performing arts
receive patronage over others is due to the competition and limited amount of resources
109that it can favour. Take for example in the case of Mak Yong, where it received patronage
with several other performing arts such as Wayang Kulit during its days under Tengku
Temenggung Long Ghafar (Ghulam – Sarwar 1992: 23, M. H. A. Khan 2017: 3). Other
examples such as recognition by UNESCO can be considered as competition as well. At
present, only Mak Yong is being considered as the intangible cultural heritage over the
rest of traditional performing arts. The fact that Mak Yong existed in Malaysia, Thailand
and Indonesia but only the Malaysian Mak Yong is recognized proves this occurrence.
The final element in discussion is the aspect of inheritance. In biological evolution,
inheritance can be defined as traits that is being passed down from parent to theiroffspring. If these traits increase the chance of survivability of their parents, then theiroffspring will receive the benefit as well. Overtime, this will gradually increase thesurvivability of a species as beneficial traits is being passed down over successive
generations. We could also observe cultural subject having this trait as well. The generalexample can be seen in technological advancement of today. The innovations made bymankind does not actually came on its own. It is usually an accumulation of knowledge
being passed down from its predecessors until its current product is formed. Beneficial
traits are often kept while other improvements are made to increase its reliability andeffectiveness. Thus, any unsuccessful technological advancement will become obsolete
as it does not meet with the users needs. Another interesting observation can be made on
Mak Yong which we will discuss later after the result has been presented.
Other than these three key concepts in Darwinian evolution theory, he addressed
several important concepts that explains biological phenomena. These concepts are
adaptation, maladaptation and convergence. If cultural is consider Darwinian, then it
should exhibit these characteristics as well. Adaptation in Darwinian theory of evolution
explained how organism interact with their environment to achieve higher rate of fitness;the higher their adaptation with their environment, the more likely they are to survive.
Consider organisms that are able to swim fast due to their streamlined body, this will
help them to hunt better or escape from their natural predators. In terms of cultural
evolution, we observed the development of hunting tools that specifically addressed theneed of that community that thrive on hunting activities. Their challenges in achieving ahigher success rate in hunting depends on the design of their hunting tools whileconsidering their available resources in the environment or within their social network.
Meanwhile Maladaptation can be understood as the opposite meaning of adaptation.
While adaptation within the biological evolution gives advantage to a species,
110maladaptation can be understood as traits that is not beneficial to the species’ newenvironment. This is possible when organisms maintain its traits from their previous
environment but the changes do not really affect the entire population to the brink ofextinction. One of the good examples is the skeletal hind limbs of a whale, reflecting its
quadruple predecessors long time ago. The last important element explained by Darwin
is convergence. Convergence can be defined in biological evolution where one species
evolve into having common traits due to the similar environment they live in. A good
example of this element is the function of wings for bats, birds and insects. In terms ofcultural evolution, one could observe the emergence of writing system in the early
civilisation such as the Sumerians, Chinese or Mexican Indians. Another example is thecreation of fork and chopsticks, both function as a tool to pick up food.
Referring to the concept developed and explained by Darwin, we have now
understood the parallel phenomena occurring between both biological and cultural
evolution. Since then, the Darwinian concept of natural selection for evolution was
improved by later works in modern synthesis by neo-darwinian. However, whereknowledge on biological evolution had developed further under neo-darwinian, Mesoudi
saw cultural evolution only exhibiting Darwinian and not neo-darwinian characteristics
based on evidence presented (Mesoudi 2011: 46). Thus, our understanding is that cultural
evolution exhibits the opposite of neo-darwinian assumption which consists of threeelements. These are non-particulate transmission, Lamarckian and directed mutation. On
non-particulate transmission, information is being passed on to others with blending
characteristics. This means whatever information is being passed on, it will be mixed
together with other sources of information and never discern into several small units into
the receiver. In terms of Lamarckian cultural inheritance, this means that whatever
information that is being passed on to others, will be modified first according to our own
knowledge, beliefs or skills. The final assumption is the directed mutation where cultural
mutations occur due to a directed action that spurs the reaction towards it. We could takethe example of the change in consumer behaviour towards advertisement campaigns ofcommercial campaigns or strategies made by commanders during war. While genetic
mutation is seen as total random, cultural mutation does not follow this neo-darwinianassumption.
Another important discussion on cultural evolution concerns around variations
within cultural subject. In general, variations within cultural subject over periods of time
will contribute to the evolutionary process in a species. There are two levels of111

evolutionary trend often considered as microevolution and macroevolution. While
microevolution concerns variations within the same species in shorter temporal period,
macroevolution concerns the trend of evolution that leads into a new species over longer
period of time. In understanding the driving force that caused the variations in the field,
several scholars such as Cavalli-Sforza, Feldman, Boyd and Richardson had addressed it
through the simulation of mathematical model. Through their scholarly work in ‘Cultural
Transmission and Evolution: A Quantitative Approach’ (1981) and ‘Culture and the
Evolutionary Process’, we could understand processes that influenced the culturalvariations in the field. These occurrences can be understood as transmission, variation,
cultural selection, cultural drift and natural selection. Within the microevolution process,transmission that caused variations of cultural traits has three elements which arepathway, scope and mechanism. In pathway, three types of direction can be observed
which are vertical; the transmission from biological parent, oblique which comes fromthe parental generation and lastly horizontal; pathway of cultural traits coming from thesame generation with a particular individual. The second important elements oftransmission is the scope of transmission, which can be understood in two methods; oneto-one or personal face to face learning from one individual to another and one-to-many,
which concerns a transmission from one individual to many individuals. In terms of its
mechanism, microevolution through transmission has two observable elements which are
blending and particulate. Blending mechanism concerns the average cultural traits
adopted continuously by a subject from various sources while particulate deals withtransmission with the element of ‘all-or-nothing’ transmission of discrete traits.
The next process is important for our discussion within the microevolution
variation due to the cultural mutation or guided variation. While cultural mutation
happens at random, guided variation is a directed or targeted change where the receiverwill modify the information according to their own cognitive biases. Another important
microevolution process is variation, where it is divided into cultural drift and natural
selection. Cultural drift is a process that causes the change in the frequency of cultural
traits due to random mutation, copying or sampling error. Meanwhile, natural selection
is connected to the fitness where cultural traits are preferable and spread due to its
benefits for the survivability or reproduction. The final two processes of microevolution
are cultural selection and migration. Under the cultural selection, cultural traits aretransmitted due to several pre-existing biases from the receiver’s end. These biases canbe understood as content, model-based and frequency-dependency biases. Through112content biases, the receiver is more likely to adopt the trait due to its intrinsic
attractiveness. In model-based biases, the receiver will consider the source of the cultural
trait. The receiver is more likely to adopt due to the source’s prestige, age or theiridentifiable similarity. Where the first two biases concern the source, frequencydependency biases looks at the frequency of cultural trait. The best example for this iswhen the receiver conforms to the most popular cultural trait adopted by the population.
Under the migration, cultural traits are observed to be transferable into a population under
two kinds of transmission, which are demic diffusion and cultural diffusion. Demicdiffusion are cultural traits that was spread due to the movement between communities
by the source of cultural trait. Meanwhile in the cultural diffusion, cultural traits movebeyond a community due to the transmission of cultural traits across groups.
We have now understood the driving force behind the variation of cultural traits
within the field in micro-level. While mathematical model is responsible in explaining
these phenomena, a different approach is needed for macro-level changes. In
macroevolution, phylogenetic method and neutral drift models were applied and tested
against the available data. However, our inquiry within this study is to look fordysconnectivity of data between several studies of Mak Yong in a different time period,
thus taking macroevolution approach not practical for the analysis. We instead looked
into the definitions given to define the driving force in microevolution. Before we
proceeded to implement this analytical approach, we addressed a few questions regarding
the compatibility of combining cultural evolution with that of ethnographic data.
Secondly, does cultural evolution fit within the pragmatism paradigm? In regards to thecomplement of ethnographic data with the cultural evolution outcome, Alex Mesoudi
enlighten us on its benefits,“Ethnographic field studies complement experiments by tracking cultural change withinsmall communities of people, addressing such questions as whether people learn
primarily from their parents or from their peers, and how such transmission pathways
affect within- and between-group cultural variation.”(Alex Mesoudi 2011, xi)
Thus, from our available ethnographic data on Mak Yong in Raman, we understood andrelated with the suggestion given by Mesoudi. These contextual data will not be able to113generate in a controlled laboratorial experiment. Without the complementary approachby ethnographic studies, we could only assume and predict, but will never understandwhat really occurred in the field around our cultural subject of interest. In regards tocultural evolution and pragmatism, does both subject fit with each other? William James
had made a remark on the parallel between both cultural and biological evolution in his
1880 writing,“A remarkable parallel, which I think has never been noticed, obtains between the factsof social evolution on the one hand, and of zoological evolution as expounded by Mr.
Darwin on the other.”He then further notes on what can be defined as random cultural mutation in regards tothe working force behind significant cultural achievement in human civilisation.
“Sporadic great men come everywhere. But for a community to get vibrating throughand through with intensely active life, many geniuses coming together and in rapid
succession are required. This is why great epochs are so rare, - why the sudden bloomof a Greece, an early Rome, a Renaissance, is such a mystery.”
Therefore, we are presented with the James’ line of thought parallel to the idea of cultural
evolution. However in the very same writing, he criticized the Spencerian idea of cultural
evolution, favouring the Darwinian approach to evolution instead.
“I think that all who have had the patience to follow me thus far will agree that the
Spencerian "philosophy" of social and intellectual progress is an obsolete anachronism,
reverting to a pre-Darwinian type of thought, just as the Spencerian philosophy of"Force," effacing all the previous distinctions between actual and potential energy,
momentum, work, force, mass, etc., which physicists have with so much agony achieved,carries us back to a pre-Galilean age.”
Faced with our cultural interest in Mak Yong, our inquiries regarding the dysconnectivityof data, the approach using motion capture and utilizing cultural evolution as a basis of
our analysis—— these do not deviate us from the path of understanding a subject from114

a pragmatist approach. The next stage in our analysis determined the suitability of our
subject according to the appropriate cultural evolution concepts and definitions.
Our inquiries regarding Mak Yong’s dysconnectivity of data led us to focus ourefforts in observing the trend of variations in Mak Yong’s bodily expression. Thesevariations can be considered as micro-level variations as it only concerns Mak Yong as
its central subject. However, we also noticed some connections with other related
traditional performing arts in the region. Nevertheless in the course of our analysis, ourelaborations focused more on comparing different variations of Mak Yong to reconstruct
Mak Yong’s historical narrative based on the presented evidence. Additional information
related to other traditional performing arts acted as a supplement or contextual data thatwill enrich our understanding. We could also consider these related traditional
performing arts for future analysis in the future through considerations on using
macroevolution analysis tool such as phylogenetic methods. Thus, for this study it ismore effective to utilize the approach of microevolution analysis tools and definitions tounderstand the data we obtained. We will now proceed with the data obtained frommotion capture recording and understand its data trend with supplemented ethnographic
and literary data for analysis.

4.3 Cumulative Distance, Standard Deviation and Velocity Graphs Readings
Before our data can be processed using this toolkit, raw data from the file was
loaded first and then proceeded with the function ‘mcread’. Using this function, the raw
data was transformed into MoCap data structure. Only by having the MoCap data
structure can we use the toolkit for this study. This data structure provided various
information such as the recorded locations of the markers including basic informationsuch as number of markers, number of cameras used to record the data, names of themarkers used during the recording session and the sampling frequency. Anotherimportant information provided by the data was the matrix containing the locations of
the markers which were divided into x, y and z-coordinates. It also has field that showed
the order of time differentiation, with zero corresponding to location, one to velocity andtwo to acceleration. We used the field of velocity as the tool for microanalysis throughthe function of ‘mctimeder’. Our analysis started with the cumulative distance travelled115

by toe marker for both Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai before looking into thestandard deviation values between the head markers, hand markers and toe markers andfinally we looked into the velocity graph of head markers, right hand markers and right
toe markers.

4. 3. 1 Cumulative Distance Travelled by Hand and Toe Markers
One of the important things that we analyzed was the effects of performance
space towards the choreography. In order to measure and analyze, we used the function‘mccumdist’ from the toolbox to look for the cumulative distance for toe markers. The
data output was plotted using the function ‘mcplottimeseries’. The result of marker 27
and 28 represents left and right toe markers while marker 8 and 9 represents left- andright-hand markers. The visualization of these results are shown below.
Mak Yong Right Toe Marker, Norm
Data

Noh Right Toe Marker, Norm Data

Mak Yong Left Toe Marker, Norm Data

Noh Left Toe Marker, Norm Data

Figure 13a & 14a – Cumulative distance by Toe Markers for Mak Yong Mengadap
Rebab (Left) and Noh Hagoromo Shimai (Right)

Mak Yong Right Hand Marker, Norm Data

Noh Right Hand Marker, Norm Data

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Mak Yong Left Hand Marker, Norm Data

Noh Left Hand Marker, Norm Data

Figure 13b & 14b – Cumulative distance by Hand Markers for Mak Yong Mengadap
Rebab (Left) and Noh Hagoromo Shimai (Right)
4. 3. 2 Standard Deviation Graph for x, y and z Dimension

Using {mccumdist} function, we obtained the cumulative distance for certain
specific markers. However, the analysis of this study also looked at the extent of
movement for a particular part of the human body. This is done to have a better look at
the micro analysis of the dance for a better comparative analysis. Through theunderstanding of the movement extent for certain parts of the human body, weinvestigated the important aspect of movements for a dance in the 3D space or the 2D
plane. If there are similarities, it could hint us on the cultural diffusion of certain aesthetic
in a dance across different communities of the world. Again, despite these earlyarguments however, we needed to cross-check with the macro analysis to gain a better
insight on the comparative analysis. To begin our analysis, after loading the data, weused the {mcstd} function to calculate the standard deviation before plotting it in a bar
graph for a better visualization and comparative analysis. Due to the huge difference in
std values between Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai, an adjustment was madefirst in the values for y-axis of the graph. The graph obtained from executing the functions
are given as below.

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Figure 15 – Standard deviation graph for Mak Yong Mengadap Rebab and Noh
Hagoromo Shimai between the head, left hand and left toe markers.

Figure 16 – Standard deviation graph for Mak Yong Mengadap Rebab and Noh
Hagoromo Shimai between the head, right hand, and right toe markers.

4. 3. 3 Velocity Graph for Dimension X, Y, Z
Dance in general concerns the spatial-temporal aspect of our reality. But can wesee similar characteristics or features in cross-cultural analysis in dances across the118

world? Despite the possibility of cultural transmission across communities, can thetemporal aesthetic aspect that was embedded in a dance travel or diffuse from one
community to another? Due to these inquiries, we looked into the velocity of movement
as an aspect of comparison for this study. To be pragmatic, we used the head, the righthand and the right toe markers for Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai due to thequality issues in the capturing aspect of Mengadap Rebab. The left toe marker washindered most of the time as the dancer needed to sit cross-legged on the ground andseldomly move around to let the camera capture the data. Thus, we could not compare
the left toe marker to Hagoromo Shimai’s left toe marker properly as the low quality will
not have the adequate data for comparison. To proceed, we called the ‘mctimeder’function before plotting it using ‘mcplottimeseries’ function. Marker 1, 8 and 27
represent the head marker, the right-hand marker and the right toe respectively. The result
is given below.

Figure 17 & 18 - x-dimension velocity graph for Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab (left)
versus Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai (Right) for Head Marker, Right Hand Marker andRight Toe Marker.

119Figure 19 & 20 - y-dimension velocity graph for Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab (left)
versus Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai (Right) for Head Marker, Right Hand Marker andRight Toe Marker.

Figure 21 & 22 - z-dimension velocity graph for Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab (left)
versus Noh’s Hagoromo Shimai (Right) for Head Marker, Right Hand Marker andRight Toe Marker.

However, to be more precise in respect to the current programming by Berger
and Toiviainen, we considered the movement of these markers in respect to the horizontal
and vertical plane. Therefore, we had to create a separate programming to calculate thehorizontal and vertical velocity for both dances. This is to ensure our data will represent120

the proper measurement and calculations from the recorded data. The outcome of thecalculation is shown below.

