READING HURIYAH ADAM’S PIRING DANCE IN A POSTCOLONIAL AESTHETIC NARRATIVE, WEST SUMATRA, MINANGKABAU

Abstract

This study aims at reading Huriyah Adam’s piring (plates) dance in a postcolonial aesthetic narrative. The interpretation focuses on the ambivalence of attitudes and indigenous culture in the process of imitating Western culture through the modernization of piring dance in a postcolonialism perspective, which is a continuation of colonialism. The emergence of the narrative and ambivalence of Huriyah Adam’s piring dance cannot be separated from the influence of several educational figures, or artists, who had Western educational backgrounds in Indonesia colonial period. The imitation started with the introduction of talempong, a traditional music of the Minangkabau people, as a musical system tuned to diatonic instruments and introduces harmony to Western music through melodies and chords. This study analyzes the postcolonial aesthetic narrative of the Huriyah Adam’s piring dance. The study employs qualitative methods using documentary studies and interviews with historical figures and witnesses. It was found that Huriyah Adam’s piring dance and its accompanying music represent postcolonial products.

Keywords: piring dance, Huriyah Adam, aesthetic narrative, postcolonialism