Title
Hamid & Puteh Rongeng Group (Joo Chiat)
Year/Period
1930s
Region
Singapore
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 11 x 15.2 cm
Accession No.
2008-02268
Collection of
This photograph shows a rongeng group at Joo Chiat in the 1930s. The rongeng is a traditional Malay social dance. Couples dance and exchange poetic verses against a musical accompaniment by a violin, frame drum or gong. Such social activities were popular among the Malay community in Singapore and Malaya during the early and mid 20th century. Photographs such as these were often taken for documentation purposes and were sent to Europe to be published. This was to help Europeans satisfy their curiosity about the natives’ life in the Far East.