Figure 23 & 24 - Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Head Marker in
Mengadap Rebab (Left) and in Noh’s Hagoromo (Right)

Figure 25 & 26 - Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Right Hand Marker in
Mengadap Rebab (Left) and Noh’s Hagoromo (Right)

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Figure 27 & 28 - Horizontal and Vertical Velocity Graph for Right Toe Marker in
Mengadap Rebab (Left) and Noh’s Hagoromo (Right)

Using these visual results given through the pre-programming functions by
Berger and Toiviainen, we continued into the next phase by looking at the aspect of the
micro-macro correlation to connect our microanalysis findings to the contextualized data
for each dance.
4.4 Analysis

4. 4. 1 Cumulative Distance vs Time

One of the difficulties during the recording session of Noh Hagoromo Shimai was
the placement of the camera to get more than 90% of data captured for important markers.
This was caused by the lack of space in the laboratory for the experiment. After several
attempts of adjustment, we finally managed to get the recording adequate for this study.
This spatial issue in recording attempts clearly reflected in the visual data presented on
cumulative distance over time of both left and right toe markers. In comparison with Mak
Yong’s Mengadap Rebab dance which accumulated around 16 meters of cumulative
distance, Noh Hagoromo Shimai accumulated approximately 40 meters in cumulative
distance. The opening dance of Mengadap Rebab reflected its performance space inchoreography as the traditional stage or bangsal, only provided 12 by 16 feet (GhulamSarwar 1992: 24), totaling to 192 square feet. The Noh stage however provides almost
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double the amount as explained by Kunio Komparu (1983, 128) to be around threesquare ken or approximately 320 square feet9.
Not only is the difference in size significant, the number of dancers also differ.
While Noh shines on the dance performance of its main actor or Shite, Mak Yong usuallyrequires a few casts to perform Mengadap Rebab together as a way of salutation before
the start of the play. In principle, Mengadap Rebab is a dance to salute the rebab as a
gesture of respect to the most important instrument in the whole performance. As such,the symbolic salutations in the Malay culture is to lower the body and to sit cross-legged
while hand gestures follow as a way to express respect. We will explore the symbolism
behind this gesture of respect through the Malay cultural aesthetic especially inconnection to the royal customs of Malay state rulers. After the salutations, only then can
the performance begin where actors play their role accordingly. Even as the dramaticstory unfolds, the actor will move in a circle to symbolise a journey from the initial place
to another, marking a change of location.
In Noh, however, due to the lesser number of dancers in any given time, it allows
a more elaborate choreography to take place. The bridge from the mirror room where theactors change their costume or attire called Hashi-gakari also become a part of theperformance space as well. Even though it is not often used as on the main stage or hon
butai. The Hashi-gakari according to Kunio Komparu (page 136) is 5 to 7 shaku10 wideand from 7 – 13 ken long which is approximately 5 – 7 feet by 42 – 77 feet. Together
with the main stage, the physical space constitutes the performance in Noh to have a totalof approximately 400 square feet, twice that of Mak Yong. This comparable amount of
space also mirrors the distance traveled by toe markers in Noh Hagoromo Shimai as it
reflects slightly double to that of Mengadap Rebab. While these comparative numericalvalues seem like a coincidence, it is nevertheless an interesting insight to look at therelationship between architectural characteristics and performing arts. From natural
resources available in a certain locality, it further translates into an architectural form inbuildings or performance site based on the social background of the society in study. If
more data were obtained, allowing us to build a database or a repository, then perhaps
we could look at the trend and make phylogenic studies on this relationship to understandthe pattern of humanity’s cultural evolution in terms of the connection between
Ken is a traditional Japanese measurement which is approximately around 6 feet or less than 2 meters.
Shaku is another traditional Japanese unit which is around 30.3 centimeters of 11.9 inches. For moredetails on description of Japanese traditional measuring system, refer to Heino Engel 1985, 32 – 39.
9

10

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performing arts, the architectural physical culture and the economy in the period in timeof where that particular performing arts originated.
Looking at the spatio-temporal relationship between Noh and Mak Yong, theoccupation of space in Noh dance is larger and performed in a shorter amount of time.
The half duration compared to Mengadap Rebab took Noh Hagoromo Shimai dance toachieve double of cumulative distance than that of Mengadap Rebab. The dramatic effectthat Noh Hagoromo Shimai tries to achieve is through the occupational movements ofthe dance in accordance to the given space accommodated by the tradition. In Mak Yong,the dramatic effect it tries to achieve or communicate in Mengadap Rebab is by using
hand gestures as seen in the accumulated distance by hand markers. Despite the limited
space as opposed to Noh, however, the communicative symbolism is apparent using thehand rather than the feet. Here we can clearly see the relationship between how dance
responds to availability in performance space, accommodates its socio-cultural needs incommunication through their expression in dance. The lack of performance space in Mak
Yong is substituted through the dramatization of the hand movements in its symbolic
communication of salutation. This response towards the availability of performance
space is important for us to understand how the tradition developed and evolved in the
progress of time. As responses to this availability of performance space takes place,cultural selection further solidifies traits or features according to social norms at the given
time before finally becoming a tradition. Indirectly, there is a relationship between thenatural environment, the socio-economic background of given communities and tradition
that responded to these resources.
4. 4. 2 Standard Deviation
In this section of the analysis, our objective is to look for the most significantly
used part of the body in dimension x, y, and z which is represented by dimension 1, 2,
and 3 in the graph respectively. While cumulative could tell us the behaviour of
movement for certain markers according to its cumulative distance, the standard
deviation graph tells us in a glance, how one dance is different to another in terms of its
symbolic communication. In the case of Noh Hagoromo Shimai, it clearly showed thatthe dance emphasizes the importance of space occupation in the 2D plane. If we compare
both, the difference is huge in this aspect as Hagoromo Shimai is a dance that tells thestory about the celestial who wants to return to heaven but could not due to her magical124

feather robe being held by a man. While Mengadap Rebab as explained earlier, is about
salutation to the Rebab before the play could start.
Despite these obvious differences however, the data showed that in terms of thefeet movement on dimension z, it is similar for both Hagoromo Shimai and Mengadap
Rebab. The emphasis on dimension z for both dances focused on the hand movement
instead of the head or feet. Nevertheless, this does not mean the aspect of performance
do not disregard the importance of feet movement. Especially in Noh where the sliding
feet or suri-ashi is part of the basic training for all actors. During the Noh workshop thatthe author attended, another Shimai dance was taught, taken from the Noh play ofKoukaji. While Shimai in Hagoromo story focused on the celestial being’s gracefulness
given its gender is female, Koukaji however is the opposite due to the portrayal of thefox spirit, which is male in gender. The Koukaji Shimai incorporated the stomping of thefeet to express the feeling of excitement for the fox spirit character after the sword hehelped forge was successfully created. There is also the motion of jumping in the dance
to symbolize the fox riding the cloud and return to Mount Inari at the end of the scene.
Observing and learning these two Shimai, the symbolic cultural representation of genderis shown clearly through the dance choreography on the feet movement. However, in
Mengadap Rebab, these distinctions are not shown as the supporting actors mirror the
movement of the Pak Yong, the main actor in the dance but still follow a certain
formation, as it is a group dance rather than a solo piece. Thus, the movement in the z
dimension for Noh is only important when communicating the expression of a character.
Even though we have the background information regarding the chosen dancechoreographic tradition of the feet movement, it also tells us the cultural symbolic
representation that would result in the cultural selection of that aspect in the dance. Is thechoreography decision for feet movement in Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai aresult of convergent cultural evolution or is it because they shared common previous
ancestral form of performing arts? These questions can only be answered through further
phylogenic analysis over multiple traditional performing arts across Asia in the future.
The outcome from this section of data analysis thus give us an interesting perspective of
how one aspect of choreography could invoke other interesting discussions on the subject.
Another interesting study is to look at the representation of gender in the traditional
performing arts choreography in other cultures across the world through the feetmovement. Stemming from this discussion, we could also investigate other variables that
contribute to these representations such as the environment, social structure, apparel or125other variables. This could lead us to the understanding of how cultural evolution
progresses through the gender representation in the traditional performing arts.

4. 4. 3 Velocity Graph
In the previous section, we saw the pattern of choreography with respect to spatialaspect such as the space occupied by the dance and the extent of movements for certain
part of the dancer’s body. The velocity graph however tells us the pattern of movement
in respect of time, as the values are time-derivative. In Mengadap Rebab, we can clearly
see the focus of dramatic movements is mainly on the movements of the hand. As thegraph shows in three dimensions of x, y and z, the hand movements were rapid andquickly changed direction over time. The same observation was seen in the horizontal
and vertical velocity graph. In comparison to Hagoromo Shimai, the action of certain
pause on hand movements created almost a straight-line interval between peaks in thegraph. Meanwhile Hagoromo Shimai focused on the action in the 2D plane or the x andy-dimension. We can clearly see that the choreography does not have a clear pause
between movements except in the vertical dimension. In the vertical dimension, the feetmovements showed the greatest peak in both negative and positive values. Thus, we canunderstand that to truly achieve the dramatic movements in the 2D plane, the feetmovements of the dancer in Hagoromo Shimai need to change its speed quickly.
Especially in the opposite direction as we can see that the toe marker have higher negativevalues. Kunio Kamparu in his own words, confirmed this view explaining that the upper
body is where most movements are concentrated while the feet will supplement thedramatic action through the positioning of the body on the stage (Kunio Komparu 1983,
ibid., 220).
Through readings of these velocity graphs, we understand that both Hagoromo
Shimai and Mengadap Rebab need to play with the speed of movements on certain partsof the body to produce the desired dramatic action according to the given spatialconditions. In the case of Noh, the costume, mask and other paraphernalia are importantparts of the dramatic effects for the performance to showcase to the audience where thedramatic movements further amplify the performance. During the workshop that theauthor attended, participants were introduced to the basic posture or Kamae that need to126be adhered by all Noh actors. This is important because the elaborated costume in Nohlimits the movement of its players. Thus with the wrong posture, it could affect thepresentation of the costume in the eyes of the audience. The beauty of the costume donby the actor needs to be highlighted throughout the performance. An incorrect posture
will not shine the efforts and the intricacies of fine work embedded on the costume,
wasting an opportunity. The correct posture could also contribute to the dramatic effectby other paraphernalia such as the Sensu (folding fan) or the mask, the soul of the Noh’s
main role played by the Shite. Kunio Komparu shared his thoughts on the complex
system of costume including the layers upon layers that a Shite needs to wear for a
performance (Kunio Komparu 1983, ibid., 241). It shows the interconnectivity between
the role of a dancer with the rest of the Noh community from costume and mask makerto the musicians, as well as those who are particularly involved with the dressing such as
fellow Shite-kata, waki and waki-kata. He also noted that in the past, there have been
professional dressers who focused only on the dressing of the Noh actor. By having thesevery systematic approaches in performance, it is only natural that both the Nohmovement choreography and costuming undergoes a rigorous process of interactivity toachieve the highest level of artistic pursuit.
Meanwhile, in Mak Yong, the hands are the focus of Mengadap Rebab as shownin two different types of velocity graph. This could tell us the connection between
choreography and finger accessories. Despite no paraphernalia are worn by the dancers
or actors in Mak Yong Kelantan on their fingers today, however in the past, there was a
possibility that Mak Yong Serdang and Riau dancers wore a fake fingernail named
canggai as reported by Ghulam-Sarwar (1992, 62). However, such observation was not
specifically observed in Mak Yong of the Malay Peninsula except by previous scholars
like Skeat in Malay Magic (2015, 925). He also noted in his observation that Mak Yong
still used masks for the role of Peran11. Here we can understand that there could be aprobability that there has been a change in Mak Yong costume today in Kelantan andSouthern Thailand between the early 20th century and during the time of Mak Yong’s
revival through the Sri Temenggung Group led by Khatijah Awang in the 1970s. The
fact that the choreography in Kelantan maintained its focus of dramatic elements in
It is worth to note that the description of Malay performing arts in page 924 – 930 given to Skeat at thattime was from an actor named Che Husein from Penang. Thus, it is interesting that he relates Mak Yong
to be of Siam instead of specific Malay states such as Pattani or Kelantan. Even if he were to relate this toPattani, since the sultanate already fell to the Siamese power in 1785 and acknowledged through the Burneytreaty in 1826, hence Pattani is still considered under the governance of Siamese power.
11

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Mengadap Rebab on the hand movements shows the possibility of earlier roots using
canggai as an important accessory for performance. We will again visit this argument in
the later part of the study using cultural evolution approach to understand the probabilityof change in Mak Yong’s costume tradition.
As we have gone through the micro-macro comparative analysis based on the
cumulative distance, standard deviation and velocity graph, we can understand that whileboth Mengadap Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai have its own distinct quality thatdifferentiate them to each other, we know that some emphasis is made for thechoreography to highlight several important aspects of the dance. This is probably done
to show the aesthetic of the costume or other important accessories, or simply to utilize
the given space of performance. Some similarities between them can be observed in thepattern of the overall approach in the choreography, although more study is needed todecide whether the decision for this approach is circumstantial or affected by otherfactors. Among the important correlation to choreography are the performance space,costume and other paraphernalia that is used by dancers to communicate through thelanguage of the dance. We also understand there is a possibility of change in tradition
that was inherited in later generations. This can be seen through the choreography of Mak
Yong where its primary focus is on the movement of the hands and it could be due to its
past roots of having finger accessories. We will now move into the next section where
we discuss how cultural evolution probably affected the form of Mak Yong we know
today and the importance of using this micro-macro analysis as an approach tounderstand the cultural evolution study in performing arts. We will also look at theprobability of how cultural diffusion of certain aesthetic traveled from one community
to another.

4.5 The Micro-Macro Analysis: A Chance for Cross-Cultural Observation in
Cultural Evolution Study of Performing Arts

In the comparative motion capture experiment; the micro-macro analysis
proposed by Golshani had assisted us in processing the data before we could make aproper comparison through cultural evolution theory. We investigated the micro patternof the choreography where it was broken down into smaller units of measurement.
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Despite each dance being unique to its own locality, they shared one small aspect in theapproach of feet movement. To understand this concept of probable cultural similarity,
firstly, we looked at the nature of Mak Yong’s cultural evolution in Kelantan andcompared it with its variation in Riau and Serdang. One of the important Cultural
Evolution concepts that is vital for our analysis is the discussion on cultural diffusion.
We also visited other cultural evolution concepts that supplemented our understanding
towards these processes of changes in cultural subject over time in the course of history.
The first observation and analysis in this section looked into the motion capture
data and the performance with some contextual discussion on Malay sociocultural andaesthetic. Before we move into the data analysis of motion capture recording, weinvestigated the available information regarding the description of Mengadap Rebab
dance by Ghouse Nasuruddin in ‘The Malay Dance’ (1995). According to him, among
the important elements of the Malay dance in general are slow and graceful. In addition
to that, emphasis is done on the upper part of the body, mainly the arms, hands, wrists,
torso, and the head. Even though these qualities are exceptional to certain dances such as
Kuda Kepang and Dabus, it is only because of restrictions caused by hand props held
during a performance. In addition, these hand props are also vital for the performanceand gives it an identity unique to the tradition such as the hobby horse in Kuda Kepang
dance and anak dabus in Dabus (a pointy iron rod). Within the discussion of this upper
body emphasis in movements, a common concept that is shared among the Malay danceis the sembah. This concept of salutation has been a tradition in the Malay court’s
etiquette and will be performed by the Malay people in presence of their Sultan. As acourt performance begins, the dancers will perform this gesture as a sign of respect prior
to their performance. Although the movements of sembah are a separate tradition on its
own outside of the dance, it is inevitably incorporated in the dance tradition. Due to someof these dance traditions being brought from the palace to the villages, it isunderstandable that some of the elements are still being performed today despite thechange in the location of performance. Outside of the court, the sembah movement
performed in Mak Yong and other Malay traditional dance can be understood as a gestureof salutation to the audience or in the case of Kuda Kepang and Barongan, spiritualconnotations.
The complexities of hand movements in Malay traditional dance varies and Mak
Yong are among of those who have intricate, fineness and complex choreography.
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Ghouse further explained several hand positions important in Mak Yong. These arepataka, suci mukha, Anjali, simha mukha, svastika, kataka mukha, samdamsa, sikhara,
and ardha candra. The positioning of the hand can be referred to in the pictures given
below. For sembah, there are variations in executions among Malay dances and evendifferent Mak Yong groups. In general, the movement can be understood as raising thehand from its resting place on the thighs towards the face, clasping both hands together
flatly and finally closing the fingers towards the nose or forehead. In the variation of
sembah performed within Mengadap Rebab for the motion capture, firstly the body was
bent forward and at the same time the hands at the thighs were raised slightly at the side.
Slowly, it changed into a curl before being flattened again as it moved forward with botharms straightens until each flatten palm touched the other. The arm then moved inward
slowly while the torso and head still bent forward. As the hands moved inward, the head
and torso moved back slowly to the original position. Meanwhile, both hands moved
slowly from the fingers pointing towards the audience to a ninety-degree pointing
upwardly as it finally rest on the chest. The sequence can be referred from figure 20 to
22 as a reference. This final position was called sembah guru by Ghouse (1995: 47).

