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ABSTRACT
The traditional Malay song about a yellow ship, lancang kuning, recorded in 1979 for a research project on oral traditions in North Sumatra, is still popular today and can be found in multiple versions on the Internet. This article tries to find possible reasons for this lasting popularity by looking into the meaning and background of this song as performed by singers and storytellers in North Sumatra. Through a discussion of various versions of the song-text and its interpretation, the article shows how the theme functions in different contexts in Sumatra and beyond. Exploring its symbolic value in songs, traditional poetry, stories and ritual performances featuring a lancang kuning helps to explain its continuing relevance in various social contexts of the Malay world in past and present times.
ABSTRAK
Lagu tradisional Melayu tentang sebuah kapal berwarna kuning atau lancang kuning yang direkam pada tahun 1979 untuk sebuah proyek penelitian tentang tradisi lisan di Sumatera Utara masih populer hingga saat ini dan dapat ditemukan dalam berbagai versi di Internet. Artikel ini mencoba menemukan alasan-alasan popularitas yang bertahan lama itu dengan melihat makna dan latar belakang lagu ini sebagaimana dibawakan oleh para penyanyi dan pendongeng di Sumatera Utara. Melalui diskusi tentang berbagai versi teks lagu dan interpretasinya, artikel ini menunjukkan bagaimana tema ini berfungsi dalam konteks yang berbeda di Sumatera dan sekitarnya. Mengeksplorasi nilai simbolisnya di dalam lagu, puisi tradisional, cerita, dan pertunjukan ritual yang menampilkan lancang kuning dapat membantu menjelaskan relevansinya yang terus berlanjut dalam berbagai konteks sosial di dunia Melayu pada masa lalu dan sekarang.
Acknowledgements
The editors of the special issue are most grateful to Manu Brakel for permission to publish the article, and to Dr Els Bogaerts for her kind assistance in preparing the final version for publication.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The project was initiated by Lode F. Brakel at the Department of Indonesian and Malay at Monash University and continued when he became the director of the Seminar of Indonesian and Pacific Languages at the University of Hamburg. Unfortunately, the project ended abruptly with Lode's death in 1981. A conference on North Sumatra later that year was dedicated to his memory, the proceedings were published in Cultures and societies of North Sumatra (Carle Citation1987).
2 As discussed amongst others by Ophuysen (Citation1904) and Proudfoot (Citation2002).
3 MH: The various forms of lancang kuning and its wider dispersal, as well as the process through which it gained its prominence, are beyond the scope of the article.
4 More on the background of the lancang type of ship can be found in Manguin (Citation1986, Citation2012), particularly the 2012 article.
5 The footnote [n. 65] to this passage explains that ‘royal (golden) yacht’ is a translation of lanchang pemujangan in the MS upon which this edition is based [Raffles M.S. 18, Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, London]. Since another MS has lanchang mas pemujangan, therefore the mention of the silver yacht, lanchang perak, in this line suggests that the word mas (golden) has been omitted here.
6 In Manguin (Citation2012: 150–151), the passage reads: ‘The Portuguese authors, when they refer to the ship type they found to be a mainstay of early sixteenth century local fleets, and which remained in use well into the seventeenth century, always use the word “lanchara”, which is a somehow irregular transcription of Malay or Javanese lancaran. … . The Portuguese made it clear, though, that lancaran were the backbone of the regional fleets before Mediterranean influences became felt, and remained an essential component of all later fleets, alongside the modern, popular galley-type vessels. The traditional local vessels may have then lost popularity, but the repeated mention of “three masted lancaran” in Malay sources no doubt also points to sizeable ships, comparable in tonnage to the average galley.’
7 See Philip Yampolsky (Citation1996), Music of Indonesia 11, booklet p. 7:
In rural Melayu areas of Indonesia, the basic musical accompaniment for zapin is a single plucked fretless lute, called gambus, plus a number of small two-headed frame-drums (marwas, plural marawis) that play interlocking rhythms. The gambus player sings while playing. … The songs that accompany zapin are collectively referred to as lagu gambus (‘gambus melodies’).
