Hybridity and Harmony: Nineteenth-century British Discourse on Syncretism and Intercultural Compatibility in Malay Music

Abstract

Nineteenth-century British writers made frequent observations on Malay music, which are preserved in multiple forms of ethnographic writings and travel accounts, as well as dictionaries and linguistic treatises. Although the cultural boundaries of Malay ethnicity remained a subject of debate, British writers distinguished Malay music from Chinese, Indian, and Javanese traditions. The types of musical practices they observed in the urban centres of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore were probably syncretic traditions, incorporating stylistic influences from several cultures. The melodies from some of these genres were considered analogous to European music, and some writers speculated on reasons f..