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Figure 29 – 31 (clockwise direction) Sequence for Sembah position
The sequence of Mengadap Rebab can be divided into four sections, which are
sitting, kneeling, squatting, standing, and walking. The song Sang Gendang willcommence the performance as actors will enter and sit in a cross-legged position. The
position of the sitting is shown in figure 20 where the right leg will be crossed over theleft while the left hand will rest on the right thigh and the right hand will be placed at
the side. After the cue from kepala lagu (introductory measures) by the Rebab player,
the lead actor, Pak Yong, will begin to sing and dance. All actors will follow Pak Yong’s
lead in unison, and these are the sequences of Mengadap Rebab written by Ghouse (1995:
47 – 49):

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i)

“Sembah guru sequence with the body swaying to the left and right
repeatedly.

ii)

From the sembah hand position, the hands slides slowly as it move fromthe vertical position to horizontal position before finally changing into
tangan seludang menolak mayang.

iii)

The move then changed into tangan sulur memain angin before moving
back into tangan seludang menolah mayang.

iv)

Tangan ular sawa mengorak lingkaranv)

The hands rose to shoulder level with the fingers in the following position– the second, third and fourth fingers were outstretched while the thumband first finger were held together – hamsasya. At the same time, the legs
reassembled to the left and then to a kneeling position as the hands opened
up into pataka stance.

vi)

The dance then squat, holding the hands in pataka stance while theyturned in a counter-clockwise circle. On the completion of this circle, they
sat as in the beginning of the dance.

vii)

As they sat, they executed the variation of tangan ular sawa mengorak
lingkaran.

viii)

Repeat tangan sembah guru.

ix)

Repeat movement (v) twice. At the end of the second repeat, the dancers
are kneeling on the left knee facing 45 degree to stage right.

x)

Repeat variation of ular saawa mengorak lingkaran twice.

xi)

Variataion of tangan liuk kiri longlai ke kanan.

xii)

After this, the dancers returned to the squatting position and executed
tangan ular saawa mengorak lingkaran.

xiii)

Variation of tangan liuk kiri longlai ke kanan is repeated with the right
hand.

xiv)

Berdiri tapak tiga menghadap timur jaga (standing and facing the east).
The completion of berdiri tapak tiga marks the end of the sitting andkneeling movements of the hand.

xv)

The second part of the dance consisting of standing and walking
movements began with tangan susun sirih movement, which brings thedancers from a squatting to the standing position.

xvi)

Tangan sirih layar.
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xvii)

Variation of tangan seludang menolak mayang.

xviii) Repeat movement (ii)xix)

Variation of tangan seludang menolak mayang.

xx)

Pergerakan pak yong berjalan.

xxi)

The variation of tangan sirih layar was executed as the dancers took sevensteps forward in a circle and then three steps backward.

xxii)

Repeat pergerakan pak yong berjalan.

xxiii) The variation of tangan sirih layar is repeated, this time with the dancers
taking three steps backward and one step forward before facing full front
with the left hand in front in pataka and the right by the side in thehamsasya when the dancers close and open the circle.”
However, the dance captured for this study has a slight variation within the sequence of
movement in comparison to the one mentioned by Ghouse. According to one informant,
Dr. Muhammad Fazli (UPSI), a dance academician at the Sultan Idris University of
Education, he informed that there were at least three different variations of Megadap
Rebab, which are:i) Khatijah Awang’s versionii) Istana Budaya’s versioniii) JKKN’s version
The one that was learned for this study is similar with the one explained by Patricia
Hardwick in her dissertation, performed by Fatimah Binti Abdullah (Kak Asmah). She
is known to teach at several institutions such as University of Malaya, Petronas
Performing Arts Group, Istana Budaya and National Academy of Arts and Cultural
Heritage (ASWARA) (Patricia Hardwick 2009: 6). Here are the steps noted by one of
the students in Sultan Idris University of Education:i) Mati Tariii) Jalan Seri Ramaiii) Mati Tariiv) Susun Sirehv) Mati Tari133vi) Burung Terbangvii) Mati Tariviii)

Gulung Belalaiix) Mati Tarix) Melimbaixi) Melimbai Masuk Barisanxii) Mati Tarixiii)

Gelek Kacang

xiv)

Pecah Barisan dengan Kedek Itikxv) Mati Tarixvi)

Kedek Itikxvii)

Kedek Itik Cari Pasanganxviii) Mati Tarixix)

Burung Terbang Pasanganxx) Mati Tarixxi)

Sasangxxii)

Mati Tarixxiii) Balik Tempat Dengan Kedek Itikxxiv) Mati Tarixxv)

Tanduk Kerbauxxvi) Mati Tarixxvii) Gelek Kacang Setempat
xxviii) Mati Tarixxix) Seri Rama Sebelah
xxx)

Jalan

xxxi) Kedek Itikxxxii) Sembah

Another respondent, a student at the same institute also mentioned that there were slightvariations of performing Mengadap Rebab between different instructors of Mak Yonglessons in the university. The same variation had also been observed by Patricia
Hardwick especially regarding the notable differences between Mengadap Rebab
134performed by Fatimah Abdullah and the one performed by Mak Yong artists in thevillage (ibid.: 159). These variations, most of the times are subtle such as the sequenceof movements, the movement expressive quality or the position of the hands. Despite
these differences however, Mak Yong artists understand a general idea on Mengadap
Rebab dance across different groups in Malaysia. Similar movements between thesevariations include the Sembah, Sawa Mengorak Lingkaran, Susun Sirih, Liuk Kiri
Longlai ke Kanan. Although the naming of the movements too at times are different to
one another, depending on the group, community or the instructors.
As Mengadap Rebab movements are executed, the Pak Yong will sing the song of
Mengadap Rebab accompanied by the musical ensemble. The lyrics shown below weretaken from the translation work by Ghulam-Sarwar (1992: 4 – 5).
Original Malay lyric:“Royat hilang berita nak timbul
Timbul nak royat
Seorang Raja sebuah negeri
Seorang Raja sebuah Menteri
Raja ada dengan menama
Negeri aada dengan bergelar
Seorang Raja siap memakai
Alat kelengkapan memangku negeri
Ambil seluar sarok ka kaki
Ambil baju timang ka badan
Baju melenkit di kulit manis
Ambil selindang pakai ka pinggang
Selindang menama Kain Cinda Jantan
Ambil pekong lilit ka pinggang
Tujuh lilit bertemu punca
Pekong menama Pelangi Silang

135

Ambil keris selip ka pinggang
Keris kecik kerajaan
Tongkat kecik kesakitan
Keris ada dengan menama
Keris menama Sepanah Berang
Rentak di pangkal membunuh lawan
Rentak di tengah telaga darah
Rentak di hujung gagak lapar
Ambil setangan iseh tenggek di dahi
Tenggek kanan memangku negeri
Tenggek kiri mengadap perang
Liuk ka kiri liuk ka kanan
Amba lunglai kiri lunglai ka kanan
Liuk lintuk gemulai balai
Seperti denak menanti lawan
Seperti sulur bermain angin
Seperti gajah melambung belalai
Sirih kami luyah dijunjung
Seludang kami menolak mayang
Bembang kami gugur di tapok
A yong dei… dei… dei… wei
Bom wei… membalik tipus
Dagan kami membuang cela
Sawah mengorak lingkaran
Amba berdiri tapak tiga
Amba nak pecah tapak tiga
Mengadap kami ka timur jaga”

136English translation:“The saga is about to begin
Of a Raja and a country
Of a Raja and a minister
The Raja, he has an appellation
The country, it has a designation
The Raja, he prepares, wearing
The complete regalia of office
His royal trousers, his royal shirt
Fitting tightly to his skin
The Raja he wears his selendang (shawl)
Wears it about his waist
The selendang, it is named
Kain Cinda Jantan
The Raja he gathers his sash
Wraps it around his waist
At the seventh wrap he encounters the end
The sash it has a name
The sash it is called Pelangi Silang
The Raja, he secures his keris
Slips it into his waist
The short keris of government
The short staff of sakti
The keris, it has a name
The keris, it is called Sa-Panah Berang
The curve at the hilt is death in the war
The curve in the centre it is the well of blood
The curve at the tip it is the hungry crow
The Raja he takes his setangan iseh137Perches it on his forehead
Perched to the right he rules the country
Perched to the left he braves the war
Slanting to the left, slanting to the right
We sway to the left, We sway to the right
Slanting to the centre we return lissome to place
Like th jungle fowl eager to fightLike the shoots dallying in the wind
Like an elephant swaying its trunk
The betel-leaves we bear on our heads
They swoon in the carrying
The sheaths they aarae pushed open
By the bursting palm blossoms
Our solicitudes they are destroyed in the bud
A yong dei… aa dei… dei… wei
Bom wei… returning to our position
Our yams they shed off their blemishes
The padi-sawahs unwind their curves
We stand on three points
We end the stand on three points
We salute the awakening east.”

After Mengadap Rebab ends, the actors will play the first sequence of the story where
the king will bid farewell to his wife and the handmaiden of the palace. He will seek out
his companion, Peran Tua requesting him to call upon Peran Muda to appear before him.
The story will then unfold during the meeting between these three characters.

4.5.1 Significance of Mengadap Rebab in the Body Movement Context of Mak Yong138

As we have gone through the sequence of Mengadap Rebab dance movement andreading the data from the motion capture, we noticed several important aspects in thechoreography of the dance. The first aspect concerned the position of Mengadap Rebab
within the structure of Mak Yong performance. We discussed this aspect in relation to
the pattern of body movements from our motion capture data. In general, the Mengadap
Rebab significance within a Mak Yong performance structure cannot be overstated.
Ghulam-Sarwar noted this sequence as,“Both in terms of dance patterns and music, Mengadap Rebab is the mostelaborate single event in a Mak Yong performance, apart from the spiritual business that
forms a part of ritual (berjamu) Mak Yong performance.”(Ghulam-Sarwar 1992:1)
He then further elaborated the performance as a preparatory phase for the wholeensemble, especially for the actors. It serves two purposes which are salutation the
instrument or the invisible beings and secondly the psychological preparation before thecommencement of the play. Mohd Kipli further extended this discussion by explaining
the position of opening dance and rituals into several aspects of space in Mak Yong
(Mohd Kipli 2015: 53 – 55). In the metaphysical space, two elements are concerned,
which can be divided into space in the performers and space in the audience. In theperformers space, the rituals open a crossed path between physical and metaphysicalspace. Thus, we have two elements here which are the physical and metaphysicalperformers. At the same time, the audience is experiencing a physical visual performanceby the physical performers. Meanwhile, the performers of metaphysical space (i.e thespirits) influenced the performers in the physical space. This explains the performers
performing Mak Yong in two different spaces simultaneously. The second aspect ofspace concerns the space in the audience, and it can be defined similarly albeit in aslightly different context. As the path is opened, the audience within the metaphysicalspace will enter the physical space and influence the audience. In turn, the audience will
not feel bored or tired from watching Mak Yong the whole night. Thus, it can be said
that both the physical and metaphysical audience shared the same but different spacewith the metaphysical audience.
139

Here we are presented with several important significance of Mak Yong’s
Mengadap Rebab in the context of body movements. Our first discussion focused on its
relation to the physical space of Mak Yong performance with a reference to the layout
given by Mohd Zulkipli (A. S Hardy et al. 2015: 50). If we refer to the layout given andunderstand the flow of the performance made extensively by previous scholars (GhulamSarwar, Matusky, etc reference), we will notice that the performance does not have space
for the actors to change into a character. In comparison, if we look at the layout of Nohstage, there is a small space called ‘Kagami no ma’ or the mirror room for this purpose
so that actors can change into other characters if the story requires (Kunio Komparu
1983: 126). Of course, this is not the best comparative example due to the vast culturaldifference in function and historical background between both arts. This leads us backinto the argument of possible genesis of Mak Yong that lies on shamanistic tradition.
According to Ghulam-Sarwar, the spiritual root of shamanism is so strong that without
these elements, there can be no performance (Ghulam-Sarwar 2018: 31). Therefore, ourfurther question will be on the connection between features of Malay architecture and theshamanistic traditions towards the performance structure. How can the connection bemade towards establishing the performance space that is being practiced by generationsof Mak Yong practitioners? It is important for us to ask these questions to learn theposition of Mak Yong in the Malay consciousness. We could only presume its position
based on these early connections that mainly focus on the spiritual aspect of theperformance rather than purely entertaining. If the physical space of Mak Yong changes
dramatically to include space that acts as a changing room, then the function of dance
sequence such as Mengadap Rebab and other rituals will become pointless and redundant.
Furthermore, due to the tradition of keeping only twelve stories as the only authentic
Mak Yong stories, make it unnecessary to change the performance structure inaccordance with time. If there is a room for new stories to develop within the tradition,then perhaps the physical space and layout might change more dramatically due toprobable high rate of mutation in developing new stories. This begs the question on theelements of spectacle within the Mak Yong and its healing tradition that seemingly
focuses on the interaction between the patients and the healer rather than artistic pursuitin new dramatic narratives. In addition to the various competing modern entertainment,
this could further suppress the need to change the tradition and pursue such endeavor. A
recent study looking into the relationship between Main Puteri and Mak Yong in Raman
further enhances our understanding regarding the situation within the Malay community140

in the area (S. F. Alfan 2020). In our discussion regarding the sustainability of the art
form among the Malay community, it seems that the activities of spiritual healing
increase the chance of having new members resulting in the sustenance of its tradition.
With shamanistic healing activities having more frequency than the full Mak Yongperformances, this decreases the probability of innovation within Mak Yong tradition, as
random mutation will likely happen in the healing tradition instead. Conclusively, theposition of Mengadap Rebab within the performance structure encompass the mostbeneficial cultural trait that would sustain the tradition; shamanistic elements. With its
dual function together with Main Puteri, it provides more opportunities to include newmembers into the community while giving them services that would benefit thepractitioners and the members of community. As such, the result is the physical andmetaphysical space of performance that caters to the need of the community and sustain
the tradition.
Our second discussion will be on the position of hand movements within theperformative context of Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab. As informed by various literarysources on past studies on Southeast Asia, we understood that Indian cultural influenceis the earliest one to arrive in Southeast Asia and even predates the Chinese. Inevitably
among the cultural influences that mark a permanent impact on local culture is religion
and the culture surrounding it. Several Indian influences in the local theatre wereidentified according to James Brandon which came from the Brahmanism, Indian epic
literature, Buddhist Jataka stories and the Indian-style dance (Brandon 1967: 15).
However, early states such as Funan did not leave us with any archaeological dance
imagery for us to understand the nature of Indian-influence culture at that time. In thelater period such as in the kingdom of Champa, Pyu between 6th to 10th centuries, dance
imagery in the archaeological findings showed the influence of Indian culture withelements of local Southeast Asian as well (Miettinen 2008: 99, 113 - 114). Despite thedifference between dance imagery in India and early kingdoms of Southeast Asia, one
main similarity was observed— the prominent use of hand movements and position.
From the data presented with the supplemented information regarding the Malay dance
aesthetic, the role of hand movements plays a vital element in reflecting Malay aesthetic
preference. The use of hand in Mengadap Rebab symbolizes two meaning, which can beunderstood as a gesture of appreciation and respect. Appreciation as we observed andlearned from previous Mak Yong studies is a gesture towards the audience who areappreciating the performance. The gesture of respect in the context of Mengadap Rebab
141performance is given towards the invisible beings that are also responsible towards the
success of a performance. As noted by Laderman, the Mak Yong and Main Puteri
practitioners that she observed at the time consider the spirit that they called Dewa as a
spirit that should be regarded with courtesy,“… his reference to them as “foreign prince,” are fitting treatment of exalted
beings. As an earth spirit reminds the minduk, “We ‘people of the earth must be taken
seriously, spoken to nicely, treated with courtesy.””(Carol Laderman 1993: 96)
However not all spirits are equally royal in status as some will be regarded as lowly andeasily deceived during the healing ritual (Laderman 1993: 94). Spirits especially those
who are associated with the royalty characters performed during Mak Yongperformances such as Dewa Muda (Carol Laderman 1993: 308) are some of the royalty
spirits within the definition described above. In the Malay social world, the hand is an
important communication tool especially during social communication with those ofhigher social status. A Malay will often greet someone by extending their hands as afriendly gesture during socialization. Failing to do so even with those who they are close
to will mean ill and to some extent, hostile. Even when he or she sees someone theyrecognize; the hand will be waved to show familiarity and friendliness. In a setting where
one is in the presence of a royalty, a certain etiquette is to be expected. In his book ‘Adat
Resam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu’, Syed Alwi Sheikh Al-Hadi wrote on the proper
etiquette when meeting with the Sultan, translated by the author (Syed Alwi 1986: 57 –58).
“The etiquette during an audience with the Raja:(a) When having an audience in the courtroom or in anywhere else, the sembah will
be directed to:i)Only to the Yang Dipertuan Besar or Sultan, only if Yang Dipertuan Muda
or Putera Mahkota is also present together with the Sultan in the event.

ii)

Only to the Yang Dipertuan Muda or Putera Mahkota, only if the
Bendahara is in the presence together with the Yang Dipertuan Muda in
the event.
142

iii)

Only to Datuk Bendahara, only if Datuk Bendahara is in the presence
together with Datuk Temenggung.

iv)

Only to Datuk Temenggung if only he is the only one in presence during
the event or audience.

