WIP [BUANG SUAY AGAIN]

Collab performance

​

“When you are Suay (bad luck), you need to Buang Suay (remove bad luck).” In Malay, "buang" means "to throw away" or "to discard," and its etymology traces back to the Proto-Malayic word "buaŋ”. It is considered a word native to Malay with no known external linguistic influence. "Suay" originates from the Hokkien word "soe" (衰), meaning "unlucky" or "bad luck," and is commonly used in Singaporean Malay (Singlish) to describe something unfortunate or unlucky happening to someone. The performance draws from the shared heritage of the Straits Settlements, of which Penang was the first in 1786, and includes Singapore and Malacca. In particular, the work aims to embrace some elements of the transcultural and interracial cultures of the Straits Chinese (Baba Nonya), the people born or living in the Straits Settlements who are of Chinese origins but have assimilated with the local Malays and created the Peranakan community. Like most cultures, the Peranakans possess strong customs regarding superstitions, particularly when it comes to things that are “pantang.” "Pantang" means taboo or prohibition and its etymology traces back to an old word "pali" which is a courtly form, essentially signifying a collection of customs or superstitions considered "pantang-pěmali" (all sorts of taboos) in the Malay language. When one finds oneself embroiled in an action or a circumstance that is “pantang”. It is believed that one might then be embodied by bad luck, otherwise known as becoming “suay”. This “Suay”-ness can vary from having a bad hair day, missing the bus to work, to more unfortunate events like losing one’s job or even all of one’s hair. The remedy is then to throw away (“buang”) one’s “suay”, hence “Buang Suay” grew out of the community’s strong inclination to counteract acquired negativity. We hope to address this common sentiment through this collaborative performance, utilising movement, sound, music, and various interactive and participatory elements.