Documenting and preserving tekna': The Kayan oral tradition of Baram, Sarawak

Candida, Jau Emang and Miaw Lee, Teo and Misato, Yaku (2011) Documenting and preserving tekna': The Kayan oral tradition of Baram, Sarawak. In: 3rd International Conference on Applied and Creative Arts 2011 (ICACA), 2011, Univerisiti Malaysia Sarawak.

PDF tekna1.pdf Download (197kB)

Abstract

Like many other indigenous peoples of Sarawak, the Kayans are well-known for their traditional cultural expressions. Tekna’ is one of them. Tekna’ is loosely defined as a form of an oral tradition that is learned through memorizing its storyline and only by experience, one can be extremely good at it, and generally, it refers to a type of song that contains various types of folktales which usually depicted and adored the supernatural power possessed by the people from ‘another world’. Due to its intricate form and singing style, tekna’ is an unpopular form of storytelling among the younger Kayans generations. There are not many tukang tekna’ left to ensure the survival of this oral tradition amidst today’s modern and global entertainment. Thus this paper offers an overview on tekna’ and a reflection of our experience with the tukang tekna’ as we embarked on a journey to document tekna’ both in visual and audio forms. During the course of our field research, we have had the privilege to conduct an in-depth interview with a few left renowned tukang tekna’ in the Baram District. Observational mode is adopted during the performance of tekna’, whereas, in the overall process of the interviews, a participatory mode is used as a method to access and gain information from the tukang tekna’. This ongoing project will contribute to the documentation of tekna’ in the form of written publications and visuals, particularly to the field of oral tradition among the indigenous peoples of Sarawak. Keywords: Tekna’, oral tradition, traditional cultural expression, the Kayans.

Actions (For repository members only: login required)

View Item