(b) The etiquette of Sembahi)The etiquette of performing sembah to Yang Dipertuan Besar or Sultan
starts by the open the palm of hand and arrange the fingers closely to one
another (Menyusun jari). Then the both palms will meet one another andplace on the forehead between the eyebrow. If one should excuse oneself
after the audience with the Sultan, they should no turn away immediately
in front of the Sultan after performing sembah. They should move threesteps backward after the sembah, immediately kneel and performing
another sembah, afterward slowly get up from the position and moveanother three steps backward slowly before finally moving out of the event
or audience with the Sultan.

ii)

The sembah towards Yang Dipertuan Muda, Raja Muda or Putera
Mahkota should be done by placing the meeting of both palms at the tipof the nose.

iii)

The sembah towards Bendahara or Temenggung should be done byplacing the meeting of both palms underneath the chin.

Reminder:The customs and etiquette of the royal family of old on sembah is that it should be performin sitting or kneeling position with right knee exposed and the left leg folded inside. It
shall never be performed while standing nor walking.
(c) The etiquette of speaking to or in front of the Raja
For all subjects under the Raja’s sovereignty, regardless of his social standing
shall never raise their voice or speaking rapidly, nor shall they scolding, shouting,or screaming, nor acting rudely or look fiercely as it is against the etiquette of
Malay royalty and is consider as rude. What is require is to talk respectably andin a softly manner as a sign of respecting their Raja.”
143

Here we are presented with the evidence on the importance of hand communication in
the Malay social world especially between different social classes. There is even a notionof elaborate hand and body gestures in traditional etiquette between a subject and theirking. The symbolic meaning of the sembah does not differ from its Indian source. Carroll
explained the use of Anjali Mudra within the Mudras of India is similar where one should
place both hands above the head for deities, in front of the face for elders and teachers orin front of the chest for others (Carroll 2013: 44). As Southeast Asian polities in the past
adopted Brahmanism which is the believe on the existence of god-king, the reincarnationof the Hindu god Vishnu or Shiva (Brandon 1967: 16), these values were inherited andstill being practiced in the modern era throughout the Malay sultanate institution of thePeninsular. This inherited value of Brahmanism is also reflected within the narration of
Mak Yong’s story itself where the king is not merely a mortal but also being regarding
as having qualities of a god-king (Hardwick 2009: 126, 129 & 148). Hence, the use andthe function of hands in Malay communication will determine the nature of your presence
towards your audience, or the second speaker. Without establishing your nature towards
your audience or the second speaker, this will disrupt the chemistry of the conversationand may affect the deliverable of your message in the communication as they do notknow your intention. Depending on your intention as a speaker towards your subject, therule of body communication in Malay culture needs to be understood first prior to
engagement and delivering a message. This is where the position of hand movement isessential in Mak Yong’s body performance culture and how it is also important within
the structure of the performance.
As we have discussed on the position of hand movements in Mak Yong’s body
performance culture, our next discussion will focus on the position of Mengadap Rebab
within the role of human body as the bridge between physical and metaphysical world.
Numerous studies were done in the aspects of shamanistic traditional healing area
discussing the convention of Main Puteri or Mak Yong – Main Puteri, the healing rituals
itself to the symbolisms behind the nature of the performance. Among the significant
contributions and extensive discussions towards the literature other than Ghulam-Sarwar
include Carold Laderman (1993), Patricia Hardwick (2009) and Suan & Mohammad
Afiq (2018). In ‘Taming the Wind of Desire’ by Laderman, she discussed her fieldworkin Terengganu from 1975 to 1977 on Main Puteri healing rituals. Due to the close
connection between the shamanistic healing traditions of Main Puteri with Mak Yong,144

she also discussed some aspects of Mak Yong in relation to the ritualistic healing of Main
Puteri. Through her participant-observation, several spiritual aspects within the belief
system of Mak Yong and Main Puteri can be understood, especially with respect to theposition of human physical body. The community observed by Laderman believed thatthe spiritual well-being of a person need to be in balance with the physical well-being.
The imbalance could occur due to attacks from external forces as the semangat of one’s
body is weakened either by physical illness, overwork, shock or fright (Laderman 1993:
62). Other aspects of illness that requires the intervention of Tok Puteri was also
discussed by Ghulam-Sarwar (2004) and Patricia Hardwick (2009). Thus the role of a
Shaman is to invoke inner winds of his patient so as to strengthen their own spiritual
immunity against attacks by spirits or their own imbalance inner being. Prior to achieving
this however, several conventions need to be followed through. Amongst the processes
involved including providing offerings, proper incantations, opening rituals and musicalnumbers. The same structure can also be seen in Mak Yong where elaborated opening
ritual was observed (Ghulam-Sarwar 1976: 146). The positioning of Mengadap Rebab
in relation to the performance structure and body movements in Mak Yong community
falls within this area. The importance of Mengadap Rebab is not only as an opening
number act, but also as the important stage to mediate between the physical and themetaphysical world. Often Mak Yong players during Patricia Hardwick’s observation
saw Mengadap Rebab as a ritual where they pray for the safety of the whole community
during the performance, players, and spectators alike. The players also hoped to be given
inspiration for them to execute the stories as best as they intended (Hardwick 2009: 127).
Mengadap Rebab also embodies the notion of Malay culture that upholds the importanceof context and explanation before addressing one’s concern and intention. Prior toattempt one’s concern or addressing any issues in the social context, a proper salutation
or a gesture or respect must be given accordingly especially when one’s audience is aperson of higher social class. This is especially important in a social event where one’s
entering the realm of another’s domain of privacy whether in terms of physical proximity
or idea. Some examples can be seen in a Malay custom given by Syed Alwi (1986: 58 60). The same can be seen in the function of Mengadap Rebab as it not only acts as a
gesture or respect towards the invisible beings but also towards the audience as well.
Adding to this, these invisible beings that are highly respected by the community as
observed by Laderman (1993: 96) are being regarded as royalty like a Sultan or king.
Thus, it is imperative that correct respectful gestures are observed within the opening of145

the performance to ensure the spirits in the metaphysical world will not bring harm to
those attending or performing in the event. As the community itself gained benefit fromthe entertainment and the performers are able to revitalize their inner wind, it also adds
another key factor in having a balanced physical and metaphysical world.
As we mentioned the role of hand movements within the performance of
Mengadap Rebab, we also investigated the less emphasised part in the dance, which is
the movement of the feet. This third discussion focused on standard deviation data fromthe motion capture recording supported by previous studies. From the given data, weunderstood that there is a similar pattern between the choreography of both Mak Yongand Noh with respect to the movement of the feet in the vertical dimension. However,
we could not make the connection between the two art forms historically. There is apossibility that there are conditions that could result in similar approach for both
performing arts. In the work of Patricia Hardwick, she noted on the impact of traditional
costume towards the choreography of movement. In the past, the use of berkemban as
costume for performers could restrict the movement of the dancers (Hardwick 2009:131-132). Additionally, according to the Mak Yong artists during her study, the aestheticof Malay dance requires the movement of women to be small and graceful (ibid. 131).
This is how Mak Yong dancers show their skill and beauty in the refined dancing
movements. It seems that there is a connection between these two factors that would
prompt further investigations in the future to confirm its relationship. In the art of Nohdance, there are two main sources that confirm the relationship between the costume andthe choreography of movements in Noh dance. The first will be the written Noh treatises
by Zeami Motokiyo translated by J. Thomas Rimer and Yamazaki Masakazu. As arenown Noh artist of his time, his treatises enlightened many technical, aesthetic, andphilosophical aspect of Noh art dated from the Muromachi period of Japan between
fourteenth to fifteenth century. In one of his major works, Fūshikaden (風姿花伝)
completed in 1418, he elaborated important aspects in Noh training including mastering
the three type of characters; women, old man and mad persons. For the women role,“If the actor’s style of dress is unseemly, there will be nothing worth watching in theperformance.”(Rimer & Masakazu 1984: 10 – 11)146

“When performing kusemai, shirabyōshi or mad women’s role, the actor should hold a
fan or a sprig of flowers, for example, loosely in his hand in order to represent female
gentleness. The kinu and hakama, as well, should be long enough to conceal his steps,
his steps, his hips and knees should be straight, and his bodily posture pliable.”(ibid: 11)
Not only is the importance of costume vital for impersonating or becoming the character,
Zeami also commented on the general aspect of Noh performance,“No matter what the role, bad costuming will never be effective, and, in the case of awoman’s role, proper dressing is essential.”(ibid.)In terms of our observation regarding the data recorded in the motion capture, this isconfirmed by Zeami’s writing later in the same treatise,“The most important aspect of movement concerns the use of the actor’s entire body. The
second most important aspect concerns the use of his hands, and the third, the use of his
feet.”(ibid.: 27)
In his elaboration, we understood that the aspect of costume is important not only for theaesthetic appearence of the character or the attempt at its impersonation but also on someof the effect that it will have on the character. Thus, a Noh actor should as much as hecan, take great care to choose the most appropriate costume for a character as this will
also reflect his desire to perform as noted by Zeami (ibid.: 11). Additionally, an actor
should not only consider the importance of costume but also the quality one should bring
together with having them in a performance. The interaction that one should have withthe costume brings the art alive and meaningful for its audience. This is further elaborated147

in our second source ‘The Noh Theater: Principles and Perspectives’ by Kunio Komparu.
He mentioned,“The lush silk Noh robes contrast strikingly with the bare wooden stage, creating a kindof harmony of incongruity. Yet another example of the symbolism in Noh is seen in theskillful use of the natural tendency of the human eye to see bright things as large anddark things as small: the waki is usually clad in matte fabrics of dark colors, showingthat he is a shadow character, while the shite is robed in richly colorful, lustrous
costumes, representing revelation. Because of their outstanding texture, color and form,
Noh robes are often appreciated simply for their weave, embroidery, and patterns andindeed they are of great historical and cultural interest. Like masks, however, they cometo life only on stage, when they are made three-dimensional and moved about, for theirtrue beauty lies in the form they make moving through space and the flow of their
distinctive straight-line cut.”(Komparu 1983: 240)
These may be lengthy explanations but important as part of the discussion as it
demonstrates how the relationship between the Noh costume, its function, aesthetic andalso choreography could be formed if we analyze them together with the explanations
given by Komparu’s predecessor many generations prior, Zeami. In another part,
Komparu demonstrated the functionality of costume towards the discipline of theperformance,“...the tabi of Noh—flat-bottomed fitted socks of white cotton cloth—keep the dancer inconstant contact with the ground...”“Noh actors always move in the gliding walk. The upper body is tilted slightly forward,
and many important movement patterns involve the head (with the mask) and the arms
(with large sleeves, fan, and props); thus much of the interest of the performance iscreated by the upper body. However, it is the walk, centered in the hips, that transports
the character horizontally through space. The actor maintains the level, never bobbing
up and down, even when moving quite rapidly. This is why the stage surface is so smooth.
The actor uses moments of stillness and variations in the speed of the walk to give148

character to the role and express modulations in feeling. Foot movements are an
important part of the acting technique: a few halting steps backwards indicate
dissapointment, and two or three rapid steps forward show excitement.”(ibid.: 220 – 221)
Comparatively, the explanation given by the Mak Yong artist exhibits the oral
historical narrative based on the customs and traditions that they inherited. Meanwhileboth Noh actors in different era explained the connection through their experience andreaction in addition to the basic functionality and aesthetic that comes with the costumetradition. While Mak Yong emphasises movement focusing on the hand movements, asimilar approach was chosen in the Noh tradition to focus on the movement of the bodyand hands. Although in Mak Yong, there is less emphasis of movement on the feet as it
only takes part in certain sequence of the movement due to the importance of hands aspart of the aesthetic and communication function. In Noh however, the feet are thedriving part of the aesthetic that makes the movement meaningful as the body needs to
occupy the space on stage. Without the help of the feet, the static body will be just as
useless as a hanging cloth as the body loss its meaning due to the absent of the actor thatdrive its movement. However, the feet are never the center of the action nor takes part in
the visual aspect in the performance. The meaningful visual aspect still relies heavily on
the body and hands. Even so, what makes it visually attractive is only curiosity of theaudience towards the skill of the actors on moving their feet in relation to the action anddance happening on stage. We can conclude that what is meaningful for both Noh and
Mak Yong is only concerning the part of the body that is useful to express theperformance aesthetic on stage although different approaches towards achieving this isobserved. Both Mak Yong and Noh only consider the action involving the upper part ofthe body including hands as meaningful for the aesthetic in the art instead of the feet.
In conclusion, our motion capture data had demonstrated a connection between
elements that affected the body movements with choreography. Through the features of
local architecture, the significance of dance in cultural communication and ritual context
and finally the local aesthetic preference on meaningful movement created by certain
parts of the body, resulted in the creation of dance sequence that both embodies the local
aesthetic and identity. However, we also need to remember that the local economy, theclimate, and the social network of different levels in the society especially with regards
149

to the trading activity that is the channel where cultural influences spread into thecommunity also indirectly influence these contexts of preference. This can be clearlyseen in the manifestation of the material culture that was evidently observed in thearchaeological findings. While our understanding on the movement patterns could only
be reached through the motion capture data, the building blocks that inspired the creationof this cultural subject should not be cast aside. Perhaps further investigation into this
aspect needs to be taken in the future to construct a better understanding in connecting
the elements that give inspiration towards the building of traditional performing arts
culture. Another important aspect in our study was the use of motion capture data to
analyze the disconnection of historical data in Mak Yong. In order to understand this andmake the connection between Mak Yong ethnographic data from different periods, weused the microevolution concept.
4.5.1

Addressing Mak Yong Missing Historical Narrative Through Cultural
Evolution

As mentioned earlier, one of our main objectives in this study is to investigate thediscontinuity of ethnographic data on Mak Yong. The reason being is that we need tounderstand how cultural evolution occurred in Mak Yong that caused this discontinuanceof data to happen. The analysis so far managed to explain the indirect influence ofenvironment, cultural and social elements towards the choreography of Mak Yong dance.
This will be the first step towards understanding the nature of cultural evolution in Mak
Yong. Our next step will determine how these influences also contributed to themicroevolution process of Mak Yong. Prior to the analysis, we addressed the available
literary sources on the differences between various ethnographic data on Mak Yongespecially with regards to the aspect of costume. There are mainly two components ofthe costume that is no longer being used by Mak Yong in the Peninsula today which are
the mask and the fake fingernails called Canggai. In contemporary time, Pak Yong, andseveral other characters wore bangles to aesthetically enhance hand movements(Marlenny 2017: 201). However, this is not the case with the previous ethnographic data
recorded by Skeat and the photographic evidence from Leiden University (Skeat 2015:
925, G. R. Lambert & Co. 1903 (A) & (B)). Both records show the use of Canggai otherthan the use of mask as part of the costume for Peran.

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In our attempt to connect all the related reports by Skeat and much later GhulamSarwar (1992, 60) on the use of Canggai in Mak Yong, we found it strange that the regionof Pattani – Kelantan, where it was claimed by Mubin Sheppard (1972, 58) to be thebirthplace of Mak Yong12, does not use Canggai as their finger accessories. It is illogicalto think that both Riau and Serdang variations of Mak Yong coincidently came up withthis new tradition of using Canggai as part of its tradition simultaneously despite both
located approximately 800km apart. Through reports by Pudentia (2010) and Ghulam –Sarwar (1992, 58), both variations of Mak Yong is reported to be tied to the traveling
Mak Yong troupes from the Malay Peninsula. Pudentia claimed Riau’s variation camefrom a Kelantan group and Ghulam-Sarwar claimed the Serdang variation came from a
Kedah – Perlis group. If this is the case, then perhaps this could be the reason why the
tradition of using Canggai in the past was shared with other related performing arts
around the region such as Lakhon, Mek Mulung, Menora and Khon as reported by Skeat
more than 100 years ago (Skeat 1900, 924 - 928). It is also of no coincidence that together
with Canggai, the tradition on the use of mask is also shared by some of these traditional
performing arts coming from the northern and northeastern of Malay Peninsula including
Awang Batil from Perlis (Sweeney 1973). Furthermore, there is a recent study on the oral
story of mask usage for Pattani Mak Yong in the past where it claimed to be abandoned
after the widespread of Islam in the Pattani royal house (Syafiq Faliq 2020). Therefore,
with the given information, this could also link us to the Mak Yong mask tradition in
Serdang and Riau that was claimed to be spread by Mak Yong group from the Peninsula.
Pudentia also foundd it interesting that the use of mask in Mak Yong Riau was brought
by a Kelantan group (Pudentia 2010: 4) despite there is no physical evidence to support
that the group in Kelantan once used the mask in their performance other than the report
made by Cuisinier (Cuisinier 1936: 88). The translation of this report can be read as
below,“The two actresses optionally add to their costumes, rings, bracelets, earringsand gold chains around their necks. It remains to mention the mask (topeng) of the jester
although it is not always used in Kelantan. In Patani, Perlis and Kedah, on the other
hand, representations of maʼyong are almost never performed without the jester being
masked; often the jester wears a man's mask and a woman's mask alternately, or two
12

Ghulam-Sarwar argues this theory of origin in his latest work. See Ghulam-Sarwar 2018, 7-10.

