Gambang Kromong

What is Gambang Kromong? was the first thought that flash in my mind when knowledgeable peranakans introduce me to this form of music.

Gambang kromong refers to a type of ensemble, based in and around Jakarta, that combines Indonesian and Chinese instruments and styles. Its name derives from two of the instruments played: the gambang, a xylophone, and the kromong, a set of kettle-gongs on a rack. These are combined with instruments originating from China: a two-stringed fiddle and a side-blown flute. The remaining instruments in the core ensemble are percussion (hanging gongs, drums, and a set of clashing metal plates). Male and female singers, who sing lyrics in the popular Malay form of pantun, round out the ensemble. Western instruments may also be added, including electric guitars, trumpets, clarinets, saxophones, and electronic keyboards.

The music is performed and patronized by two groups who live in and around Jakarta (in Bekasi, northern Bogor, and Tangerang): Peranakan, people of mixed Chinese and Pribumi (native Indonesian) ancestry; and Betawi, who are considered Pribumi. Ensembles accompany male-female dancing at Peranakan weddings and other family celebrations. In this context, female dancers are hired as partners for men. Ensembles also accompany a form of popular theater called lenong.

Ethnomusicologist Philip Yampolsky has identified two repertoires that are part of modern performance practice: lagu lama, older songs oriented toward Chinese musical features; and lagu sayur, newer songs that tend to be based in Malay musical idioms. Lagu lama melodies were probably brought from the Fujian province of southern China to the Dutch colonial city of Batavia, presumably in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. At that time, gambang kromong groups played for private weddings and parties. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, as the music became part of a more public sphere, the instrumentation embraced Indonesian instruments, including drums, gongs, and kromong. The lagu sayur repertoire emerged at this time, and in the early twentieth century embraced popular songs in the region around Batavia. The music became even more hybrid in the 1920s and 1930s, as it blended with U.S. and European popular music and jazz. A genre called gambang moderen ("modern gambang [kromong]"), associated with the actor and popular music composer Benyamin S. (1939–1995), is an important marker of Betawi cultural identity in contemporary Indonesia.

More information:

Music of Indonesia, Vol. 3: Music from the Outskirts of Jakarta: Gambang Kromong

http://www.emusic.com/album/10864/10864499.html

Chap Goh Meh

Yesterday was the last day of Chinese New Year or as it has been called Chap Goh Meh in Hokkien. As usual we had our reunion dinner but this time it was done at my home and we had a Tok Panjang meal of gargantuan proportions.

My cousin Tachi Gek came with her family to join us this time round and we had a grand old time with mum telling us the traditions and pratices of the Peranakan community in the old days.

Mum told us stories before the Japanese war when her uncles would makan angin in thier kreta kuda - horse carriages and cars after dinner going round city centre.

The young nyonyas and bibiks acting as chaperone would have to wait for the next day Chap Lark Meh for thier turn. This would be the only time for the young ladies to venture out and be seen as in those days genteel young ladies are not allowed to go out in public.

We ended the night watching the Peranakan Association play Bibik Behind Bars...

Chicken Stew Recipe for Phebes

A question posted by............

Phebes said......

Hey, I think this must be the chicken stew I remember eating as a little girl, with a dark coloured gravy and kayu manis, very wangi. I have tried and tried to find the recipe with no sucess. If you're feeling generous, please share!

Sorry for the long delay in replying to your request for Chicken Stew you would need the following ingredients.

Chicken - a whole chicken chopped and cut to 8 or 12 pieces
4 Local Potatoes - peeled and cut into pieces.
3 Carrots - peeled and cut into pieces.
3 Tomatoes - quartered
3 Bombay Onions or in our local term know as Bawang Benggala :-) - peeled and quartered.
1 can Button Mushrooms
6 Bawang Merah/ Shallots peeled and pounded.

Cooking Oil, Salt, Sugar, Pepper, Black Soya Sauce and Water

1 stick Kulit Kayu Manis/Cinnamon

Marinate Chicken with 1 tbs of Dark Soya Sauce, 1 tsp Pepper and leave it for an hour or more.

Heat a frying pan till hot add oil fry the potatoes till they are nice and crisp on the outside remove and drain on paper towels. Fry and sear the chicken till they are brown remove and drain on paper towels.

