ACUERDO PERÚ - MERCOSUR

It is impossible to know precisely how many songs are officially accepted as

nederlandsliedjies and can be used in competition. The figure most frequently

quoted is about 300, but they have never been compiled in a systematic collection. A few aficionados claim to have gathered a great many songs and to have looked for their Dutch origins. The CMCB occasionally prints the words of

nederlands presented in competition, but there is no published volume offering

a comprehensive compilation of lyrics and transcriptions of the melodies. When video machines were common and accessible, CMCB competitions were integrally recorded and made available in the forms of VHS cassettes; now DVDs and CDs are sold directly by the Board, at competition venues or at the homes of some of its leaders.23 _{They are not commercially distributed}

and cannot be bought in shops or online. The accumulation of these CDs and DVDs could lead to a better appreciation of the number and diversity of songs composing the nederlands repertoire. The various Malay Choir Boards strictly forbid the composition of new nederlands. This rule is never explained; it seems to be self-evident to all actors of the Malay Choirs’ world. It may possibly be interpreted as a will to preserve the uniqueness of the repertoire, to canonise it as “tradition” because of its symbolic value. It has also been suggested that the judges adjudicating nederlands competitions would be disconcerted if confronted by songs they are not familiar with, as they would not be able to assess the quality of the rendition of a nederlands whose words and tune they do not know.

In the past, there have been a few attempts to introduce songs which were not part of the accepted stock into competitions; they have always been disqualified.24 _{Ismail Leeman, who coached the Parkdales in 2008, once tried}

to propose an original nederlands: “In 1991 I made my own song, I had an opposition with one of the Young Mens […] I was very good friend with him, but he objected. So I said if you have your objections, fine I will respect it. The objection is that I’m breaking off the tradition because you must preserve the tradition there.”25 _{Adam Samodien recalled that in the past he}

tried to compose a new nederlands on the suggestion of a Dr Manhaven, from Holland, who had been invited to adjudicate SAK competitions and asked a few coaches to try and compose new nederlands. Adam Samodien took up the challenge. He based his creation on a Dutch popular song, “Arm Den Haag, de

Weduwe van Indië” (Poor The Hague, The Widow of the Indies)26_{, a ditty that}

is replete with nostalgia of kroncong27 _{and gamelan, of spices and exotic foods,}

suggesting a longing for the colonial Dutch East Indies. Adam Samodien was warmly congratulated for his achievement and remained quite proud of it. However, he did not remember the title he gave to his “new” nederlands and explained he composed it as he would have assembled a moppie: “I sat

down and I was thinking: ’now how am I going to do this?’ I took a line out of the one nederlands and I took a line out of another nederlands and you know a complete line, and then I reconstruct this way and that way until I got satisfaction. This is only a natural thing.”28 _{This modus operandi, which}

is used for composing moppies and combined choruses, is a logical technique to be used by someone who is recognised as one of the best moppie creators of the late 20th century. It also highlights that nederlands cannot be abstracted from a conception of tradition that supposes an uninterrupted chain of songs from the times of slavery until today and gives legitimacy to contemporary innovations. In spite of the prevailing conservative conception of nederlands, a few experts are not opposed to the idea of composing new songs. Shamiel Domingo, for instance, considered that a new category could be created to allow the presentation of such innovations: “There is no right and wrong in nederlands tune. I am of the opinion, that yes, maybe, they can still sing the traditional nederlands, but then they must have another category, the innovation […] where they write their own nederlands, and they would sing it, present it in the traditional style, I would be happy with that.”29 _Similarly,

Ismail Leeman, coach of the Parkdales, explained that the nederlands tradition could be made to evolve: new lyrics could deal with contemporary issues and address problems coloured communities are today confronted with. That would also imply changes in melodic constructions, for changes in the syllables would cause divergences with the tunes. But composing new tunes would be problematic with regard to the “tradition”: “If you sing like this in minor with a change of key it would be nice, but the so called tradition tells you not to do that. But I want to do it.”30 _{His determination was nevertheless shaken}

when he considered the uniqueness of the nederlands, a uniqueness that Ismail Morris, adjudicator for the nederlandsliedjies in SAK competitions, insisted on preserving: “You know the atmosphere what comes out of the choir that is something that is unique very, very unique because nowhere in the world you would find singing like nederlands singing, nowhere in Africa.”31

Today the interdiction to compose new nederlands remains in force. To ascertain that a song belongs to the legitimate repertoire and can be accepted in competitions, a particular procedure must be followed. As far as choirs which are members of the CMCB are concerned, before a competition starts, they must inform the Board of their choice in order for the Board to endorse it. The Board bases its decision on the opinion of experts, usually elderly men, who have memorised songs they learned from their forefathers and sometimes keep the words in their notebooks. When lyrics appear too impenetrable, the Board sometimes suggests “corrections” so that the lyrics can be better understood. To keep the repertoire alive and prevent choirs from interpreting the same “hits” too frequently, a song that won first prize in a nederlands competition cannot be selected again by any choir during the following three years.32