British Forum for Ethnomusicology

Review
Reviewed Work(s): Selected Papers on Music in Sabah by Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
Review by: David Wong
Source: Ethnomusicology Forum, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Nov., 2008), pp. 277-280
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20184624
Accessed: 31-07-2017 07:56 UTC

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 Reviews 277

doesn't start at the beginning of the notation), and because the internal repeats
marked by boxed figures throw us off a sense of the proper length of the cycle. This
led to my second more general thought, that it would have been nice to have had
timings in the book indicating when the musicians switched from one structural unit
(or 'chapter' in Mills' translation) to the next to aid those unaccustomed to multi
layered percussion music (though this is part of the fun for those with more time at
their disposal).
For the field of ethnomusicology in general, and Korean musicology more
centrally, this book heralds the successful synthesis of the study of culture with
musical analysis. Mentors' voices are seamlessly woven into the narrative as a kind of
counterpoint to Mills' own voice and presence, creating the overall effect of an
extended conversation between intimate friends. This deep care and respect on Mills'
part is further felt in his balanced and sympathetic account of this Korean belief
system and those who embrace it. I have long waited to read about the inner
workings of the east coast hereditary shamans, and in this work I have been both
satisfied and deeply impressed.

Nathan Hesselink
University of British Columbia
n. hesselink@ubc. ca
? 2008, Nathan Hesselink

Selected Papers on Music in Sabah

Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan
Kota Kinabalu, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 2004
232 pp., CD, ISBN: 9-8323-6917-7 (US$18.00)

This book consists of research papers Pugh-Kitingan presented at conferences and

seminars over a period of 20 years or so. The papers are grouped into three parts: the
first provides an overview of the people and society of Sabah and the organological
background of its music; the second investigates in detail the music of the
Kadazandusun, the largest indigenous group in Sabah; and the third analyses
instrumental music amongst coastal communities.
Pugh-Kitingan explains in the preface that the book's purpose is to introduce
aspects of traditional music in Sabah. Although titled 'Selected Papers', which may
imply that the papers are not all related, Pugh-Kitingan has updated the papers so
that the chapters are related logically. Chapter 1, 'The Background to Music in
Sabah', provides a detailed and useful outline of the people of Sabah and their
culture, and the literature review covers all notable early and recent research on
the music of Sabah. Where appropriate, Pugh-Kitingan updates and corrects some
of the early literature based on her own research. For example, she points out that

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 278 Reviews

Edward Frame's publications in the 1970s-80s on music in Sabah (though she

does not specifically point out which ones) contain 'many mistakes mainly
because he had little understanding of Sabahan cultures' (13), not having spent a
long period of time there.
The second chapter is 'Musical Instruments in the Cultural Heritage of Sabah'.
Pugh-Kitingan examines the significance of instruments in different communities.
Instruments are grouped under the headings: membranophones (drums), idiophones
(gongs, xylophones etc.), aerophones (flutes, horns, jaw-harps etc.) and chordo
phones (tube zithers and lutes). Numerous photographs are provided. Pugh-Kitingan
observes in her conclusion that there is no musician class, and in general there is no
gender segregation on instruments: 'women are generally as adept as men in
instrumental performance' (41).
Part 2 focuses on the music of the Kadazandusun. In chapter 3 ('Music and Change
Amongst the Kadazundusun of Tambunan'), Pugh-Kitingan writes that
the phenomenal social and infrastructural improvements in Sabah beginning in
the 1960s have caused some musical forms and genres to lose their importance in the
Kadazandusun community. In sharp contrast to earlier times when females had an
important community role as bobolian, traditional spirit mediums, these women now
accord higher importance to education and are keen to develop their own secular
careers (47). Pugh-Kitingan further writes that musical roles in traditional
ceremonies such as the wedding are increasingly taken over by electric pop bands
or karaoke, eroding the traditional rituals. However, she also identifies signs that
culturally aware tourists might have an impact on cultural preservation and
development (65). The remaining two chapters in part 2 are devoted to detailed
studies of the sompoton, a mouth organ, and the tongkungon, a plucked tube zither.
Part 3 focuses on music from coastal communities. Chapter 6 is about the Bajau
music ensembles where Pugh-Kitingan analyses four gong ensemble case studies. In
each, she describes the physical characteristics, performance practice and social
contexts of the instruments used, and includes musical transcriptions. She observes
that close and regular contacts between ethnic groups play a significant part in their
musical and cultural (ex)change. For example, the gong musicians of the Bajau of
Kota Belud and that of the Iranun not only share similar repertoires but also wear
similar costumes (166). Chapter 7 is titled 'Instruments and Instrumental Music of
the Iranun of Kota Belud'. Pugh-Kitingan classifies their instruments into membra
nophones (e.g. the gandang), idiophones (e.g. the kulintangan), aerophones (the
suling flute and the kubing or jaw-harp) and chordophones (the biula, which has a
'body shaped like the classical violin') (180), and provides detailed descriptions of
them.
Chapter 8 is titled 'Acculturation at Kota Belud: Examples from the Gong Ensemble
Music of the Iranun, Bajau and Tindal Dusun'. Pugh-Kitingan notes that the three
groups of people lead different ways of life: the Iranun are known chiefly for their
horsemanship, the Bajau are traditionally a fishing community, while the Tindal
Dusun are inland people practicing wet rice agriculture and rearing water buffalo.

