Ramlan Mohd Imam, Azlan Che Othman, Kamarul Baisah Hussin
Published : 30-6-2026
Abstract :
This article proposes the Ecology of Rasa, a relational and embodied framework for understanding emotion, knowledge, and artistic expression in Malay performing arts. Moving beyond the reduction of Mak Yong and Rebab to mere melodic structures, the study positions these practices as dynamic vessels of intergenerational insight, transmitted through social, bodily, and affective networks. Through a comparative analysis of a Western-trained violinist and a lineagebased Rebab performer, the research demonstrates that conventional notation captures structural form but fails to account for the relational, kinesthetic, and improvisatory dimensions of Rasa. In contrast, Rasa emerges as a circulatory, collective phenomenon grounded in bodily experience, memory, and cultural continuity, moving fluidly among
mentors, performers, instruments, and audiences. By articulating this framework, the study integrates perspectives from ethnomusicology, performance studies, and embodiment theory, establishing a conceptual and methodological basis for exploring traditional Malay arts in both scholarly and experimental contexts. Ecology of Rasa thus offers a robust theoretical lens to interrogate embodied cognition, relational aesthetics, and heritage pedagogy, while highlighting the epistemic authority of lived, performative knowledge.
Keywords: Mak Yong, Rebab, Violin, Rasa, Embodied Knowledge, Performance-as-Research, Traditional Malay Music, Ecology of Rasa,
Kinesthetic Expressivity
Muat turun artikel disini : 2289-5051_iJACH_Vol 15_Issue 7_Jun 2026