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jesters present them together; however, the wearing of the mask is not continuous, it is
only an interlude occupying two or three scenes.
It is impossible to know if the masks were originally used as accessories or not.
They are not found in any other magical dance, except in the wayang interludes which
belong to a different cycle.
The man's mask is similar to the one we see in the Siamese show, manora, similar,
at least, to the most common type of manora masks which has an extended play muchmore. It is a red wooden mask that hides the face only two thirds of the way; the mouth
and the chin are left bare, but a moustache that descends from the protruding and pointed
nose cuts the lips with two black scars; rooster feathers simulate hair and cover the topof the skull; small pieces of mother-of-pearl are often inlaid around the slit of the eyes.
The woman's mask is not of a uniform type and this diversity is little help to know if there
were two ritual models in the past, only one of which has survived, or if we find ourselvesin the presence of borrowings made at random. Whatever the colour, shape andexpression, the woman's mask regularly differs from the man's mask in that it hides theentire face and has no feathers.”
How can we make use of this recorded data and connect it with our motion capture data?
The most appropriate attempt to connect this information is through the report on
the use of Canggai with our motion capture data. Although we could not provide theconnection between the motion capture data with the use of mask in the past, we instead
used cultural evolution theory on the utilization of Canggai together with the mask as
well, as they are often used together in the Mak Yong tradition. Based on the results
obtained, Mak Yong in Kelantan and Southern Thailand exhibited the importance ofdramatic actions through hand movements. This was clearly seen through velocity graphwhere change of movements is more rapidly seen in hand markers. These changes signify
the importance of the movement for overall dramatic effect in dance symbolic
communication. As we have seen in Noh where movement of the head and hand markers
is significant in the x and y dimension to show the dramatic action, the same can be said
to the hand movements for Mak Yong shown through the significant values in thevelocity graph of the hand markers. Through the investigation, we understood that there
could be a connection between costume and performance space towards dancechoreography. Comparatively, the socks in Noh correspond to the role of feet movement
152with the overall sequence in Noh dance choreography and character movements. In Mak
Yong tradition, the costume in previous generations of Mak Yong performers could haveits impact in the aesthetic and dance choreography. Both traditional performing arts
exhibited different kinds of interaction between costume and dance choreography. While
in Noh, it appeared to be a cognitive creative reaction towards the challenge of creating
choreography that would highlight the important features of Noh dance, which is theelaborated costume, mask, and other accessories. However, in Mak Yong it exhibited
different interactions, which can be understood as maladaptation. This concept can be
defined as traits that is being inherited which no longer serve the purposes to the newenvironment (Mesoudi 2011: 35). In biological evolution, the skeletal limbs of whales
and snakes are said to be the best example where it shows their connection to thequadrupedal ancestors in the past. The same can be seen in Mak Yong where despite thechanges in the costume, it still exhibited the choreography of the previous style ofcostume. Additionally, there is another cultural evolution trait being exhibited throughprevious research done by Patricia Matusky. In her study of the Mak Yong community,
she explained that there are elements of other traditional performing arts adopted by
Khatijah Awang and included in the dance sequence of Mak Yong (Patricia Hardwick
2009: 129). This can be understood as two different cultural evolution concepts whichare Lamarckian cultural evolution and diffusion. The former can be understood ascultural traits that was inherited by the next generation due to changes done by theirpredecessors during their lifetime. The latter can be understood as cultural trait that was
being passed on due to the movement between different groups.
The evidence of this cultural evolutionary processes can be further supported
through the ethnographic data obtained during the fieldwork in this study where somemembers in the Mak Yong Raman community also participated in other forms of
traditional performing arts such as Menora and Bangsawan. Thus, it is inevitable thatsome elements of these performing arts were shared across the groups such as in the caseof Khatijah Awang and her group. The community in Raman also showed to be a loose
collective of artists where they shared their network and participated in different projects
depending on the need of the one who led or managed the performance. This means thatthe same members of the community will have the knowledge on several forms of
traditional theatre from its conventions to music and stories. Therefore, what can beunderstood on how cultural evolution occurred in the community through diffusion ofculture traits is due to the variations that happened at two levels; micro and macro level.
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Micro level involves variations among Mak Yong groups in terms of small elements
within the tradition such as sequence of dance steps or preference in costume material or
colour. The cultural traits that were inherited or passed on to the next generation camefrom within the extent of the local community such as the traditional performing art ofMenora. In macro level, the possibility of variations among the groups due to influence
from sources coming from outside of the community and was introduced in the tradition
such as the use of different Malay dialects in Mak Yong Riau or Sumatra as opposed to
the Northeast Malay dialect in the Peninsula. The shortened length of Mak Yongperformance by Khatijah Awang for her group could also stem from her experience
participating in modern media such as television and radio (Zahana & Habsah 1999: 14- 16).
Through the behaviour of members in the community, we understood that there
are two channels that will influence the variations between Mak Yong groups which aremicro and macro level of social interaction. How cultural traits can be transferred or
inherited between groups will depend on the extent of social network from each membersof the community. To further understand this macro level interaction that causes variationin Mak Yong groups, we need to look at how political hegemony could cause outside
influence to diffuse into the local community as well. In the context of Mak Yong, thiswill be the Siamese political hegemony on the culture of the Northern and East Coast
Malay polities in the Malay Peninsula. Nevertheless, to focus on this discussion will beout of scope of this study13. We could however, present some of the possibilities for theThai or other culture to influence the local Malay community based on the literarysources pertaining the social and cultural interaction with the Malay in the region. Thesepossibilities are plausible as we have the observable manifestation of physical evidence
in Mak Yong where the community once interacted with the community outside of thelocality through the existence of Rebab as the important instrument in the performance.
Other than the probable interaction with the middle-eastern or the Javanese14 influence
through the manifestation of Rebab, there were also social interactions between the
Malay group with Thai and Chinese influence in the past. The interaction between the
Malay and the Thai was discussed repeatedly in the previous chapters. The result of that

For the discussion on Thai hegemony on northern state of the Malay Peninsula and its effect on Malay
dance, see Mohd Ghouse Nasaruddin, 1995, page 3 – 4.
14
Other than the probable middle-eastern source, the Rebab is also prominently used as the Javanesemusical instrument. For more details, see Malm 1967: 22, 67 and Ghulam – Sarwar 2014: 40.
13154

interaction can be seen with the shared costume element between Malay and Thai
performing arts such as the use of Canggai as reported by Skeat. While there is norecorded evidence of cultural exchange in performing arts between the Chinese and the
Malay, there is also a probability that it had an impact on the formation of Mak Yong
through the proxy of Thai as the intermediary. The interaction between Siamese andChinese performing arts can be found in Simon de la L��re’s report entitled Do
Royaume de Siam (A New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam) written at the endof 17th century after completing his mission to Ayutthaya Siam in 1687 (la Loubère 1691:
47 - 49). Puchadiparom also explained the role of mahorasop as a sponsored festivity by
the royal court since the Ayutthaya period where it included both Siamese performing
arts of Khon (masked drama), Lakhon (dance drama) together with Chinese opera called
Ngiu (Puchadiparom 2006, 3). Despite the interaction focused on the center of theSiamese power much earlier on in the 17th century, we must consider the probability of
the cultural diffusion between them in this earlier period and how it would later affect
Malay cultural traditions in the south, specifically after the invasion of Pattani by Siamin 1785. The northern and northeastern Malay states in Malaysia had already been under
the suzerainty of Siamese power between 16th to 17th centuries. The invasion of Pattani
in 1785 further solidified the foothold of Siamese power towards the Pattani sultanate.
Therefore, if Mak Yong in the 19th and early 20th century shared traditions with Siamese
performing arts through similar features in costume, perhaps there is also a probability
where some of the early interactions between Siamese performing arts and Chinese opera
could have descended or diffused within the Malay cultural traditions in later period
before it was adjusted according to the local aesthetic. In addition, our literary findings
suggest the socio-historical evidence pertaining to the existence of Chinese community
further support this probability. If diffusion occured, this could be possible through theprocess of Lamarckian cultural evolution as we have discussed earlier in the case of
Khatijah Awang. Certainly, further investigation in future studies is needed to explore
this possibility.
Within the micro and macro level of social interaction there is also anotherobservation concerning the possibility of cultural evolution to occur. Through the
ethnographic data obtained in Raman with the support of other interviews made with thecommunity members, we understood the role of Main Puteri from the perspective of
cultural evolution. As mentioned earlier on, the role of Main Puteri in the Main Puteri –Mak Yong relationship acts as a channel to expand the community by increasing the155

probability of introducing new members in its ritual healing (S. F. Alfan 2020: 6).
Therefore, there is a high probability that one of the reasons why Main Puteri and Mak
Yong is able to maintain its function and relevance within the society is also through thisshamanistic healing activity. Moreover, as the community expanded or maintained
through this activity, this also increased the likelihood for mutation to occur as well. Dueto the non-existing systematic inheritance system within the tradition, there is a highchance that cultural variations occured due to the mutation. As each new member will
most likely bring their own life experiences in practicing Mak Yong. Some of theseexperiences will inadvertently permeate into Mak Yong culture and cause variations tooccur. Another possibility will be in the form of the extension of social network thatcaused the extended network to include new members that will most likely introduce newelements or create a variation within the tradition. The best example of this will be in thecase of Khatijah Awang where she used influences from other types of performing artsand her experience as a performer in modern television and radio as an inspiration to
improve Mak Yong performance (Hardwick 2009: 129 & 131, Zahana & Habsah 1999:
14 - 16). As a result, the performance of Mak Yong in the city of Kuala Lumpur and in
the higher education institutions was kept at around one and a half hours with acompressed story-telling narrative that could be enjoyed by the audience in the city.
Other elements such as improvements towards the quality of costuming for characters
are possible through her efforts in performances outside of Kelantan. Another exampleof this cultural variation occuring is the recent case of Mak Yong performance in
Kelantan led by Rosnan Rahman who is not only an experienced Pak Yong, but also
worked as the director of cultural department in Kelantan. Through his efforts toconvince the local government in allowing performances to make a return in its home
state, several Syariah laws need to be abided and thus resulted in another culturalvariation (Siti Rohana 2020). Both cases can be considered as exhibiting the feature of
Lamarckian cultural evolution with guided variations.15 It can be understood as changes
with the cultural subject due to the changes made during the lifetime of its community
members. The changes then are considered as the new cultural variation and being
inherited by the new generation of community members where it is being regarded as thecurrent tradition. In relation to the historical narrative of Mak Yong, this could be one of

Modification of knowledge by individual before it is being passed on to others. See Mesoudi 2011, 43
- 44.
15

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its probable channels that resulted in the discontinuity of data throughout its one hundredyears of research data. As some of these variations survived while others, such as in thecase of Mak Yong Kedah and Perlis did not, this could be the reason why thecontemporary understanding of its form is different than those recorded at the time of
Skeat and Cuisinier. Nevertheless, how can we understand this nature of change within
the Mak Yong tradition through Mead and Joas’ approach to social action?

4.6 Mak Yong as an Active Action
In previous section, we observed several elements that contributed towards theexistence of several Mak Yong variations. However, further analysis is needed for us toelaborate the process from the perspective of the individual in relation to others within
the community. This will help us understand the probable changes within the communitythat would eventually lead to the variations across various Mak Yong groups. What wehave observed so far is the pattern and channels of how variation could exist within acommunity and spread through social interaction based on cultural evolution theory. The
individual element, the individual experience is also important within this discussion as
it is part of the dynamic that catalyze new variation such as in the case of Khatijah Awang.
Initially propagated by the individual actor through the impulsive action of ‘I’, thesechanges within the tradition are made possible if the community accepts it andsuccessfully practiced over several generations. Thus, it will inevitably change the value
system of the subject as time goes by. However, these changes will not instigate changes
in the community willy-nilly without a specific social behaviour mechanism that enables
it to become a tradition. We are already familiar with the non-individualism approach
made by Mead and Joas to address the construction of self within the discussion ofcreativity in social action. To further understand this mechanism, it is imperative then inthis section to approach the matter using the theory proposed by George Herbert Meadon the construction of the self, the concept of ‘I’ and ‘Me’ in social behaviourism. We
also included the approach made by Joas through his creativity of action theory written
to further understand how creativity is possible within the tradition before the community
is adopting it as the new practice.
To answer the inquiries stated in the earlier chapter along with its nature, we
decided to adopt the use of pragmatism philosophy as part of the foundation for our157methodology in this study. The philosophy of pragmatism has thus far assisted us inaddressing these four elements concerning the study which are:a) Understanding the relation and effects of an object or subject to the philosophicalquestions of its properties.
b) Multi-disciplinary as the approach to solve an inquiry.
c) Pragmatism sees perception, cognition, emotion in human being as phases inaction, not a separate sequence of action. Therefore, it sees action as an ongoingprocess.
d) It sees action susceptible to failure and reflection will be made to reconstruct theprocess that fails.
The first element that discussed on the properties of the subject of interest can be applied
to the effects of change within tradition and the limitation of certain methodologicalapproach in understanding the nature of tradition. As one of the important traits in our
subject of interest, it is not entirely effective to adopt a methodological approach that
could not address the nature of change within tradition such as the thick description
through ethnography or participant-observation. In addition, the application of thisapproach through pragmatism has helped previous scholars such as Mead in his
philosophy of social behaviourism. This in turn, giving us a tool to understand the effects
of environment and social relation between individuals in the community to theconstruction of the self in individuals and address its ever-changing nature within thecommunity. The second element of this study calls for a multi-disciplinary approach thatis able to compliment the shortcomings of solely depending on one type of approach as
discussed in chapter two. The third and the forth element was thoroughly discussed by
Joas as he elaborated on the tacit assumption of sociality in the creativity of action theory(Joas 1996).
Through the philosophy of pragmatism, we understand the relationship ofperceived objects in our environment with human cognition. This was seen in the worksof Mead whereby his theory on social behaviourism is one of the important foundationsof our analysis in this study. In order to begin the analysis on the connection between
various data on Mak Yong over different periods of time with the current data using
motion capture, understanding the historical narratives through documentation evidenceis vital to make this connection. Through arguments made by Mead, the subject of158