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 Reviews 279

They also speak different languages. Pugh-Kitingan explains that inter-ethnic contacts
may have made it possible for the kulintangan set of small kettle gongs to be
introduced from one group to the next: for example, the Kota Belud sets may have
been introduced into the area by the Iranun, who may have acquired their own sets
from the southern Philippines via Brunei (188, 190). According to Pugh-Kitingan,
cultural contacts between the three groups give rise to similar performance practices,
and variations arise usually in using fewer smaller gongs (190). Comparing the
musical repertoires of the three ensembles, she concludes that acculturation has also
led to very similar repertoires.
This book aims 'to provide glimpses into the rich kaleidoscope of Sabah's musical
cultures' (17), and succeeds in doing so. The rich content on organology begs
numerous cross-references to 'The Music of Malaysia' (Matusky and Tan 2004), to
which Pugh-Kitingan has contributed materials. I feel there would have been scope in
this book for comparative studies with similar performance practices and musical
cultures, for example, with gong traditions in other parts of Southeast Asia.
The results of modernisation, especially on the west coast of Sabah, are well
explained by Pugh-Kitingan. I suggest that readers who are unfamiliar with
Sabah's historical, geographical and demographic details consult works such as
those by Ranjit Singh (2000) and Danny Wong (2004). My own thesis (2005) on
the musical culture of the Sabahan Chinese in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries may also be useful to provide a contrast. Together, these give readers a
deeper account of why Sabah's west coast underwent greater modernisation efforts
than the rest of the state, and what the socio-cultural consequences were. While
Pugh-Kitingan discusses the effects of acculturation, further in-depth studies will
reveal many additional interesting observations, such as the greater mobility of the
younger generation who have to travel to towns to work during the weekdays and
return to their village at the weekends, and how acculturation affects music in
ritual practices.
The book boasts over 40 pages of colour plates of musical instruments which are
very useful. The accompanying CD of musical examples, and maps indicating key
towns and concentration areas of the ethnic groups discussed, are certain to be
helpful for readers.
This book excels in organological and ethnographic details of community life and
music-making. I strongly recommend this book as it significantly strengthens
ethnomusicological studies on this part of the world. At the time of writing, the only
distributor I can find (apart from Universiti Malaysia Sabah; http://www.ums.
edu.my) is Borneo Books (http://www.borneobooks.com), operating from Kota
Kinabalu outlets, and its online store.

References

Matusky, Patricia, and Tan Sooi Beng. 2004. The music of Malaysia: The classical, folk and syncretic
traditions. Aldershot: Ashgate.

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 280 Reviews

Singh, Ranjit D.S. 2000. The making of Sabah, 1865-1941: The dynamics of indigenous society. Kuala
Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
Wong, Danny Tze Ken. 2004. Historical Sabah: Community and society. Borneo: Natural History
Publications.
Wong, David Tze Wan. 2005. Music-making amongst the Chinese communities in Sabah, Malaysia:
The keyboard culture. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield, UK.

David Wong
The Open University (UK)
d. t. w. wong@open. ac.uk
? 2008, David Wong

'Mek Some Noise': Gospel Music and the Ethics of Style in Trinidad
Timothy Rommen
Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, and Chicago, University of California Press, Center
for Black Music Research, 2007
xii+217 pp., ISBN: 978-0-52-025068-0 (pbk ?12.95), ISBN: 978-0-52-025067-3 (cloth
?32.95)

'Mek Some Noise' is an ethnographic study of Full Gospel Pentecostal worship in

Trinidad (primarily) and Tobago. Formulating a new theoretical approach that he
calls the ethics of style', whereby he seeks to situate the believers and the music they
perform and/or listen to within the dual contexts of their faith and nation(s),
Rommen explores four main Gospel styles: gospelypso, North American gospel
music, dancehall, and jamoo. As explained by Rommen, the ethics of style functions
as 'an analytical model that investigates the process by which musical style informs
identity formation for both artists and audiences; illustrates how style thus becomes
the vehicle for a multifaceted communal discourse about value and meaning; and
interrogates the process of personal identification or disidentification with musical
style as a moment of ethical significance' (2). The term 'Full Gospel' designates, for
the author, largely Pentecostal Protestant communities, but also other charismatic
denominations.
In his introduction Rommen gives clear and concise definitions of how he is
using his terms, contextualises this study within the realm of Caribbean studies in
general, and lays out the plan of the book and his approach to his materials. His
first full chapter gives a brief and useful history of Trinidad, traces the history of
the denominations under scrutiny, outlines briefly the essential characteristics of
the four gospel styles to be examined (i.e., the primary styles in circulation in the
Full Gospel community), and situates them within the context of worship.
Chapter 2 outlines his theoretical approach?the ethics of style?and seeks to
convince the reader that the ethics of style focuses analytical attention on the
process by which style becomes the vehicle for a multifaceted communal discourse
about value and meaning' (27). Subsequent chapters each examine one of the four
gospel styles under consideration, and a final chapter and very brief epilogue

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