Heterogeneity in the musical acquisition of Orang Asli children from the Mah Meri and Semai groups

Chan, Clare Suet Ching

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Type :	Article
Subject :	ML Literature of music
ISSN :	2232-1020
Main Author :	Chan, Clare Suet Ching
Title :	Heterogeneity in the musical acquisition of Orang Asli children from the Mah Meri and Semai groups
Hits :	12

Place of Production :	Tanjong Malim
Publisher :	Fakulti Muzik dan Seni Persembahan
Year of Publication :	2012
Notes :	Vol. 1 No. 2 (2012): Malaysian Music Journal
Corporate Name :	Perpustakaan Tuanku Bainun
PDF Full Text :	You have no permission to view this item.

Abstract : Perpustakaan Tuanku Bainun

The music acquisition and aesthetics of children in two Orang Asli villages, the Mah Meri of_ Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island, Selangor, and the Semai of Kampung Ulu Geroh, Gopeng has_ shifted from an oral tradition transmitted from ancestral lineages to institutionalized learning_ acquired from a teacher outside the Orang Asli cultural tradition. The interaction of Orang Asli_ children with friends from multicultural backgrounds, exposure to the mass media, and the_ evangelization of religious groups has also increasing dislocated Orang Asli children's music from_ a place-based and ethnic heritage to one of "deterritorialized" space and time. These phenomena_ emerged due to the nation's hegemonic policies of assimilation, development and globalization since_ Independence in 1957. This article discusses the variables that in.fluence and determine the music_ acquisition of Mah Meri and Semai children today. These variables include; issues of identity,_ worldviews and religion, tourism, locality, the mass media, and multiculturalism. I posit that_ there is growing heterogeneity in the music acquisition of Orang Asli groups conglomerated into_ specific ethnic categorizes. I argue for the construction of multiple Orang Asli identities in a_ developing country constantly exposed to national and global aspirations. These emerging identities_ transcend the stereotyped categories of Orang Asli groups originally constructed to administer_ control and surveillance over Orang Asli movements during British governance in the 1900s. Keywords globalization, heterogeneity, indigenous music, modernization, Orang Asli music education, multiple identities, musical transmission _

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