FESTIVAL de l’Imaginaire – one of the most renowned and prominent festivals of traditional culture in the world – has invited Pusaka to present a performance of Malaysian cultural heritage (Main Puteri of Kelantan) at their Festival in Paris.
Pusaka’s Main Puteri performance at Festival de l’Imaginaire will take place at the Theater de l'Alliance Française, Paris, on June 7, and will feature esteemed masters of the Main Puteri tradition of Kelantan Che Mohd Zailani bin Che Moh (Pok Mat Jedok) and Muhd Noor bin Arifin (Pok Jue), who were both Adiguru Cendana recipients, alongside a young Tok Puteri Ahmad Shaifuldin bin Jusoh (Din Puteri).
The Tok Puteri performers will be accompanied by an ensemble of extraordinary young Kelantanese musicians such as Kimi Anak Limbat, Syakil Yusoff, and Alang Rebanamas.
Pusaka Founder, Eddin Khoo, said that this is the second time Pusaka has been invited to Festival de l’Imaginaire, after headlining the festival in 2007 with Mak Yong, Manora, and Wayang Kulit. He also highlighted the importance of initiatives of cultural exchange to nurture understanding and cultural diplomacy.
“Culture is not simply a matter of song and dance, we need to harness the serious interest of scholars, cultural institutes, and international festivals in Malaysian culture,” he said.
The Main Puteri of Kelantan is the only performance from Southeast Asia featured at the 26th edition of the Festival de l’Imaginaire, taking place this month. Pusaka’s Main Puteri performance is partly supported by the Embassy of Malaysia in Paris, MyCreative Ventures, the National Department of Culture and Arts, as well as individual contributors.
MyCreative Ventures Chairman, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, remarked, “MyCreative Ventures applauds this initiative by Pusaka to bring Malaysian intangible cultural heritage to the world stage. Malaysia needs to explore and develop the potential of our cultural tourism sector. Programmes like this testify to the fact that there is great outside interest in Malaysian culture.”
Festival de l'Imaginaire, founded in 1997 by the Maison des Cultures du Monde, presents rare and extraordinary forms of expression from peoples and civilisations all over the world, contributing to dialogue, cooperation among the international community, and safeguarding cultural diversity.
In conjunction with Pusaka's performance at the Festival de l'Imaginaire, the Malaysian Embassy in collaboration with Pusaka and Asia Society France will organise 'Temu Budaya:: A Cultural Soiree' on June 8th at Rumah Malaysia in Paris, which will be officiated by the Ambassador of Malaysia, Datuk Mohd Zamruni Khalid.
'Temu Budaya: A Cultural Soiree' will feature traditional musicians and practitioners of Silat Jawi Kelantan, as well as a dialogue session with Pusaka's Creative Director, Pauline Fan, on 'Promotion and Safeguarding of Malaysia's Intangible Cultural Heritage.' Among the invitees for this session are representatives of Unesco, foreign embassies, cultural institutes, universities, associations, and media.
Pusaka will conduct audio-visual documentation of this journey, to be edited into a short film and screened for the public later this year. The footage will include rehearsals in Kelantan, the journey to Paris, the performance at Festival de l’Imaginaire, the performance and conversation at Temu Budaya hosted by the Embassy of Malaysia in Paris, as well as behind-the-scenes activities and interviews.
What is Main Puteri?
Main Puteri is a traditional performance art practiced in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia and southern Thailand, combining elements of dance, music, and oral poetry. It is performed as a healing art form, which is essentially a traditional form of psychotherapy.
The main character in the Main Puteri performance is Tok Puteri who commands an extraordinary aura and performance style. He was assisted by a Tok Minduk who exchanges banter with the Tok Puteri to stir the angin (‘inner winds’) of the performers and audience.
A Main Puteri performance is accompanied by an ensemble of musicians on rebab, serunai, gong, gendang, geduk, gedumbak, canang and kesi. – The Vibes, June 3, 2023
