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Rasa Sayang
Traditional folk song From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Rasa Sayang" (pronounced [ˈrasa 'sajaŋ], literally "loving feeling") or in Indonesia as "Rasa Sayange" (pronounced [ˈrasa 'sajaŋɛ]) is a folk song from the Malay Archipelago,[1][2][3][4] popular in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Being a pantun, Rasa Sayang has an alternating rhyming scheme of ABAB with equal syllabic lengths to maintain rhythm, with the sole exception being the opening verse, which has a different syllabic length with the other verses. Divided into two, the first and second line are often unrelated from the third and fourth, the first and second line is used to establish a rhyming pattern while the third and fourth line is the desired message to be given to the listener.
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In Indonesia
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Rasa Sayange is an Ambonese Malay folk song, a Malay creole originating from Maluku, specifically Ambon.[5] It's widely believed that Rasa Sayange was written by a Moluccan teacher born in 1907 by the name of Paulus Pea.[6]
Another more modern variant with an additional Indonesian verse goes as follows:
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In Malaysia
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Rasa Sayang (also known as "Rasa Sayang Hey") is a Malay folk song. It's widely believed that the song originates from 15th century Malacca, some claimed it to be influneced by Peranakans. The basis of "Rasa Sayang" is similar to Dondang Sayang and Malay folk songs, which take their form from the pantun, a traditional ethnic Malay poetic form.[12]
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Controversy
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Controversy over the song's provenance came to a head in 2007 when the Malaysian Tourism Board released the Rasa Sayang Commercial, an advertisement used as part of Malaysia's "Truly Asia" tourism campaign.[16] Some Indonesians have accused Malaysia of heritage theft. Indonesian news sites reported that it is a song of the Maluku Islands, that it has appeared in early Indonesian films and recordings.[17] Around a thousand Indonesians demonstrated outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta in November 2007 to protest the use of "Rasa Sayang" and other cultural items such as Reog Ponorogo in such adverts.[18] In order to prevent what they considered cultural appropriation, the Indonesian government started making an inventory of such songs as cultural properties of the country.[17]
Malaysia in turn argued that the song is widely sung throughout the Malay Archipelago, and that it belongs to the people of the archipelago, Malaysians and Indonesians alike.[19] In cases where people have been migrating, trading and intermingling for centuries in a region, it may be difficult to make claim of cultural property.[20] Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor stated, "It is a folk song from the Nusantara (Malay Archipelago) and we are part of the Nusantara.".[16] The Malaysian Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Rais Yatim, recognize that Rasa Sayange is a shared property, between Indonesia and Malaysia.[21]
Early recordings and uses
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In 1925, a Dutch documentary film directed by Max Hauschild titled Insulinde features the instrumental of Rasa Sayange in the background, but it's described as a silent film.[22][better source needed] Another Dutch film titled Insulinde zooals het leeft en werkt (transl. Insulindia as It Lives and Works) used silent footage filmed in the Dutch East Indies in the 1920s by Willy Mullens, but with sound added later, was released perhaps around late 1920's to early 1940's.[17][23] The tune of "Rasa Sayang" can be heard in the film.[24] The original footage of this film is stored in the Gedung Arsip Nasional, Jakarta and other museums.[17]
In 1938, a British documentary film titled "FIVE FACES" features the song "Rasa Sayang" as one of the background songs.[25][26]
In 1943, the song Rasa Sayang appeared in the Japanese film Marai no Tora, which depicted the exploits of a Japanese secret agent Tani Yutaka in Malaya during the World War II.[27]
In 1950 and 1954, Rasa Sayange was used in the soundtracks of Indonesian films Darah dan Doa and Lewat Djam Malam directed by Usmar Ismail.[28]
In 1959, a comedy film in Malay language titled Rasa Sayang Eh was produced by Cathay Keris in Singapore.[29]
In 1959, the Cantonese version of this song came out as a song from the film The Merdeka Bridge featuring Patricia Lam Fung (林鳳), but was actually sung by Heidi Chan, namely 任你抱我 (You Can Hug Me Whenever You Want); the lyricist was Ng Yat-siu. In 1970, the song recorded in Mandarin but retains "Rasa Sayange" (traditional Chinese: 拉薩薩喲; simplified Chinese: 拉萨萨哟; pinyin: Lāsà Sàyō) by Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng.[30]
In 1960, George de Fretes released an album titled Indonesian Classics No.1, it features a variety of Indonesian folk songs including Rasa Sayange.[31]
In 1960, the Hindi version of the song was used in the movie Singapore, sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi.[32]
In 1962, the Lokananta Solo record company distributed LP records as souvenirs to the participants of the 4th Asian Games in 1962 held in Jakarta, the LP included several Indonesian folk songs such as Cheers for Joy, O Ina ni Keke, and Sengko Dainang, including Rasa Sayange.[33][34]
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