Sustainability of Musical Heritage Transmission among Young Mah Meri Musicians in Malaysia through Shared Agency as Culturally Responsive Methodology

Abstract

In decolonizing research methodologies, a collaborative team comprising the Mah Meri culture bearers and the music researchers, navigated the principles of Applied Ethnomusicology and Culturally Responsive Methodology (CRM) in musical heritage transmission workshops for ten young Mah Meri musicians aged eight to fifteen. Several challenges emerged including fostering a sense of “ownership” and interest in singing traditional songs inspired by a mangrove forest ecology that the younger musicians were increasingly distanced from. Further tensions aroused from the research team’s limited understanding of Indigenous epistemologies and enculturation processes, difficulty of cultivating dialogic pedagogy between culture bearers and music researcher, as well as translating place-based, lifelong learning into condensed music workshop. Guided by Participatory Action Research (PAR), this paper reflects upon a non-linear cycle of action, observation, reflection, and revision involved in mobilizing CRM. We argue that developing ownership and sustaining indigenous knowledge requires embracing beyond the physical and place-based defined notions of locality to encompass the mediated virtual contemporary experiences of the young musicians today. In addition, collaborations cannot rely on reproducing an idealized or insufficiently understood notion of indigenous epistemologies. Instead, meaningful transmission requires dialogic, co-created, and reciprocal learning among researchers, culture bearers, including the young musician participants. Ultimately, this article demonstrates that sustaining musical heritage requires not only methodological flexibility but also shared agency, where knowledge transmission emerges through relationships, negotiation, and the lived realities of the community.