Rasa Sayang
"Rasa Sayang" (pronounced [ˈrasa saˈjaŋ], literally "loving feeling") or "Rasa Sayange" (in Indonesia) is a Malay folk song[1][2][3][4] popular in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The basis of "Rasa Sayang" is somewhat similar to Dondang Sayang and many other Malay folk songs, which take their form from the pantun, a traditional Ethnic Malays poetic form.[5] Some in Indonesia have claimed that the song originally came from the Moluccas,[6] but such claims are disputed, as the standard Malay language itself and the tradition of pantun exchange are "alien" to the Moluccas archipelago.[7][8][9][10]
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
| Malay[11] | Literal English translation |
|---|---|
|
Rasa sayang, hey!, Buah cempedak di luar pagar, Pulau pandan jauh ke tengah, Dua tiga kucing berlari, Pisang emas dibawa berlayar, |
I've got that loving feeling, hey!, The cempedak tree is across the fence, Pandan island far in midst, Two or three cats are running around, Pisang emas brought on a journey, |
Because this song is in Pantun form, for each quatrain, there is no relevance of the first two lines to the message conveyed by the last two except to provide the rhyming scheme. There are many version of the lyrics of "Rasa Sayang", but it usually starts with this refrain:
- Rasa sayang, hey!
- Rasa sayang-sayang hey,
- Hey, lihat nona jauh,
- Rasa sayang-sayang, hey
The refrain is then followed by a wide variety of popular Malay pantun.
[edit] Controversy
A 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.[12] Some Indonesians have accused Malaysia of heritage theft. Malaysia in return claimed that the song belongs to people of the Malay Archipelago, Malaysians and Indonesians alike.[13] Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor stated, "It is a folk song from the Nusantara and we are part of the Nusantara."[12]
[edit] In popular culture
- The song appeared in a black-and-white Japanese film produced in 1943, Marai No Tora ("The Tiger of Malaya").[14][15]
- Rasa Sayang Eh is the name of a Malay film published in 1959.[16]
- The song was sung in a scene of a popular 1960 Malay film Antara Dua Darjat, directed by P. Ramlee.[17][18]
- The song "Rasa Sayange" was recorded by PT Lokananta in Solo, Indonesia on August 15, 1962. The master copy of this recording is still kept by PT Lokananta. This is the third known recording of the song.[citation needed]
- The song "Rasa Sayang 2.0" was a theme song of the movie "Nasi Lemak 2.0" by Namewee. The song is sang by Namewee and Karen Kong.
- Since the 1930s, the "Rasa Sayang" song has been taught to Indonesian kindergarten children, making it one of the most popular folk songs in Indonesia.[citation needed]
[edit] External links
- Rasa Sayang song In Dutch documentary
- "Rasa Sayange" (Indonesian version) on Youtube
- Malaysian Tourism advertisement with Rasa Sayang in the background
- Lyrics of "Rasa Sayange" in Indonesian
[edit] References
- ^ Jonathan H. X. Lee and Kathleen M. Nadeau (2010). Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife. ABC-CLIO. pp. 769. ISBN 978-0313350665.
- ^ Shirley Geok-lin Lim (Editor), Larry E Smith (Editor), Wimal Dissanayake (Editor) (1999). Transnational Asia Pacific: Gender, Culture, and the Public Sphere. University of Illinois Press. pp. 122. ISBN 978-0252068096.
- ^ Koichi Iwabuchi (Editor), Stephen Muecke (Editor), Mandy Thomas (Editor) (2004). Rogue Flows: Trans-Asian Cultural Traffic. University of Washington Press. pp. 105. ISBN 978-9622096998.
- ^ Gerwyn Elidor David Lewis (1992). Out East in the Malay Peninsula. OUP South East Asia. pp. 142. ISBN 978-9676515940.
- ^ L. F. Brakel, M. Balfas, M. Taib Bin Osman, J. Gonda, B. Rangkuti, B. Lumbera, H. Kahler (1976). Handbuch der Orientalistik: Literaturen, Abschn. 1. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 135. ISBN 90-04-04331-4.
- ^ Antara News: "The Governor of Maluku Insists that the Song 'Rasa Sayange' Belongs to Indonesia"
- ^ Pierre Etienne Lazare Favre (2009). An Account Of The Wild Tribes Inhabiting The Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, And A Few Neighboring Islands: With A Journey In Johore (1865). Kessinger Publishing. pp. 187. ISBN 978-1104029180.
- ^ Lisbeth Littrup (1995). Identity In Asian Literature (Studies in Asian Topics , No 21). Routledge. pp. 218. ISBN 978-0700703685.
- ^ David Smyth (2000). The Canon in Southeast Asian Literature: Literatures of Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Routledge. pp. 248. ISBN 978-0700710904.
- ^ Annie Ridley Crane Finch (Editor), Kathrine Lore Varnes (Editor) (2002). An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. University of Michigan Press. pp. 255. ISBN 978-0472067251.
- ^ "The Rasa Sayang Song". Rasa Sayang USA. http://www.rasasayangusa.com/lyrics.html. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ a b "Folk song sparks row between Indonesia, Malaysia." Tourism Indonesia. October 3, 2007.
- ^ "‘Rasa Sayang’ belongs to everybody, says minister". The Star. 2008-01-12. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/1/12/nation/19988592&sec=nation. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ Jeneral Yamashita bukan Harimau Malaya..Tetapi
- ^ Youtube - Marai No Tora (マライの虎)
- ^ Filem Malaysia. Sinema Malaysia - Rasa Sayang Eh (1959)
- ^ Antara Dua Darjat at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Dari filem Antara Dua Darjat
