The traditional music of Malaysia
written by Ingo Stoevesandt



The instrument on the picture above is a bamboo zither called Keranteng of the Negrito, some idio- and some heterochord. The Negrito belong to the ethnic minorities of Malaysia, which are called Orang Asli. Their culture and (lost) traditions are only a small part of the rich musical traditions existing in Malaysia, and they stand for the link back to stone ages that collides with modern “westernized” and Islamic urban culture. The mosaic of diversity in Malaysian music seems to demand for a comparison of different cultural rites.
It is astonishing how many traditions survived and live now side by side in Malaysia.