Description
Book SynopsisThe 2,408 islands of Indonesia's Kepri (Kepulauan Riau or Riau Islands) province are said to be `sprinkled like a shake of pepper' across the Straits of Melaka and South China Sea. For two millennia until colonial times, they were part of the `maritime silk road' between China and Southeast, South and West Asia. Kepri's two million inhabitants thus share a seafaring worldview that is reflected in their traditions and daily life, and is expressed most commonly in the performing arts of its largest and smallest population groups, the Kepri Malays and the formerly nomadic Orang Suku Laut (People of the Sea) respectively. In recent decades, Kepri also has become home to large numbers of immigrants from other parts of Indonesia, some of whom practise the Malay as well as their own ethnic arts. Despite its close proximity to Singapore, this is a little-known world, one brought to life in a fascinating and innovative study. Grounded in extensive fieldwork, the volume explores not only the islands' iconic Malay (Melayu) performing arts - music, poetry, dance, martial arts, bardic arts, theatre and ritual - but also issues of space and place, local identity and popular memory. Generously illustrated and with a companion website presenting related audio-visual material, Performing the Arts of Indonesia will be an essential resource for anyone interested in this fascinating region.
Trade ReviewInternationally recognised for her pioneering research into the arts and music of Indonesia, Margaret Kartomi brings together leading scholars of the Malayo-Indonesian world to analyse the relationship between the arts and Malay concepts of identity, place and space. The strategic importance of the islands in the Melaka Straits and the South China Sea is undeniable but this volume is the first in-depth study of how the local peoples express their interpretation of their past and present. The collection is a model of inter-disciplinary research and will be an essential resource for studies of island Southeast Asia. (Virginia Matheson Hooker, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University)