tradition, which in our case is Mak Yong, will not be possible without the existence ofits community. Here, we can regard the tradition of Mak Yong as the ‘Me’ which sets
the perceived understanding on the definition of Mak Yong according to its local
community. The important discussion made by Mead in relation to the role of theindividual and the community is that the response of the ‘I’ in creative expression is much
more possible to be accepted by the community where the regulation of social conduct
is different and more acceptable towards new invention in the tradition. As quoted by
Mead,“An institution is, after all, nothing but an organization of attitudes which we all carryin us, the organized attitudes of the others that control and determine conduct.”(Mead 1934: 211)
Therefore, in an environment where a community migrated from their original location
to another will determine how the conduct will be accepted. In the case of Mak Yong, if
we are to accept our earlier assumption where evolution occurs through Lamarckian
cultural evolution with guided variation, this will be possible in an environment where
the organized attitude is less strict towards innovation within the tradition. If we are using
the approach of Mead, then this would mean that the community accepting innovation
within the tradition to have a much recent establishment on practicing the tradition.
Comparatively, this environment will have to be practicing Mak Yong in a much later
period within the history of Mak Yong. Coincidently, this is true if we are comparing thiswith previous studies on communities in Kelantan, Sumatra and even Riau as Mak Yongwas considered by the communities to originate from Pattani in the case of Kelantan.
From Kelantan for Riau communities while for the Sumatran community, they made theconnection to Kedah troupe. In either cases, either from Kedah, Kelantan or Pattani, it
was mentioned by Cuisinier that the masked form was the dominant version as comparedto the unmasked version, which was only being practiced in Kelantan at the time of herreport. Even if we are to test this approach in recent times, we will find that such is also
the case with Mak Yong under the guidance of Khatijah Awang where she introduced
the modern version of Mak Yong in higher institutions and groups around Kuala Lumpurthat is more simplified and less elaborative in terms of performance structure andduration. Despite having resistance to these changes made by Khatijah Awang, her159version is more popular in the urban areas where it could cater to the modern audience
while the traditional performance structure is still prevalent in rural Kelantan andSouthern Thailand. If this is true in the case of the introduction of Mak Yong to Kelantan
and other areas from Pattani and Kedah, what we can infer from this observation in
relation to our data is that despite the change in costume, the version of Mak Yong in
Kelantan today (that was used as the source for the motion capture data), still inherited
the choreography focusing on the hand as the main aesthetic of its movements despite nolonger using the Changgai as accessories like its predecessor. While the observablechange in Riau and Sumatran form can be seen through the use of a different Malay
dialect, stories or even musical instrument such as the non-use of Rebab, the change in
Kelantan is by the non-use of masks and Changgai. This can be seen as the reactive partof the self, the ‘I’, which is impulsive and unpredictable in nature as Mead suggested.
While Joas reiterated the approach of ‘end-in-sight’ concept by Dewey, she suggested
that the goal of these changes might not be as simple as determining the means-end
schema of traditional social action. This means that these changes might be in response
towards the availability of resource and social relationship in the course of time but wemight not be able to determine its exact motivation without further evidence. However,from the oral source during our fieldwork in Raman, Southern Thailand, the drasticchange of palace artists needing to embrace Islam wholeheartedly by abandoning theirparaphernalia might suggest a probable cause (S. F. Alfan 2020: 10). In addition,
Ghulam-Sarwar also mentioned the banning of Mak Yong and Menora performance by
the Sultan of Kelantan in Hikayat Seri Kelantan (Ghulam-Sarwar 2018: 4, M. Taib 2004:
85 - 86), marking the earlier ban on the art form prior to Malaya’s independence in 1957.
Meanwhile, the Buddhist-related performance of Menora still utilize the mask in theirperformance and one informant, Mr A, admitted that there is an oral tradition in actor’s
dialogue that mentions ‘Mak Yong Topeng Menora’ as part of the performance tocelebrate the occasion in one of the Mak Yong stories. If this is true, then perhaps, there
is a distinction made to separate the identity of Buddhist-related traditional performing
arts with that of the Malay Muslim communities by a certain social class due to its values
that are not in line with Islam. However, despite this probability, our interest for now
should focus on the dynamics that separate the identity of Malay Muslim to that of nonMuslim and how certain Malay Muslim communities still uphold folk tradition that
predates the coming of Islam in the region. The position of the Mengadap Rebab
sequence for example, despite being less elaborate in modern performances in urban
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areas around Kuala Lumpur, still retain the importance of several gestures particularly
the act of ‘Sembah’ or Anjali Mudra. If we are using the approach of Mead and focusing
on the values of the community, there is a high possibility that the prevalence of thistradition within Mak Yong has a connection with the position of Sultan in Malay cultureof Malaysia that still uphold the tradition of ‘Sembah’ within the formal palace function
and its importance as a symbol of respect towards the people in Monarchy. While theneed of a change to cater the modern audience is one of the important catalysts in Mak
Yong’s evolution in the city, nevertheless some vital elements that define the identity of
Malay traditional performing arts could not be abandoned due to its importance within
the hierarchy of society. The position of Sultan in Malaysia as the head of Islamic affairs
within the legislation of Malaysian constitution further contribute to the position of
Mengadap Rebab as an important sequence within Malay traditional performing arts. It
is worth noting that while there is no mention of the role of Yang di-Pertuan Agong overcultural affairs, the Natural Cultural Policy in 1971 did state the importance of Islam as
the component in moulding the national culture as one of its three principles (Malaysia
National Cultural Policy 1971). Moreover, the perception on the position of the invisible
beings to that of royal status made the practice within the rural communities adopt its
practical spiritual benefit to the community. The take from this dynamic is the connection
between the performance and its conventions to the position of values within theperformance with the institutional support and audience participation in the economy ofthis traditional art. The coexistence of values between the modern Mak Yong and folk
Mak Yong established the observation towards the connection between the audience andperformers in economic scale. Where the city does not find a need to the spiritual Mak
Yong – Main Teri, the rural Mak Yong found its support in the continuous demand for
spiritual healing in Kelantan – Southern Thailand. What we can conclude thus far on the
catalyst of change within Mak Yong tradition over the years mainly concerns on several
elements, namely the migration of the community, the change of value within the royal
patronage institution overlooking the art, the reconstruction of governmental constitution,
government policy and international politics. In one-way or another, these changes within
the society surrounding the community played a role that not only changed the value but
also the economy that would support the livelihood of the traditional Malay artist
community. A much recent event for example, in response to the Syariah compliant
policy in Kelantan, the form yet again underwent minor change within the ensemble ofcast for each role (Siti Rohana 2020). Yet, as Mead predicted, as much as the environment
161

affects the individual actor or the community, it will inevitably affect its environment aswell (Mead 1934: 130). In contemporary time, the performance space is no longer limited
to the traditional establishment as noted by Ghulam-Sarwar (1992: 24) but performance
space, such as the one in Istana Budaya (Palace of Culture) is made possible through thechanges made within the tradition by its community. Therefore, it is within this same
spectrum of discussion comes the importance of Joas’s creativity of action theory.
The premise of Joas’ theory of creativity of action as discussed in the preceding
chapter is to include the element of creativity within the theory of action, expanding hisargument from his predecessors such as Talcott Parsons and Max. Rather than presentingsocial action to its cause-effect disposition, Joas also considered the importance of three
additional tacit assumptions, which are situationality, corporeality and sociality in his
discussion. This brings us into a more focal discussion to understand the emergence ofvariations within a cultural subject among communities through the lens of creativity inhuman action. In the discussion of situationality, Joas regarded cognition as separate
from human action but plays a vital role in goal setting. Additionally, intentionality ofhuman being which includes intention, motives and values is an internal world that could
affect the external world. Due to the volatility of goal setting that considers reflection on
the pre-reflective aspirations and tendencies, it is actively engaging and adapting theaction according to the corporeality of human action. It also considers habits and ways,
which are connected to the environment. Therefore, within the cultural evolution of Mak
Yong, the path diverges inevitably and especially for communities that migrated, adopted,
or inherited the tradition in Kelantan, Riau and Sumatra. This active reflection withinhuman action catalyze towards the divergence of styles within the tradition especially if
the interaction involves different sets of environment and communities. While George
Herbert Mead is interested in the construction of the self through mechanism in social
behaviourism, Joas expanded the discussion in regards to the dimension of creativity
within human action that was not elaborated as much by Mead. He did however placecreativity within the discussion of ‘I’ in the self where it is considered impulsive andunpredicted. Joas’ approach added the creative dimension by seeing action as an active
human process where it is constantly being supervised and assessed. Change withinhuman action is inevitable if the action fails and this is where the philosophy ofpragmatism influenced his stance. Furthermore, pragmatism regards emotion, cognition,
perception as phases within human action, not something that precedes or proceeds it. In
relation to our subject of interest, Mak Yong has seen its changes due to the need to162sustain the tradition and embracing new generation of audience. We have seen thisprocess over more than 100 years through cases in Southern Thailand, Kampong
Temenggung in Kelantan, Khatijah Awang’s troupe and recently the revival of Mak
Yong as a Syariah compliant performance spearheaded by Rosnan Rahman (Siti Rohana2020). Therefore, our discussion regarding cultural evolution in the context of creativity
in action does not reflect the characteristics of Spencerian Evolution but rather as anecessity within the human action to overcome or to address situations within the effortsof sustaining tradition. This is in line within Joas’ argument on goal-setting that takes
place after the reflection on the pre-reflective aspirations and tendencies where successis also part of the catalyze in his tacit assumptions of situationality. What this means
within our discussion of Mak Yong’s cultural evolution is how the impulsive nature ofcreativity is connected to the aspiration and success. While Mead leaves the ‘I’ to its
impulsive nature, Joas’ approach extended the discussion to not merely look at impulsive
nature as a causal characteristic. It is the concretization of values and the constructive
fulfillment of impulses that further diverged the tradition into different styles to achieve
the success that their predecessors had. While success and aspiration acted as
observational assessment for the community, the concretization of values andconstructive fulfillment of impulses further drove the mechanism forward while itdepends on human ability to exercise the power of creativity. Therefore, in discussing
the spread of popularity for the non-masked Mak Yong performance in the later half oftwentieth century, we have to consider the success it brings for the survival of its
community even though the form was not as popular in the first half of the century as
denoted by Cuisinier’s observation in the 1930s. The introduction of a new variation in
Mak Yong performance, the Syariah-compliant Mak Yong is our next observation as acomparison tool for the next pattern within the evolution of this tradition.
The second and third tacit assumptions of Joas’ theory is vital to be discussed
together in our analysis of Mak Yong’s cultural evolution due to its proximity within theanthropological argument used by Joas to elaborate his stand on the creativity element
within human social action. We have so far understood how the discontinuation of data
occurred throughout different locations in Southeast Asia where different communities
and environment could have had its impact in the reactionary response of human actionin order to adapt. Adding to the path of high probability in mutation that would further
lead to cultural evolution is the positioning of shamanistic spiritual healing element in
the tradition within the discussion of corporeality and sociality in Joas’ theory. In the163

tacit assumption of corporeality, Joas attempted to bring in the anthropological approachon human body within the discussion of social action. His concern was mainly on thequestion of instrumentalization of human body where discussion on human action should
not only consider how humans have the control over their body but also having the ability
to relinquish that control as well. In addition, he was also interested in the importance of
preconception mechanism that comes before the instrumentalization of the body where
it may not be possible to explore should we use the dualism approach towards theconceptualization of body schema in human action. Therefore, the emphasis of creativity
in Joas’ approach towards human action was also concerned with consciousness and its
role within the discussion. In relation to our subject matter, we explored the role ofshamanistic spiritual healing and its connection towards the representation of acting in
the performance. Secondly, we also looked into the aspect of consciousness, creativity,
human action and its relation towards change in Mak Yong tradition.
In his attempt to reconstruct the introduction to tacit assumption, Joas chose nondualist approach by attempting to include the perspective of anthropology in discussing
the human body. His views on the corporeality of human action, which included theability of human to control and to relinquish that control, can also be understood in therealm of acting in Mak Yong. In our earlier discussion on Mak Yong and the connection
to the shamanistic spiritual healing, Main Puteri, we have seen the role played by theshaman that will guide his patient in order to invoke the spirit and thus fulfill any desirein order to heal them. This desire or ‘Angin’ existed between the conscious andsubconscious of his patient because the patient might use his or her five senses to listen
to the instruction from the shaman but at the same time the influence by the ‘Angin’ can
invoke an impulsive response during the performance. The patient is deemed to not be incontrol of themself and said to be under the influence of a spirit or Angin while they
fulfill the desire through various activities that include playing a part in Mak Yong story
as well. If we take the activity of acting in a Mak Yong play by the patient, then the
representation of that activity can be understood to be within the realm of the control andthe relinquish of control of the patient’s body. This is because, despite their impulsive
nature of trance in the performance, the patient themselves have a certain level ofconsciousness that certain rules need to be abide where they will play certain characters
despite the representation may or may not be what the audience expected in comparison
to an experienced traditional actor. Even if we take another example such as a normal
Mak Yong performance by the traditional actor, the link to the mystical supernatural164

world is strong in this tradition that there could be an intervention by the mystical spirits
that would influence the performance of the players whether they are musicians or theactors. The tradition itself has a localized context in assessing the performance whether
or not these players were in total control of their performance with the influence fromthe spirits as the link will always be there, marked by the need to perform Mengadap
Rebab to keep the harmony between the real and supernatural world. If the player is in
total control, then no matter how hard the influence will be, they will continue with theperformance until the end. But if they do not have the means to control them, then usually
the shamanistic healing will be performed to bring their senses into the real world. Herethe indigenous cultural system acknowledges that in the tradition. The players will
always have the ability to control and relinquish that control either due to their weakspiritual foundation or by purpose. Therefore due to this impulsive dimension in theperformance, we can understand the nature of action by the actors as both having theability to control or relinquish and at the same time, consciously understand theseprobabilities during performance. Adding to the nature of Mak Yong’s oral tradition, thismeans that there will inevitably be some information loss as it was passed down fromone generation to another. Consequently, due to the nature of impulsiveness in humanaction, some information could be altered unknowingly and resulted in random mutationof the tradition which leads to the evolution. This brings us to the next discussion within
the corporeality and sociality of Joas’ theory in our analysis of Mak Yong tradition anddiscontinuance of data. Joas’ discussion on sociality overlaps with our previous
discussion through Mead’s social behaviourism theory on the formation of the self or theego. However, what he expanded in the discussion of sociality is the connection withother tacit assumptions which is situationality and corporeality. The position of
shamanistic healing within Mak Yong’s tradition has now presented us with theconnection between consciousness, creativity, human action and cultural evolution.
Through the performance of healing ritual, it was shown that human actions both havecontrol and uncontrollable nature. Through the participation of shaman that leads theperformance, this further adds the element of sociality within human action. Not only are
they conscious in the confinement of the performance convention but their relation to theshaman shows how the relationship between shaman – patient affects their behaviour as
they guide them through. The same can be said in Mak Yong’s performance convention.
Usually, the group performance will follow the lead of the Pak Yong who is usually thehead of the troupe. Although the performance structure will be the same according to the165tradition, the role played by each player will be performed uniquely. This is the creative
dimension within the tacit assumption of sociality as each member may have thetendency to go beyond the boundaries of their self or ego; the patient in Main Puteri willplay their part impulsively as a patient, while the Mak Yong players expressed theircreativity in playing their roles diligently. The same argument was made by Joas throughexamples given by Durkheim in his observation of the totemic rituals by the Australianaboriginals. Our relation as individuals reflects the connection between conscious,human action and creativity to the community and environment. While the shamanistic
spiritual healing in Main Puteri has further magnified these relationships, it also helps us
in understanding the progress of change and its effect towards Mak Yong tradition in its
evolutionary path. During the fieldwork, the informants reported that Mak Yong groupsin Riau tried to reincorporate the use of Rebab in their musical ensemble after the Mak
Yong conference in Thailand, meanwhile Rosnan Rahman recently attempted to make
Mak Yong performance available legally in Kelantan. These show that there are attempts
by members of the Mak Yong community to go beyond the boundaries of their ego, theRiau group that wants to reintroduce Rebab despite having performed Mak Yong without
one for a while and the same can be said to Rosnan where Syariah-compliant
performance as it stands today was not adhered fully by the groups in Kelantan until his
attempt. As Mead pointed out, such attempt is not usually acted out of egoism or
selfishness, but due to the individual’s concern and responsibility towards the group(Mead 1934: 211 – 212). Therefore, as both agreed by Mead and Joas, analogous to thetotemic rituals observed by Durkheim and in shamanistic rituals of Main Puteri, thedissolution of self is then required to restabilize the ego which would then propel theindividual to go beyond oneself and impulsively contribute towards the creative change
or mutation in the tradition, leading to the path of cultural evolution if given the time.
4.7 Conclusion

The method introduced by Golshani et. al. in using formal analysis managed tobreak down several micro aspects of Mak Yong’s Mengadap Rebab and Noh’s
Hagoromo Shimai in terms of spatial and temporal analysis through the use of motion
capture and the pre-programmed MATLAB toolkit functions by Berger and Toiviainen.
Our initial assumptions was to prove that there is no correlation between Mengadap
Rebab and Hagoromo Shimai based on its historical documents alone. However, despite
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majority of the micro aspects of the dance are unique to each dance, there is a similarity
observed within the approach of feet movement. Based on the macro analysis, there isalso a correlation between the costume, paraphernalia used in the dance and space ofperformance towards the spatial and temporal aspect of each dance. Within the argumentof these correlation, there is a probability of Lamarckian cultural evolutionary process
through guided variation in Mak Yong as it focuses on the dramatic movement of thefingers despite not inheriting the tradition of using Canggai as part of the dancer’s
accessories. While we are unable to prove the connection between these two traditional
performing arts through choreogeprahy, this experiment has proven to be vital for thisstudy as it enlightens us on the connection between costumes or accessories and its
impact to choreography. We have also observed that the value with respect to spatial
dimension corresponds to the physical space of the performance provided via theconstruction of stage for each art respectively. Within the values shown in the result, we
also found the importance of certain parts of the body as focal features of aesthetic foreach art that drove the dramatic performance. This was clearly seen as we madeconnection between the gestures of Sembah and its significance within the Malay
aesthetic culture and communication. However, there is a question of variance within thesteps of Mengadap Rebab given by informants in the fieldwork, signaling random
mutation in the tradition that could lead to the path of cultural evolution. Through George
Herbert Mead and Hans Joas’ approach, we are able to understand the reason behindthese catalysts of cultural evolution in Mak Yong. It is a result of the community,
interacting with subjects and the environment in a never-ending cycle of active
engagement of human action. Adding to the discussion is the element of creativity thateach individual possesses. Should they choose to take it to the next step, going beyond
the boundaries of the self, then it will potentially propagate the next change within the
tradition heading towards the process of cultural evolution.

