Thursday, October 9, 2008

Traditinal Entertainment


It is sad that the traditional forms of entertainment such as mak yong laut,wayang kulit,bangsawan and mak yong are rarely seen these days.The wayang kulit was vvery popular in the 1950s but there are now only two or three puppeteers(dalang) still actively performing.Even they have to supplement their income by selling puppets or fishing.It has not always been like this.For example,in the 1920s Malay opera(bangsawan) was so popular that the performers were full time actors.What has caused the declined of traditional entertainment?The obvious cause is the loss of interest and support from the public.Young malaysians,especially,have no interest in the old forms of entertainment.Furthermore,there are no special programmes to train new performers.Old artistes discourage their children from performing.So what can be done to save traditional entertainment?The first step is to provide oppurtunities for traditional artistes to perform .Sponsorship from bodies like the Tourist Development Corporition will help.Finally it is clear that these steps must be taken to preserve traditional entertainment for future generations

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