9 Small variations and interjections such as hai are placed between brackets [. .].
10 This line could also be translated as: ‘if you, captain, are lacking in knowledge’.
8 MH: As noted by this article’s anonymous reviewer, there may be a more prevalent association between the lancang kuning and marriage, since in some Malay communities the groom travels to the bride’s house in an actual or metaphorical golden boat.
11 See also the discussion in Mohd Anis (Citation1993: 71), where he writes that the arm movements in zapin dances are restricted to one arm – satu terikat satu melenggang, and mentions male and female dancers performing as couples (ibid.: 12).
12 For a description of this salam pembukaan see Mohd Anis (Citation1993: 61 ff.)
13 The artists who performed the song for us in Pasar Bengkel did not mention this.
14 Snouck Hurgronje (Citation1893, I: 462): Wanneer echter eene algemeene ziekte in het land heerschte, werd van wege den Soeltan eene groote lantjang van hout of bamboe gebouwd en met gekookte rijst en vleesch voorzien. Hierin werd dan tevens, in schijn althans, een mensch aan de zee geofferd. Een arme drommel, die voor eenige dollars de rol van zoenoffer wilde spelen, moest natuurlijk in dit vaartuig de Atjeh-rivier af- en eigenlijk de koeala uitdrijven. De man steeg echter bij de monding der rivier weder aan wal en liet den strijd met den baren aan het vleesch en de rijst over.
15 Similar local folk stories mentioned by Effendy (Citation1981) are Si Lancang in Kampar Kiri, Batang Tuaka in Indragiri Hilir, and Pulau Dedap in Bengkalis.
16 They differ in the mission for which Panglima Umar is sent, the role and character of the ritual specialist (bomo or pawang) who leads the launching ceremony, and the reason for the construction of a new lancang kuning. The description of the launching ceremony by Effendy (Citation1981: 24–25), with an address to the spirits, is of special interest.
17 The bilangen describing the beauty of princess Muda Cik Suri occurred more than once in this story, a shorter version spoken by Siti Dinar, and a longer version sung by Ibu Damiyah.
18 Selat Morong is the name of a stream in Riau near Hutan Samali.
19 The Lancang kuning story by Nurana (Citation1985: 19, 32, 41) contains three pantun: one sung by the helper of Cik Masani at a celebration for Panglimo Dalam’s return from a sea voyage; a farewell song in the form of a lament (bersenandung), sung by Cik Masani at her husband's departure; and a third pantun sung at the end of the story.
20 Het beginsel van de pantoen, den primairen eisch, den kenmerkenden trek hebben Wilkinson en Winstedt voor het eerst op de m. i. juiste wijze geformuleerd: de twee eerste regels bevatten een klanksuggestie voor de twee laatste. … Ondanks hun juiste formuleering … hechten W & W toch veel gewicht aan het voorkomen van verborgen beelden en vergelijkingen in het eerste deel van een pantoen, aan gedachten-, naast klanken-associatie tussen de twee regelparen” (Djajadiningrat Citation1933: 12, 13).
21 For a translated version see Winstedt and de Josselin de Jong (Citation1956: 32, 51) and Raffles (Citation1879: 65).
22 Translation adapted from Drewes and Brakel (Citation1986:136–137 and 128–129).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Clara Brakel-Papenhuyzen
Clara Brakel-Papenhuyzen (1942–2022) was a scholar and practitioner of the literature and performing arts of Indonesia, including dance, storytelling and music. Her many publications ranged across Indonesian art forms, from Malay songs, Batak storytelling, Dayak ritual, and Javanese court dance, to name only a few. She was also a teacher, leading the Kuwung-Kuwung dance troupe in Leiden and contributing to the Asosiasi Tradisi Lisan and the journal Wacana.