Tukang Sijobang, Storytellers of West Sumatra - article ; n°1 ; vol.20, pg 105-119

Nigel Phillips

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Archipel - Année 1980 - Volume 20 - Numéro 1 - Pages 105-119
15 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

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• Publié par: ARCHIPEL0
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1980
• Nombre de lectures: 12
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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Nigel Phillips
Tukang Sijobang, Storytellers of West Sumatra
In: Archipel. Volume 20, 1980. pp. 105-119.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Phillips Nigel. Tukang Sijobang, Storytellers of West Sumatra. In: Archipel. Volume 20, 1980. pp. 105-119.
doi : 10.3406/arch.1980.1590
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/arch_0044-8613_1980_num_20_1_1590TUKANG SIJOBANG
STORYTELLERS OF WEST SUMATRA
by Nigel PHILLIPS
Sijobang is the word used in the area around Payakumbuh (2),West
Sumatra (see maps), for the singing of a narrative poem about the hero
Anggun Nan Tungga, and tukang sijobang are the storytellers who sing
it. This short article first outlines the forms in which the story of Anggun
Nan Tungga is found, and then goes on to describe the circumstances
of a sijobang performance and the background and training of the per
formers.
Forms of the story of Anggun Nan Tungga
Sijobang is one of two oral forms in which the story of Anggun
Nan Tungga is presented in the area around Payakumbuh, the other
form being the drama called randai (briefly described in Phillips,
1979:3-5). Sijobang is so named because, in the forms of the story
known round Payakumbuh, one of the hero's names is Si Jobang Sati.
(The story consists mainly of the adventures of Anggun Nan Tungga,
0) This article is adapted from the first chapter of my thesis on sijobang (Phillips
1979), which was based on research done in West Sumatra in 1974-75 (statements
in the present tense in this article refer, therefore, to that period). Research was
carried out during leave granted by the School of Oriental and African Studies,
London, with the help of additional funds given by the Central Research Fund
of London University, and with the permission of the Lembaga limit Pmgetahuan
Indonesia. I gratefully acknowledge the help of these institutions.
(2) In this article place-names are spelt in the Indonesianized form normally used
on maps, road signs etc., and not as pronounced in bahasa Minangkabau. Thus
Payakumbuh, not Payokumbuah. 106
a prince of "Tiku Pariaman', while searching for his five missing uncles
and for 120 rare objects requested by his fiancée Gondoriah.) A basi
cally similar story is apparently performed, both as a drama and as a
sung narrative, in the coastal region of Tiku and Pariaman. Printed
versions have appeared in Malaya and Indonesia (Winstedt 1914, Ba-
gindo Kajo 1925, Djamin and Tasat 1934, and Ambas Mahkota and A.
Damhoeri 1962) (3), and manuscripts (one dated 1855) of what seems
to be the same story were listed by van Ronkel (1909: 476-477, 1921:
200-204).
Sijobang
a. Occasions for sijobang performances : Tukang sijobang are hired
to sing the story as a form of entertainment on various festive occasions
— mostly at weddings, - but also, I was told, at circumcisions, house
building ceremonies and installations of pangulu (lineage heads). They
also perform at fundraising events, for the entertainment of customers
in lopau (coffee shops), and sometimes non-prof essionally in the houses
of friends. Tukang sijobang say that they perform mainly in the Kabu-
paten of Lima Puluh Kota, in Tanah Datar, but rarely in
Agam. This is probably because the Lima Puluh Kota dialect used by
the storytellers is much more similar to the dialect of Tanah Datar
than to the Agam dialect. Very occasionally tukang sijobang are invited
to perform for Lima Puluh Kota emigrants in Jakarta. Sometimes if a
tukang sijobang cannot be hired for a local occasion, cassette recordings
of sijobang are said to be played instead. Such cassettes are quite widely
available, for several tukang sijobang have made recordings , professi
onally for shops in Payakumbuh, and members of the audience often
make cassette recordings of performances. Cassettes of sijobang are
also sometimes played by vendors of folk-medicines to attract customers,
I noticed.
b. The performance : Performances of sijobang at weddings usually
begin at about 9.00 p.m. and go on all night (4). The tukang sijobang
(3) Of the printed versions mentioned here, the three which I have seen (Winstedt's
edition, the syair, and the version by Ambas Mahkota and A. Damhoeri) differ
considerably in plot from the story sung by tukang sijobang, although this is less