Heat a frying pan till very hot, add around 3 tbs oil. Add the Cinnamon stick stir fry for a short time, add the pounded shallots and contine to stir fry till it smells really good...add the chicken continue to fry...for a short while before adding the carrots, onions stir fry again for a short while...add your potatoes and button mushrooms pour water just enough to cover the ingredients..when the stew is cook add your tomatoes continue to cook till the tomatoes have soften but still retain thier shape.

Season with salt, pepper and if you want the stew to be thick you can mix courflour in a bowl with some water to a paste add this to your stew.

Happy tryin and do tell me the results...

Slamat Toan Baru

Slamat Toan Baru to all Bibik Bibik, Encik Encik, Nyonya Nyonya and Baba Baba.
Boleh panjang panjang umor, untong untong, kuat kuat.

Objects & Desire

NX Gallery

Objects & Desire

31 January to 30 April 2007




In conjunction with the launch of NUS’ Baba House at the end of 2007, Objects & Desire is a conceptual visual art project challenging eight international talents to present works inspired by the Straits Chinese lifestyle.

The recurring theme in this exhibition of works plays with the notion of site, community and experience, interpreting the creators’ experiences with the Baba House or the Peranakan culture, and delivered in the form of photography, installation, video, product design, interactive sound and food, these works tantalise our senses and demonstrate the creativity of the young talents.

The artists are Victoria Cattoni (Australia), Bettina Johae (Germany), Andrea Teo, Khoo Eng Tat (Malaysia), Mauricio Alejo (Mexico), Adrian Chua, Choy Ka Fai (Singapore) and Fal Allen (United States of America).


Programmes in conjunction with
Objects & Desire


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interactive Media Workshop with Choy Ka Fai and Khoo Eng Tat

Saturday, 17 March 2007
3.00 to 6.00pm
Celadon Room, NUS Museum
Free
Artist Choy Ka Fai and student Khoo Eng Tat from NUS Mixed Reality Lab share with the audience their collaborative effort and the processes in making art.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brew Appreciation and Food Pairing with Fal Allen

Saturday, 10 March 2007
3.00 to 5.00pm
ST Lee Atrium, NUS Museum
$20 per participant

Brewed and crafted in Singapore, Archipelago handcrafted beers are created in small, unpasteurised batches to obtain the freshest beers that perfectly complement the region’s food cuisine. The range of Archipelago craft beers combine the credibility of western brewing techniques with Asian ingredients such as lemon grass, tamarind and gula melaka to create what is arguably the first Asian conceptualized craft beer with Asian characteristics.

Come join the brewmaster Fal Allen for a session of Archipelago beer appreciation and food pairing experience.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Artist Workshop with Victoria Cattoni
Nyonya's kebaya, Baba's desire, 2007

Workshop 1 @ NX Gallery, NUS Museum
Saturday, 3 March 2007
1:00 – 3:00pm
Workshop 2 @ Your MOTHER Gallery, 91A Hindoo Road
Sunday, 4 March 2007
10:00 am to 12:00 noon and 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Free

Cattoni’s work is developed through a series of interactive video workshops. She investigates the public's responses to Kebaya, the fashionable blouse worn by Peranakan women. Nyonya’s kebaya, Baba’s desire is a new component of an extended 'kebaya' research that began in Indonesia in 2002. Challenging common cultural misconceptions, using the language of clothing to stimulate dialogue as part of her research, each new work is developed contextually – socially, geographically and spatially within its particular site. The most recent version of the project Nyonya's kebaya, Baba's desire at NUS, is developed in both Penang and Singapore.
Public interested to meet Victoria Cattoni and be part of the process of Nyonya's kebaya, Baba's desire is encouraged to visit workshop/s during the allocated time.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talks by Mauricio Alejo (Mexico) and Bettina Johae (Germany)

Saturday, 20 January 2007
1.00 to 3.00pm
Celadon Room, NUS Museum
Free

Mauricio Alejo shares his investigation into home objects and their forms. His intuitive decisions in producing photographs and videos aim to resonate with the body, our memories and daily life experiences. Alejo looks beyond the daily encounter to find something exceptional, and his visuals created are symbolic references of his enjoyment in the ‘set’ or ‘the photographer’s frame’ through daily life.

German architect and artist Bettina Johae shares her investigation on subjects/theme through the use of mapping ideas, performance and documentation of changes in life and cultural activities. She had recently participated in CONFLUX: the annual NYC festival
for contemporary psychogeography where international artists, technologists, urban adventurers and the public put investigations of everyday city life into practice on the streets.