MEK MULONG

A TRADISIONAL MALAY THEATER

MEK MULONG
 HISTORY OF MEK MULONG
The dance drama Mek Mulung exclusively found in Kedah, incorporates the elements of Mak
Yong, Menora and Hadrah. It probably appeared in the late 18 th century. Unlike Mak Yong, it
began as a folk theatre.
The basic dance movements of Mek Mulung are limited, abbreviated and crude compared to
those of Mak Yong Kelantan. In their execution, no effort is made to coordinate the
movements of individual dancer.
Apart from Mek Mulung the King, characters include other players, a fortune teller and
dancers. They are all male performers and are normally related to each other.
The musical instruments played are the semborong, gong, serunai and cerek.
Unlike Mak Yong Kelantan which incorporates movements of the torso, head, hands and
fingers, Mek Mulung movements mainly focus on the arms, especially the to and fro, and up
and down swinging movements. However, it employs similar circular floor pattern, as in Mak
Yong.
MEK MULUNG is a traditional theatre performance few Malaysians know about.

Those who do know about it are most likely culture and arts aficionados, theatre
activists and some folks in Kedah, where Mek Mulung was born.

There are many versions to the story of how the art originated. In summary, the dance
theatre Mek Mulung is from the Wang Tepus district in Jitra, Kedah Darul Aman.

The name Mek Mulung comes from the word "mek", which is the affectionate term for
a young woman, while the word "mulung" refers to the name of the forest where the
dance was first performed.
It was introduced by a princess who was cast off into the forest along with her
maidservants.

Her father, the king, who believed a fortuneteller's prediction that his daughter would
bring misfortune to the kingdom, cast off the princess when she was still a baby.

The maidservants made up songs and tales to entertain to calm and entertain the young
princess when she cried.

The princess grew into a young woman who so loved the songs and tales by her
maidservants that she eventually took the lead in the performances. The group soon left
the forest and returned to Kedah
According to the 1983 book, "Sejarah Asal Mek Mulung" ("The Original History of Mek
Mulung") by Malaysia's Cultural, Arts and Tourism Ministry, Mek Mulung was first
introduced in Kampung Paya Kulubi, before spreading to Perik, both in Kedah.

Unfortunately, the performance was not well received by the people of Perik. The
princess and her troupe then brought the performance to Wang Tepus, where it was
an instant hit. To this day, the traditional theatre performance is held annually in
Wang Tepus.

There are also claims that Mek Mulung originated in Legor, Thailand, before it was
introduced in Kedah during the Kedah-Thailand feud. The first places it was
introduced were Kampung Perit, Mukim Kurung Itam and the Kuala Nerang district.
It then travelled to Kampung Belukar Mulung and Kampung Paya Keladi before
ending up in Kampung Wang Tepus, Jitra, Kedah.

Mek Mulung is similar to Mak Yong, with characters such as the Raja (King),
Permaisuri (Queen), Awang Selamat and Awang Pengasuh, Inang, and
antagonistic characters with magical powers.

Similarities include the bundle of seven rattan sticks held by the character of the
king, called "rotan ke tujuh" (in Mak Yong a similar rattan bundle is called "rotan
berai"), and props such as the masks for jesters, "golok" or machete (made of
wood), and a piece of wood referred to as "tongkat wak" (wak's cane).

Besides the humorous acting and dialogues, song and dance are main elements
of the performance.
There are no performances facing the rebab (a bowed instrument) as in Mak Yong,
but the staging begins with the Duduk Bersimpuh and Makan Sireh dances.

Mak Yong has around 12 stories, while Mek Mulung revolves around five main
stories, including Cahaya Bulan, Malim Bongsu and Dewa Muda.

Mek Mulung Cahaya Bulan is about the sacrifices of Putera Cahaya Bulan (the
Cahaya Bulan Prince) for his queen, Puteri Nang Mara, who was captured by the
evil Raja Gergasi.

Raja Gergasi's efforts to expand his empire was often foiled by Puteri Nang Mara,
who had magical abilities.

Putera Cahaya Bulan was shot down by an arrow and fell into a river, to be swept
away by its currents. Many more thrilling and suspenseful scenes take place as the
story unfolds.
The theatre features dialect and slang used in Kedah, with occasional use of the
Pattani-Malay dialect. It is produced by Hartini Abdullah and directed by Roslee
Mansor, with A Sam Palal as the choreographer, Noorlela Mohd Hashim as the vocal
trainer and Abdul Rohni Mat Noor as the music director.

The performance will be accompanied by music played on several traditional musical

instruments, such as the gong, canang, gendang, rebana anak, rebana ibu, seruling,
kompang and gamelan.
 INTRODUCTION OF MEK MULONG

Mek Mulung (Jawi: )‫مق مولوڠ‬is a traditional Malay theatre that unique to the
northwest state of Kedah in Malaysia. It became popular since the late 18th
century and incorporates most elements of Mak Yong, Menora and Hadrah.[1]
The theatre features a repertoire of stories from local legends, which
according to a source, amounted about 20 original stories, with few of them
survived today.[2] Similar to Mak Yong, the stories are presented through
dialogue, song and dance.
The musicians and actors of the theatre are exclusively male, playing both male and female roles. The
basic dance movements are limited, abbreviated, crude and mainly focus on the arms, especially the to
and fro, and up and down swinging.[1]
The orchestra of Mek Mulung is predominantly percussive and consists of rebana, gong and kecerek
(concussion sticks). A small oboe, the only melodic instruments in the orchestra, complements other
instruments. The musicians also do the singing, typically in syllabic style, with little vocal
ornamentation.[3]
 FORM OF MEK MULONG

The performance normally begins with a ritual known as bertabuh where all musical instruments will be
played simultaneously. Then, an opening song called bertabik will be sung in group and accompanied by
dancing movements. There are up to 7 types of dance in Mek Mulung:
1. Tarian Sembah
2. Tarian Gambang
3. Tarian Puteri Mabuk
4. Tarian Menora
5. Tarian Sirama
6. Tarian Puteri Masuk Bilik Air
7. Tarian Sedayung
The singing of bertabik then followed by the recitation of stories from Hikayats by Pak Mulung, and roles
from the stories will be visualised by actors performance. The transition between scenes in the stories will
be marked with a singing and pantun exchange. The theatre is typically performed in series and can take
up to 3 nights to complete.[4]
 DANCE

1. Tarian Sembah
2. Tarian Gambang
3. Tarian Puteri Mabuk
4. Tarian Menora
5. Tarian Sirama
6. Tarian Puteri Masuk Bilik Air
7. Tarian Sedayung
 MUSIC INSTRUMENT

•Semborong = 1
•Ibu Semborong = 2
•Anak Semborong = 1
•Gong = 1
•Serunai = 1
•Cerek = 2 hingga 3
Rebana
Serunai