true of the Ambas Mahkota and A. Damhoeri version. A summary of the Sja'ir
Anggoen Tjï Toenggal appears in Hooykaas, 1965, pp. 180-181, and the Hikayat
Anggun Che' Tunggal is summarised on pp vii-xi of the 1960 impression.
(4) As to which night of the wedding festivities sijobang is performed, practice
differs locally. At Limbukan, for example, it is customarily sung on an evening
of preparation (malam bagorak), but elsewhere may be performed on the malam
basandiang, when the bride and groom sit in state. 107
Provincial boundary — --— •
Kabupaten
Bukittinggi *.^ \
St"
\ %----r'TANAH"7108
sits either inside- the house or on a temporary wooden platform ~(balai-
balai) built against the front of it. Sometimes he plays the pupuik (5)
for a few minutes to give notice that the performance is about to begin.
As soon as the host and guests near him have chosen which part of; the
story is to be sung first, the storyteller begins to sing. Before starting
the narrative, he spends up to half an hour singing various introductory
pantun (6) (pantun pasombahan). Some of these express the tukang si-
jobang's humility and his respect for those who have invited him to
sing ; others are intended to raise a laugh (pantun manggolak), or wake
the audience up (ubék kantuak, 'cure for sleepiness'). Many are love
pantun (pantun mudo), some referring (though not explicitly) to par
ticular members of the audience, others being left open /to interpreta
tion (7). I was told that weddings traditionally provide opportunities
for marriageable young people to observe one another discreetly, and
that on such occasions tukang sijobang are often asked to sing appro
priate pantun mudo. According to one storyteller, tukang sijobang and
tukang saluang (singers accompanied on the saluang) possess, so to
speak, a special licence (rebewes) which entitles them to allude to
romantic matters in public. These preliminary pantun are a popular
part of the performance, and I several times heard people in the audience
ask the tukang sijobang to sing a few more (8) .
As he brings the pantun pasombdhan to a close, the singer changes
to a tune with a steady rhythm and launches into the chosen section of
the story.. As he sings, he taps out the rhythm on the floor-mat with a
half full box of matches (though a small minority of singers accompany
(5) Pupuik, A wind instrument consisting of a 'reed' of split padi-stdMi inserted into
the top of a cone made by winding strips of palm-leaf round and round. .The
player maintains a continuous flow of sound by breathing in through the nose
while blowing out through the mouth. (The same technique, known in Minang-
kabau as manyalistahkan angok, is used in playing the saluang, a five-note
bamboo flute.)
(c) Pantim. A verse-form found widely in the Malay world, usually consisting of
quatrains rhyming a b a b, but also of verses of six, eight or more lines, rhyming
abcabc, abcdabcd, and so on. The first half is usually unconnected
with the second in sense, but foreshadows it in sound. The literature on pantun
is summarised in Liaw, 1975, pp 285-292.
(") In this connection, the following proverb was quoted : Ma nan bakuro, inyo
nan manggigia, 'whoever has malaria, he it is that shivers , i.e. if the cap fits,
wear it'.
(8) Dr. Khaidir Anwar has told me that, in his youth in Situjuh, near Payakumbuh,
those who wanted the tukang sijobang to sing pantun which were risqué (in
Minangkabau, runciang, literally 'pointed') would call out "nan runciang !" ("a
spicy one !"), and if the tukan? sijobang (who was deaf) did not hear, they would
convey their meaning by poking him; 109
1 1/ ,. ^
AKUMBUH V
Mountains t
AREA AROUND PAYAKUMBUH
Map 2 110
themselves on a kucapi (9) instead). He sits with one knee drawn, up,
leaning an arm on it and cupping his ear in his hand. Most of the time
the tukang sijobang keeps his eyes shut, the better to concentrate on his
performance. From time to time he switches to a different tune, but the
flow of words continues unbroken. Only after an hour or so does the
singer break off the narrative with an appropriate pantun and pause for
a few minutes' rest and refreshment. Then with further pantun he r
esumes the story and continues to sing for another hour or more until his
next break. At such points the tukang sijobang may be asked to switch
to a different episode, and sometimes, if he has brought a pupil with him,
the pupil may take over the singing for a while. The performance con
tinues in this way throughout the night, usually ending at about 5.00 a.m.
Sometimes, one tukang sijobang told me, the audience asks the storyteller
to recite (curitokan) part of the story instead of singing it (lagvkan), a
request said to be made by old people, so that they can enjoy the story
better. It is a