The ancient, ritualistic folk theatre Mak Yong was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Unesco in 2005—a proud first for “any Malaysian item of cultural heritage”.1
But though it is an art form steep in tradition and heritage, Mak Yong surprisingly has no “real” history. Theories have been advanced to explain its origins, but none can be confirmed, says Prof. Datuk Dr Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, who was tasked to prepare the Unesco Candidature File and author of the newly released Mak Yong: World Heritage Theatre.
“It is not even clear if it first came into being anywhere in the Malay territories. In my own opinion, it started as some kind of pre-Islamic healing ritual strongly based on animism—that would take it back to before the fifteenth century,” says Ghulam.
The earliest historical records trace the existence of Mak Yong to the nineteenth century, where it was active in Kelantan and Pattani with a couple of troupes moving south and setting up base in Terengganu. “It was also once active in Kedah, but that soon died out. A single troupe was taken to Riau in the nineteenth or early twentieth century; and today, four groups are active there in a style that is very different from that in Kelantan-Pattani.”
In 1970s Malaysia, deliberate efforts were undertaken to rejuvenate the dance theatre, to change its character in hopes of making Mak Yong supposedly classical and urban, Ghulam explains. But despite such initiatives, “the old style performances went on in Kelantan and Terengganu.”
