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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 "Rasa Sayange" (pronounced [ˈrasa 'sajaŋɛ]) in Indonesia 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 Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore
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Rasa Sayang (also known as "Rasa Sayang Hey") is a Malay folk song. 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.[5]
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In Indonesia
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Rasa Sayange is an Ambonese Malay folk song,[9] a Malay creole originating from Maluku, specifically Ambon.[10]
Another more modern variant with an additional Indonesian verse goes as follows:
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2007 Malaysian tourism response
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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 1938, a British documentary film titled "FIVE FACES" features the song "Rasa Sayang" as one of the background songs.[22][23]
In a report from The Straits Times on May 10, 1958, an unnamed singer in British Malaya confessed to having sung the song Rasa Sayang in front of a public audience for the first time over 20 years ago.[24] This suggests that the song was already known and performed publicly as early as 1938.
In 1939, the song Rasa Sayang was among the songs played on Penang radio.[25]
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.[26]
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.[27]
In a report from The Straits Times on August 20, 1958, The World Assembly of Youth (WAY) conference held in New Delhi has officially adopted the beloved Malayan folk song “Rasa Sayang” as its theme tune.[28]
In 1959, a comedy film in Malay language titled Rasa Sayang Eh was produced by Cathay Keris in Singapore.[29]
On April 1, 1959, the song “Rasa Sayang” was performed by Malay students from Malaya in Sydney during an exhibition held to raise funds for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), which was officiated by the wife of the Malayan High Commissioner, Datin Gunn Lay Teik.[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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