Mek Mulung ( Jawi: مق مولوڠ) is a traditional Malay theatre that unique to the northwest state of

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It became popular since the late 18th century and incorporates most elements of Mak Yong, Menora and Hadrah. The theatre features a repertoire of stories from local legends, which according to a source, amounted about 20 original stories, with few of them survived today. Similar to Mak Yong, the stories are presented through dialogue, song and dance. The musicians and actors of the theatre are exclusively male, playing both male and female roles. The basic dance movements are limited, abbreviated, crude and mainly focus on the arms, especially the to-and-fro, and up and down swinging. The orchestra of Mek Mulung is predominantly percussive and consists of ''

rebana The rebana or terbangan is a tambourine that is used in Islamic devotional music in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. The sound of the rebana often accompany Islamic ritual such as the zikir. The name ...

'', ''

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

'' and ''kecerek'' (concussion sticks). A small

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, the only melodic instruments in the orchestra, complements other instruments. The musicians also do the singing, typically in syllabic style, with little vocal ornamentation. The performance normally begins with a ritual known as ''bertabuh'' where all musical instruments will be played simultaneously. Then, an opening song called ''bertabik'' will be sung in group and accompanied by dancing movements. There are up to 7 types of dance in Mek Mulung: 1. ''Tarian Sembah''
2. ''Tarian Gambang''
3. ''Tarian Puteri Mabuk''
4. ''Tarian Menora''
5. ''Tarian Sirama''
6. ''Tarian Puteri Masuk Bilik Air''
7. ''Tarian Sedayung'' The singing of ''bertabik'' then followed by the recitation of stories from Hikayats by ''Pak Mulung'', and roles from the stories will be visualised by actors performance. The transition between scenes in the stories will be marked with a singing and

pantun ''Pantun'' ( Jawi: ) is a Malay oral poetic form used to express intricate ideas and emotions. It is generally consists of even-numbered lines and based on ABAB rhyming schemes. The shortest consists of two lines better known as the in Mal ...

exchange. The theatre is typically performed in series and can take up to 3 nights to complete.

References

{{reflist Malay culture Malaysian culture Dances of Malaysia