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the rest of the ensemble sat on the floor where they were joined by raja while the whole ensemble began
to dance focusing on their hands and fingers. Traditionally, the Mengadap Rebab “serves to salute or pay
homage to the rebab, a three-spike fiddle with the actors facing it” (Yousof, 2012, p. 152). Mengadap
Rebab is also used to “placate and pay homage to the spirits” (Nasuruddin, 2009, p. 45).

In Mengadap Rebab, the traditional opening song and dance, all the female actors sat on the floor,
facing east with their legs crossed. The actor-playing Pak Yong character sits in front of the rebab, the other
actors sit behind her and starts singing. Later, she dances and the other performers join in. Pak Yong then
leads the singing as the soloist and followed by the dancers. Singing and dancing take place simultaneously
and the dance is also intricate using hand movements, leg movements and also dancing sitting on the feet.
[T]he piece consists of a series of solo verses sung by the Pak Yong which
alternate with a chorus of singers, usually the other actors and musicians.
Dance-wise, the Pak Yong begins in retrospective stillness, then gradually
begins to dance while still seated using delicate hand and body gestures, then
slowly in stages gravitates to a standing position in preparation for the next
song. (Fernando, 2001, p. 5)

The Throne of Thorns ensemble devised a sequence of singing and dancing after the style of the
Mengadap Rebab. Raja (Prospero) who is akin to the Pak Yong character firstly sings a solo followed by
the rest of the ensemble, which in Mak Yong is known as the jong dondang. It is a form of call and response.
The jong dondang responds to Pak Yong’s solo, using a different phrase from the soloist, typically ‘Donde,
Dongde, Dongde, Didonde Gak, Ayo la tue we… Eee…’ (Zakaria, 2015, p. 184). The jong dondang sings with
a high pitch but the rebab player improvises vocally, and varies his tone so that it becomes higher than
that of the ensemble.
I have often experienced strong emotional reactions while watching Mak Yong performances in
Malaysia. The musical instruments, rebab, gong, gendang, canang, kesi, geduk, gedombak, and serunai
(Hussin, 2015), used in Mengadap Rebab have generally created an overwhelming sense of wonder. In
Throne of Thorns the aim was to attempt to get the audience to have a visceral reaction to the song that
was created by the ensemble. The aim was to allow them to connect with the Malay culture through this
reinvented experience that attempted to draw from the original, retain elements of it, and create
something new. According to Zahari and Umar, Mak Yong is “a very unique genre that not only
encompasses all elements of the performing arts but also incorporates ritualistic elements that endow it
with mysticism” (2011, p. 1). It was this mysticism, or what could be defined as a sense of magic and other
worldliness, that I wanted to share.

Conclusion

Throne of Thorns was not a traditional Mak Yong production but rather a new collaborative work
with the aim to create a Malay-focused intercultural theatre performance. The decision to respond to
Shakespeare’s The Tempest was eventually made because it had a strong resemblance to Mak Yong stories,
which reflect the Malay psyche and culture. This paper looked at how the opening sequence for Throne of
Thorns formed a ritual-like beginning and explored in relation to the Mak Yong conventional rituals. Ritual
is a key factor in the Malay culture and the aim was to share with Western audiences. The objective of the
ritual-like opening was also to initiate a sense of giving and receiving, and evoke the idea of an invisible
and imaginary power. The reinvented ritual hopefully to allow the audience to experience the Malay sense
of spirituality and community especially in creating this ritual-like section involving the elements dance,
singing and music. The experience with reinvented ritual brought a deeper understanding about the
dance, music and singing elements of Mak Yong and provided an understanding of the form, meaning and

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