CHAPTER 5167

TUTUP PANGGUNG–CONCLUSIONS AND POSSIBLE FUTURE DIRECTIONS

5.1 Conclusion

In our attempt to answer all important inquiries regarding this study, we haveaddressed several important issues on the discontinuance of data within more than one
hundred years of study on Mak Yong. As mentioned earlier in chapter two, to achieve a
better focus for our study, we have outlined several objectives for our study, which canbe found below:

1. To understand the physical and dramatic movements of Mak Yong’s Mengadap
Rebab dance through its movement pattern data obtained using motion capture.
2. To interpret the data and connect to their cultural representation from the bodily
expression given in the current and previous ethnographic studies.
3. To examine the connection between the use of accessories and costumes in thedance choreography of Mengadap Rebab.
4. To connect all past ethnographic data using motion capture data and cultural
evolution theory.
5. To examine the viability of using motion capture in the future studies of
traditional performing arts in Malaysia.
Due to the specificity of this study, we cannot elaborate on certain aspects of the study.
Still, due to its importance in expanding the knowledge within the discussion of cultural
evolution, we will list several recommendations later in this chapter.
At the beginning of this study, we have attempted to explore past studies
regarding Mak Yong and the background historical context of Kelantan and neighbouring
regions, particularly Pattani, which had a constant political link with the state of Kelantan.

168

Even at one time, it was under direct influence, starting with the Kelantan dynasty rulein Pattani at the end of the seventeen century. Our reason behind this is that to understandthe cultural evolution of Mak Yong, we have to address the probable cause behind thosechanges in tradition, particularly in regards to the migration factor. Towards the end of
the first chapter, we dive into Mak Yong specifically to understand the basic convention
and some of the important concepts behind the art, including the supernatural elements.
These supernatural elements constitute the foundation and belief behind many
individuals within the communities, as Mak Yong also represents these folk beliefs
through its structure, convention and aesthetic. Therefore, to achieve this understanding,
we need to understand several important characteristics of subjects related to the humansoul, represented by several important definitions within the tradition, such as semangat,
angin, roh, or nyawa. These concepts are vital within the tradition as the related traditionof the shamanistic healing ritual of Main Puteri also uses them to describe the symptomsof their spiritually-ill patients. Therefore, to connect fieldwork reports and data over one
hundred years, we need to consider the contextual settings to help us find common
ground they shared.
Chapter two addresses these issues by exploring further the appropriate inquiries
that we need to construct to have a focused study. We have begun our intention to
discontinue data as the main premise. There are also other research questions that wemanaged to outline. As we further explore, we understand that a multidisciplinary
approach needs to approach our inquiry regarding the subject. Due to the use of
ethnography as the main methodology of approach in the study of Mak Yong of the past,
we see the gap left by the approach between different periods has left us clueless on theconnection between them, particularly on several questions of change within the tradition.
Moreover, due to this discontinuance of data, scholars have been unable to fully address
the narrative of change within the sociological history of the Mak Yong community. The
ethnographic study of the past managed to address the situation or the livelihood of the
Mak Yong community in certain eras. Still, more emphasis was done on the art rather
than the historical context to help us understand the connection between the community,
their environment and Mak Yong aesthetic or conventions. Due to these issues, we havedecided to adopt the mixed method while having a philosophical foundation throughpragmatism to answer the inquiries and challenges presented. The philosophy ofpragmatism has helped us approach the subject by looking at its nature and finding thebest possible approaches to answer them. Despite the disadvantages of ethnography to169

answer several research questions, they were nevertheless able to provide a certain
dimension in enlightening issues within the subject that needed further context. However,in other inquiries, specifically dealing with body movement, motion capture will be theperfect tool to extract information and connect with important contextual studies, bothcurrent and past. In addition to these tools as a method to extract information, we alsodecided to use the cultural evolution approach to address issues regarding the change
within the tradition of Mak Yong, particularly several concepts proposed by Darwin andLamarck in biological evolution. These concepts are useful to discuss the change within
the context of culture proposed by Mesoudi due to its convenience.
Nevertheless, as we pointed out earlier and throughout the study, there will be challenges
in explaining the nature of change within traditional performing arts if we analyse our
subjects fully based on hard data represented by numbers. Therefore to contextualise ouranalysis and avoid being mistaken in our observational conclusion, we also need tounderstand the aesthetic knowledge behind the cultural tradition. Malay aesthetic thenbecomes vital for our assessment. We look into the pattern formation in the body
movements and how it connects to the communities and their environment. Due to thecontingency of these issues, works done by pragmatist philosophers such as George
Herbert Mead and Hans Joas are particularly helpful to address the nature of creativity
and its contribution towards the change in human society. Through their pragmatic
philosophical approach, we understand that change within social action is inevitable dueto the constant interaction between humans and their environment. Therefore, throughthese theories and approaches by Mead and Joas, we will apply the result from the motion
capture and the contextual studies in Mak Yong to look for the mechanism behind thechange within its tradition and ultimately address the discontinuance of data. However,to have a more focused study, we need to address the scope and the limitation of data to
avoid the unnecessary detour within the discussion on our analysis. Due to the CoVid-19
pandemic, we have readjusted the study to suit the available resources and fit ourobjectives. After consideration of the best sampling of the current Mak Yong tradition,
we have decided to use ‘Mengadap Rebab’ for analysis due to its current ties to the
tradition and its position as a common dance sequence. However, due to our intention of
having a focused study, we have decided to use MATLAB pre-programmed analysis tool
made by Berger and Toiviainen instead of developing a new analysis tool for our motion
capture data. Another important decision for our study is to have another traditional
performing arts variable for comparative study to find the close connection between
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dance choreography and its environment, including costumes, paraphernalia andperformance space. We used the Japanese Noh theatre as it bears no historical connection
with Mak Yong in the past and will be a good comparative subject to establish theconnection between the environment and its impact on dance choreography.
In chapter three, we have outlined the steps of our data collection. The first phaseof this process was the ethnographic data collected in Raman, Southern Thailand. We
had approached one Mak Yong communities and interviewed some of them to enrich ourunderstanding of the livelihood of its community members, particularly regarding the
Mak Yong tradition. We had also interviewed other Mak Yong community members in
Kelantan and other locations. We believe that these interviews could help us understandthe perspective of a localised Mak Yong tradition and paint a better picture of what Mak
Yong tradition means for different Malay communities in different localities.
Perspectives that are important for our study include academicians in higher education
institutions and those who received knowledge on Mak Yong from efforts made by
Khatijah Awang many decades prior. Other topics discussed with our informants include
the training method, knowledge inheritance, pattern of knowledge inheritance amongcommunity members, Main Puteri and its connection with Mak Yong tradition. In thesecond part of the participant-observation phase, we explained the steps to acquire thedance knowledge for Japanese Noh theatre by entering several workshops and personalclasses. This step is important to ensure we obtain the background contextual knowledge
on the art rather than being speculative during our analysis on the connection between
the environment and choreography. The second phase of the data collecting in this study
is the motion capture stage, where we recorded Mak Yong’s ‘Mengadap Rebab’ andNoh’s ‘Hagoromo Shimai’. We first explained the history of motion capture technology
and how it can technically help us capture the necessary data for this study. We havechosen Hagoromo Shimai from the Noh play of ‘Hagoromo’ as it depicts the heavenly
maiden who wanted to fly back to her home in the sky. The dance steps reflect her
feelings, emotions, and expression of longing. It also aesthetically interacts with theperformance space as a symbol of a being entrapped unwillingly by its captor.
In chapter four, we have entered the final stage of our study, which is the result
and analysis of findings. Before attempting analysis, we elaborated the path of analysis
done by dance scholars in the past. Due to the nature of the data presented, we havechosen to use Golshani et al.’s micro-macro approach to connect the data and its
contextual background information. In this chapter, we also introduced and applied the171

Cultural Evolution theory spearheaded by Darwin in the past and refined by subsequentscholars. To best represent our data, we have chosen several graphical representations
made available by the toolbox, namely the cumulative distance of hand and toe markers,
velocity graph and standard deviation graph for x, y and z dimensions. The cumulative
distance of hand and toe markers shows how they correspond towards performance spaceand choreography. Meanwhile, the velocity graphs show the importance of several bodyparts as the focal aesthetic of the performance. The final representation of data which isthe standard deviation of head, hand and toe markers, shows an interesting pattern thatshows similarity in the choreography approach of Noh and Mak Yong. Although thevastly different style is shown through the velocity and the cumulative distance, Noh and
Mak Yong show similarity in the representation of feet movement in the z dimension,
which is the vertical movement.
In the next part, we proceed on getting familiarised with the steps of Mengadap
Rebab for a better understanding of its conventions. Particularly, due to its importanceas a representation of Malay aesthetic in traditional performing arts, we compared themeaning of the Hindu Anjali Mudhra and the Malay aesthetic of ‘sembah’. We also
introduced the lyrics and the translation of the ‘Mengadap Rebab’ song, which depicts a
King getting ready to start his day. The importance of the Mengadap Rebab sequence
within the body movements context in Malay tradition is not only it is vital as a way to
pay respect to the audience but also as a way to keep the balance between the supernatural
world and the physical world. In connection with Main Puteri shamanistic healing rituals,
the balance between the supernatural and the physical world is very important to lead ahealthy life and smoothen any activities, particularly as Mak Yong depicts the god-kingcharacters to entertain the audience. This balance is important not only for the benefit ofa performer but also for the audience to avoid any mishaps and unintentional incidents
that would harm them and their well-being. In addition, we could also make theconnection between the physical space provided in Mak Yong with the one in Noh. While
there is one particular room designated for actors to change masks or costumes in Noh,none is observed in Mak Yong. Since Mengadap Rebab also represents not only the main
character getting ready, but mentally it is also a preparation process for the actor toembody the role in its entirety for the performance. Therefore, we could connect theabsence of a green room or a change room in Mak Yong’s stage and the position of
Mengadap Rebab as a process of character preparation for the main lead. While Nohrepresents its character change through a changing room, the same could not be said to172

Mak Yong as the main lead will change into the role through the opening dance on thestage in front of the live audience. In the final part of our motion capture analysis, wemanaged to find the connection between the motion capture data on the choreography
with the costume and paraphernalia. Scholars and artists in Mak Yong and Noh had
explained in the past the direct and indirect impact of costumes and accessories on theperformance, whether it is intentional or unintentional. The example can be seen throughthe impact of Japanese socks in Noh performance and Mak Yong the use of attire that
limits certain movements of the performer.
In the following part of the analysis, we focused on the connection between pastdata on Mak Yong with our current data. Due to an unknown reason, the Mak Yongcommunity members today cannot make the connection between the masked form
recorded one hundred years ago with the current form. The current historical narrative
only connects them to the formation of Kampung Temenggung through the patronage ofthe Kelantan palace. Therefore, using masks or other paraphernalia such as Canggai, thefake fingernails seem strange. However, we establish the connection between the current
form and the form recorded one hundred years ago through the function of handaccessories used today. While Mak Yong today uses bangles as their hand accessories,
previously, the use of Canggai adds beauty to the hand movements during dance.
Through the velocity graph, we understand that the focal aesthetic in the performancefalls on the emphasis of hand movement to give the dramatic effect in the choreography.
Therefore, the forms recorded many years ago could have used Canggai as an added
attraction for this focal aesthetic. This argument is further supported and observed
through its successors, the Mak Yong of the Riau Islands. Through the supporting
documentation on the migration of Mak Yong communities in the past, there are twolevels of channel for cultural diffusion to occur that would later propagate the change
within a tradition: micro and macro levels. Micro-level cultural diffusion can beunderstood in terms of social interaction among Mak Yong communities, while macrolevel refers to social interaction between Mak Yong communities and other communities.
In 1900, William Walter Skeat recorded several Malay traditional performing arts thatshared the same paraphernalia for their art, such as Changgai. Through this listing, we
understand that there are few overlaps in shared characteristics within the traditional
performing art communities. These overlaps represent micro and macro-level cultural
diffusions within the traditional performing arts communities of various ethnicities andidentities. We can also find these overlaps through our fieldwork with the Mak Yong173

community in Raman, where members performed various forms of other traditional
performing arts associated with the Malay community and the Thai-Buddhist community
such as Menora. The Main Puteri – Mak Yong connection is another micro-level channel
where cultural diffusion could occur. The inclusion of non-members into the community
through the activity of Main Puteri healing tradition could also mean that there is apossibility where these members have a high chance of bringing their influence fromother traditional performing arts into the community. The mechanism of cultural changethat we have understood thus far is Lamarckian with guided variation. Lamarckian
cultural evolution with guided variation means that cultural changes could occur in a
lifetime of a member before passing them down to their successors. The perfect example
other than Mak Yong community members in Raman is Khatijah Awang that had
managed to change the tradition and introduced Mak Yong to the modern audience inKlang Valley through various organisations and higher institutions.
The final part of the analysis in this study focused on using Mead and Joas’
theories for the mechanism behind the socio-cultural change. As a social behaviourist,
Mead provides us with the tool to understand the formation of individual behaviour in acommunity in a concept he called the self. In Mead’s perspective, the self is constructed
through the community's existence beforehand and provides each individual with thenecessary tool to respond to their environment. These responses can also mean thecultural practices or traditions, which can be translated as the ‘Me’ in every individual.
Meanwhile, the ‘I’, which is the impulsive nature of an individual, cannot be predicted
and here lies the creative nature of the self. Therefore it is not necessarily true that theimpulsive nature of the ‘I’ existed due to the nature of individuals going against thecommunity. In contrast, it is due to the overwhelming responsibility to go beyond theboundary of self, seeking the benefit of everyone in the community. Due to theconstruction of the self through the community's existence, we could understand that the‘Me’ that holds a certain custom and tradition in a certain community might be weaker
or absent in another. What this means is through the act of migration, Mak Yong can beexported out of the region. At the same time, it can also adopt new local culture due tothe absence of ‘Me’ on Mak Yong culture and the existence of a strong ‘I’ as a creative
force in presenting this new culture in a new environment. In other instances, such as thecase of Khatijah Awang, we can also make the same conclusion since communities in
Kuala Lumpur or the Klang Valley are not familiar with the culture and tradition of Mak
Yong. Therefore where the rural Mak Yong still practices their folk tradition, Mak Yong174

in the Klang Valley had adopted a new approach through changes made by Khatijah
Awang in her lifetime. However, due to the lack of evidence, we cannot determine thereason behind the demise of Mak Yong that utilise mask and Canggai in theirperformance.
Through one of our informants in Raman, there is a possibility it could be due tothe spread of Islam in the palace of Pattani at that time where the practice of folk tradition
was forbidden and the artists that practise this tradition were sent away to study Islamic
knowledge. This narrative could be why mask and Canggai were no longer associatedwith Malay traditional performing arts such as Mak Yong. Only the Thai-Buddhist
community that practices Menora are some of the communities that still inherit thetradition since Skeat reported it. Another observation can also be made towards thechange made on essential elements in the tradition with its function. In the culturalchange made by Khatijah Awang, she managed to simplify the performance of Mak
Yong from its long duration in the folk tradition. However, despite these changes, sheretained several essential elements to retain its foundation. The Mengadap Rebab
opening dance sequence can be listed as one of these retained elements due to its position
as an opening dance representing the core ideals of Malay culture and as an importantgesture towards the powerful symbol in the Malay social system; the Sultan. We canunderstand from this observation that elements subjected to change in a tradition may notfind their practical application within the social system due to the change of its social
value. The lengthy performance of Mak Yong, for example, is deemed impractical inurban areas where the productivity of modern life are different than in rural areas. The
same can be said with the function of mask and Canggai, where it no longer serve thepurpose due to the change in the Malay value system. This change can be observed
through oral narratives and our literary sources where the community were asked toabandon the practice and study Islamic knowledge. Therefore our speculation so far,under the support of the Kelantan palace in the early twentieth century, Mak Yong foundits way as a valuable tradition that has its practicality within the Malay folk communities
and the elite. It was also able to sustain its relevance in the community through thesupport from its related healing tradition of Main Puteri.
While Mead helps us understand the construction of an individual’s self throughcommunity and the interaction with the environment, Joas, helps us understand thecreative elements within social action through his three tacit assumptions: situationality,
corporeality and sociality. In Joas’ tacit assumption of situationality, we understand the175implication of human action as active social progress with its constant interaction
between itself, society and the environment in general. Therefore, even when one does
not intend to change, inevitably will be subjected to change due to influence from theirenvironment and social interactions. Joas also adds the element of aspiration andtendencies as part of the catalyst towards creative social action within the discussion. We
can see this happened through the change made by Khatijah Awang, where she found hercalling to improve Mak Yong and successfully spread her influence in the Klang Valley.
The final two tacit assumptions proposed by Joas, corporeality and sociality, arediscussed together in the case of Mak Yong. In corporeality, Joas argue about theimportance of how human perceive their body through body schema. Concerning
creativity, what this implies is that humans can control their bodies and have the option
to relinquish that control as well. While this is actively in operation, the sociality aspectrequires humans to consider others before their next act in social action. In the context
of our study, we discussed this approach through the connection of shamanistic healing
tradition with acting tradition in Mak Yong and, secondly, the connection between
consciousness, creativity, human action and its relation towards change in Mak Yong
tradition. Within the context of Main Puteri – Mak Yong, we could observe that thepatient both have controlled and uncontrolled dimensions in their action. While they arefollowing the lead and instructions from the shaman, nevertheless, their responses are
their own and impulsive. While this can act as an extension to the visibility of therelationship between ‘Me’, ‘I’ and ‘Generalised Other’, it also provides us with theopportunity to observe the path of cultural change. The path of creativity in human action
certainly considers the corporeality in action, but it is also connected to one individual'sintersubjectivity within the community. Therefore, the cultural changes that occurred in
Mak Yong communities are due to the situation presented within the tacit assumption ofsituationality, corporeality and sociality of humans between individuals before the action
progressed into a practised tradition.
5.2 Possible Future Directions

Through evidence from our analysis, we have thus far managed to answer somevital questions regarding the connection between Mak Yong’s tradition with objects in
its environment to link various data from the past to the most current ones obtained during
this study. However, several inquiries need to be expanded to explore the question of176

cultural evolution within the Malay traditional performing arts in the Malay Peninsularor within the Southeast Asian region. The possible historical connection and forgotten
narrative of the past are revealed in this study through the investigation between
choreography and various objects within the dance’s tradition. The foundation ofpragmatism in our approach of this study has helped us understand the function ofcommunity and objects within the environment to construct a clearer historical narrative
for a dance tradition. Meanwhile, motion capture technology further provides us withdata to establish a clear connection between choreography and human creative response.
Therefore, in our attempt to make a comparative study between different traditional
performing art forms in the future, it is advisable to establish our approach using motion
capture data with support from background contextual data. This approach will help us
understand the connection between choreography, contextual information and objects
within the performance. Through this study, we understood the effects of responsive
action towards objects such as costumes or any paraphernalia through choreography. The
type of costume, its weight, material, performance space, withheld objects such as fan,or accessories such as Canggai, bangles, necklace, all serve their purpose within thecontext of performance. As we have discussed earlier on the analysis of human action,even if we are passive towards the existence of an object or the environment, to somedegree, it will affect our next action. Within this intention, we should employ motion
capture technology as an additional measure to establish the connection between objects
and choreography. However, we should also be aware of its capability in recording data
as it has its own sets of limitations that we had addressed in the earlier chapter. The
employment of motion capture data in the study of cultural evolution or cultural change
has its benefit in observing the pattern of big data spanning various forms of traditional
performing arts.
To achieve this in the future, we have to establish a big repository of motion
capture data for Malay traditional performing arts to observe better the study of cultural
diffusion and evolution in the Malay Peninsula. Further expansion is also possible
towards any other Southeast Asian traditional performing arts, or any traditional
performing arts practised within the boundaries of Southeast Asia. Our study has seen anelement in choreography between Noh and Mak Yong. Although no apparent historicalconnection can be established between them, we could attempt to connect throughobservation on the relationship between choreography, object and environment. The
same observation was also seen in Aristidou et al.’s study, where they found unexpected177similarities in motion capture data for Xin Jiang dance and Egyptian Belly Dance (2019).
However, no further discussion was done in the paper. It is then imperative that we also
look at a repository of traditional performing arts across East and Southeast Asia or an
integrated system that would synchronise the database of dance repositories worldwide.
As we investigate the motion capture recording of these dances, we would be able to lookat the different approaches in aspects of the choreography, such as foot movements andhow it diffuses throughout the geographical location between East Asia, Southeast Asia,and the rest of the world. This possibility is in line with the previous suggestion made by
Golshani et al.’s study.
We could speculate for now based on available data that the only possible
connection between Noh and Mak Yong, according to its social context in the oldmaritime trading network of the past, is only through China and Chinese trading activities.
There are historical documents that reported the significant population of the Chinese
community in the old Pattani and its physical evidence to support this early theory (Reid2013, 16 and Bougas 1990, 133). We also must consider the interaction between Japan,
the old Pattani and Siamese Ayutthaya where it leads to small numbers of migration in
the region (Baker & Phongpaichit 2017, 122 – 124, Davies 1961, 70 – 78, Bhawan 2007,
44 - 45). With this significant presence of Chinese and small numbers of the Japanesecommunity, there is a probability that some preference over cultural aesthetic had
diffused within the community regardless of social class around Pattani throughmigration16. We saw this possibility in the case of Mak Yong’s travelling troupe to Riau
and Serdang that establishes its variation in the locality. Using Mead’s theory where
communities existed before the individual self, there is a slight possibility that the contact
between Japanese, Chinese and the Malay in the past could have resulted in theassimilation of cultural values, including performing arts. Future studies to confirm thishypothesis will have to look into a comparative analysis of motion capture data for
Siamese dance choreography in Khon and Lakhon, with Chinese opera, specifically thosefrom the Chinese diaspora in Thailand. We could also identify any traditional Chinese
dance inherited by the Chinese diaspora in Thailand or focus on those from the Pattani –Kelantan area. The data obtained from this study will help us understand the effects ofplurality in the social settings of Pattani towards its performing arts tradition. Using
There is also a report on the probable origin of some elite social class in Pattani to be of Chinese
descent. For more discussion, see Anthony Reid’s discussion on Pattani’s plurality and Van Neck’s
report, 2013: 13.
16

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Motion Capture analysis can only provide the opening path of further contextual
discussion. Therefore, the need for a big repository to store the motion capture data from
East and Southeast Asian traditional performing arts is vital for this endeavour.
Through the micro-macro part of our analysis, we can conclude that the analysis
in this study can only be a precursor to more future studies using a big repository formore conclusive evidence. The reliance on big repository data is one of its challenges.
Motion capture data could only provide a specific type of observation. Without
contextual understanding, it is hard to understand the cross-cultural analysis issue deeply.
However, it also provides the probability of observing cultural evolutionary processes
provided that the data stored is adequate. The path of observing cultural evolution indance is intricate. The observers need to understand the contextual backgroundinformation regarding the subject and observe the micro aspect in the analysis to look at
the overall pattern for any possibility of cultural diffusion across communities.
Alternatively, we could observe the evolution of dance within the context of diaspora as
previously done by Golshani et al. while comparing the observation with other types ofdance within the same ethnographic or geographic background. For example, concerning
the subject of this study, it will be between the choreography of the five Shite-kataschools in Noh or variations of Mak Yong in Kelantan, Southern Thailand, Serdang and
Riau islands. We could attempt a comparative study between performing arts of the samegeographic location for cultural evolution observation. For example, by comparing theshared traditions between Mak Yong and Menora, is it comparable to the Mak Yong
Kelantan and Riau? How does the culture diffuse, and how does it sustain itself to stick
to its sacred traditions? The broad spectrum of discussion from the analysis of performing
arts cultural evolution will supplement our understanding of the historiography of
performing arts and the process of human cultural evolution in general. Additionally, thestudy could provide us with the opportunity to synthesise our understanding of traditional
theatre and the realm of performing arts as a cultural evolutionary process rather thanseparate events. While the cultural product is made by each genius loci to serve the local
aesthetic and social function, we could not avoid discussing the result of humaninteractions and how it affects cultural production throughout history.
Another recommendation for future studies is constructing a system that would
enable us to observe cultural evolution through motion capture, especially through theassistant of analysis programming tools such as MATLAB. As mentioned earlier, ourprimary intention in this study is more focused on building an approach to discontinuing
179data in Mak Yong studies through its one hundred years of data collection across multiple
periods of its existence. Nevertheless, the role that the programming made by Berger andToiviainen proves to be very useful in processing the data obtained from the motion
capture recording system. The standard deviation histogram had helped us understandthe comparative data between two traditional performing arts choreography in terms of
performance space. However, due to the intention of the toolbox might be slightly
different than our intention in this study, further improvement is needed to have a better
analysis tool in the future for comparative study. Among the improvements that can bemade in future studies is to create a toolbox to analyse the frequency of absolute velocity
for important markers, distribution of velocity for important markers and relative body
movement analysis to determine the movement of a particular marker in reference toanother point such as head or hip marker. These are important tools for us to categorise
different types of traditional performing arts in different parts of the world. The idea is
to look for a particular pattern of movements within different traditions and see how it
spreads throughout the country or area of interest.
Indeed, the path in understanding the cultural evolution of traditional performing
arts through motion capture in this study has opened up several possibilities of
exploration in the future concerning multiple areas of research. Our discussion so far
focuses on cultural evolution in traditional performing arts and digital systems to help us
analyse data obtained from motion capture. Another important consideration in future
discussions will be the philosophical foundation in the meaning of data and its connection
to our learning within the framework of cultural evolution. Does human cognition
perceive their learned knowledge in digital representation given through motion capture?
Can the cultural mutation of learned choreography be understood through motion capture
data? If it is true, how random is the process of mutation in choreography data throughhuman error? These are some of the important questions that should be considered tounderstand the random mutation within the cultural evolution. Through Mead’s social
behaviourism theory, we have understood that these are some of the impulsive andrandom expressions of the ‘I’ within the self. Meanwhile, Joas had pointed out several
tacit assumptions that influence the creative expression of human cognitive response.
However, through data representation in motion capture, how can it help us understandthe pattern of information, its mutation, and its connection to various objects within theenvironment? The path to understanding these philosophical views on human perception

180

towards information and knowledge could open further discussions on the study ofhuman creativity within the digital humanities research area.

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Appendix
Programming algorithm for ‘Mcfillgaps’ and ‘Mcsmoothen’ function in MoCap
Toolbox by Berger and Toiviainen:
Algorithm for Mcfillgaps
d2=[];
if nargin==1
maxfill=1000000;
method='';end
if nargin==2
if strcmp(maxfill,'fillall') % mcfillgaps(d, 'fillall'); - BB
20100503/20100917

193maxfill=1000000;
method='fillall';elseif strcmp(maxfill,'nobefill') % mcfillgaps(d, 'string'); if nofill of beginning and end - BB 20100917
maxfill=1000000;
method='nobefill';
elseif sum(isletter(maxfill))
s1='Sorry, do not understand "';s2='". Please check your spelling.';disp([10, strcat(s1,maxfill,s2), 10]);disp([10, 'No gap fill performed.', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
returnelse method='';end
end

if nargin==3 %BB 20100917
if ~xor(strcmp(method,'fillall')==0,
strcmp(method,'nobefill')==0) %BB fix 20111014
s1='Sorry, do not understand "';s2='". Please check your spelling.';disp([10, strcat(s1,method,s2), 10]);disp([10, 'No gap fill performed.', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
returnend
end
if isfield(d,'type') && (strcmp(d.type, 'MoCap data') ||strcmp(d.type, 'norm data'))d2 = d;d2.data = fill(d.data, maxfill, method);elseif isfield(d,'type') && strcmp(d.type, 'segm data')
d2 = d;d2.roottrans = fill(d.roottrans, maxfill, method);
d2.rootrot.az = fill(d.rootrot.az, maxfill, method);
d2.rootrot.el = fill(d.rootrot.el, maxfill, method);for k=1:length(d.segm)
if ~isempty(d.segm(k).eucl) d2.segm(k).eucl =fill(d.segm(k).eucl, maxfill, method); end
if ~isempty(d.segm(k).angle) d2.segm(k).angle =fill(d.segm(k).angle, maxfill, method); end
if ~isempty(d.segm(k).quat) d2.segm(k).quat =fill(d.segm(k).quat, maxfill, method); end
end
else
disp([10, 'This function works only with MoCap, norm, and segm
structures.', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
end
return%%%%%%%%%%
function dd2 = fill(dd, maxfill, method)194dd2=zeros(size(dd));
for k=1:size(dd,2)nani = isnan(dd(:,k)) | dd(:,k)==0; % logicals for gap frames
dnani = diff(nani);
ind1 = find(1-nani);
gapstart = find(dnani==1);
gapend = find(dnani==-1);
if ~isempty(gapstart)
if isempty(gapend) gapend=length(dd(:,k)); end
if gapstart(1)>gapend(1) gapstart=[1; gapstart]; end
if gapstart(end)>gapend(end) gapend=[gapend; length(dd(:,k))];end
gaplength = gapend-gapstart;
notfilled = zeros(length(dd(:,k)),1);
if ~isempty(gapstart)
for m=1:length(gapstart)
if gaplength(m)>maxfill
notfilled(gapstart(m):gapend(m)) = 1;
end
end
end
ind2 = min(ind1):max(ind1); % interpolation range%

dd2(ind2,k) = interp1(ind1, dd(ind1,k), ind2,'cubic');
dd2(ind2,k) = interp1(ind1, dd(ind1,k),
ind2,'PCHIP'); %recommended by Matlab #BB_20150302
dd2(find(notfilled),k) = NaN;
else
dd2(:,k)=dd(:,k);end
if ~isempty(method) %if EITHER 'fillall' OR 'nobefill' is set
if dd2(1,k)==0 || ~isfinite(dd2(1,k))%check if there is needto fill in the beginningif sum(isnan(dd(:,k)))==size(dd,1)%FIXBB110103: if marker
is empty%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% FIX NEEDEDHERE %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
elseif isempty(gapend) %THIS GETS CONFUSING HERE! IT
SHOULD PROBABLY BE TESTED IN THE UPPER_LEVEL IF-CONDITION - SEEMS THATSEGM DATA WANTS THAT; BUT DONT GET WHY
elseif strcmp(method,'fillall')ge=gapend(1);%get end (frame no) of first gap
ged=dd2(ge+1,k);%get data of first recorded frame
dd2(1:ge,k)=repmat(ged,ge,1);elseif strcmp(method,'nobefill')
ge=gapend(1);%get end (frame no) of first gap
dd2(1:ge,k)=repmat(NaN,ge,1);
end
end
if dd2(end,k)==0 || ~isfinite(dd2(end,k))
if sum(isnan(dd(:,k)))==size(dd,1)%FIXBB110103: if marker
is empty
elseif isempty(gapstart) %THIS GETS CONFUSING HERE! IT
SHOULD PROBABLY BE TESTED IN THE UPPER_LEVEL IF-CONDITION
elseif strcmp(method,'fillall')195gs=gapstart(length(gapstart));%get start (frame no) oflast gap
gsd=dd2(gs-1,k);%get data of start of last gap
dd2(gs:end,k)=repmat(gsd,length(gs:length(dd2)),1);
elseif strcmp(method,'nobefill')
gs=gapstart(length(gapstart));%get start (frame no) oflast gap
dd2(gs:end,k)=repmat(NaN,length(gs:length(dd2)),1);
end
end
end
end
returnAlgorithm for Mcsmoothend2=[];
if nargin==1
order=2;
cutoff=.2;
s='';
end
if nargin==2
if strcmp(f, 'acc')
s = f;
f = 7;

196

elseif isscalar(f)s = 'acc';
elseif isvector(f) && ~ischar(f)if f(1) ~= floor(f(1));
disp([10, 'The order parameter must be an integer.', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
returnend
if f(2)>=1 || f(2)<=0
disp([10, 'The cutoff frequency must be within theinterval of (0,1).', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
returnendorder=f(1);cutoff=f(2);
s='';
else
disp([10, 'Inconsistent input arguments.', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
return
end
end

d2=d;
if strcmp(s, 'acc') %accurate, Savitzky-Golay version
d2 = mctimeder(d, 0, f, 'acc');
else %fast Butterworth version
if isfield(d,'type') && (strcmp(d.type, 'MoCap data') ||strcmp(d.type, 'norm data'))d2.data = butter_l(d.data, order, cutoff);
elseif isfield(d,'type') && strcmp(d.type, 'segm data')
d2.roottrans = butter_l(d.roottrans, order, cutoff);
d2.rootrot.az = butter_l(d.rootrot.az, order, cutoff);
d2.rootrot.el = butter_l(d.rootrot.el, order, cutoff);for k=1:length(d.segm)
if ~isempty(d.segm(k).eucl) d2.segm(k).eucl =butter_l(d.segm(k).eucl, order, cutoff); end
if ~isempty(d.segm(k).angle) d2.segm(k).angle =butter_l(d.segm(k).angle, order, cutoff); end
if ~isempty(d.segm(k).quat) d2.segm(k).quat =butter_l(d.segm(k).quat, order, cutoff); end
end
else
disp([10, 'The first input argument has to be a variable with
MoCap, norm, or segm data structure.', 10]);[y,fs] = audioread('mcsound.wav');sound(y,fs);
end
end
return197

function dat2=butter_l(d, order, cutoff)d_filt=[];d_mc=mcinitstruct('MoCap data', d, 100);[mf mm mgrid]=mcmissing(d_mc);
if sum(mf)>0 %missing frames need to be filled for the filtering!
d_mc=mcfillgaps(d_mc);
d=d_mc.data;end[b a]=butter(order, cutoff); %filteringfor k=1:size(d,2)
dat=filtfilt(b,a,d(:,k));d_filt=[d_filt, dat];end

if sum(mf)>0 %missing frames set back to NaN
tmp=1:d_mc.nMarkers;
tmp=[tmp;tmp;tmp];
tmp=reshape(tmp,1,[]);
mgrid=[mgrid(:,tmp)];d_filt(mgrid==1)=NaN;
end
dat2=d_filt;

198