NusPARC Archives and Library

An archive and library are part of the educational programme in NusPARC, and are being developed to encompass all types of materials related to the performing arts of Southeast Asia. This Research Centre accepts contributions of copyrighted materials on works of music, dance, theater, and related arts dealing with Southeast Asia. These works include music scores and transcriptions, research notes and other materials as a result of a donor’s field research, dance notation scores from field research or studio compositions, choreographed dances in notation and video format, dramatic scripts including narratives, poetry and other from of dramatic literature, and writings about music, dance and theater of Southeast Asia.

Recent Acquisitions

NusPARC has recently accepted 17 video tapes of excerpts from Mak Yong performances, Thai Manora dance drama and Javanese shadow play recorded by ethnomusicologist William P. Malm in Kelantan, Malaysia in 1967-68 and by Judith Becker in Indonesia also in the 1960s. Currently in VHS format, these tapes are in the process of digital conversion and will be used by NusPARC to develop DVDs with written background material in book format for educational use.

These historical recordings include excerpts from the Malaysian Mak Yong stories entitled Dewa Muda, Raja Tangkai Hati, Raja Bongsu Sakti, Raja Dua Serupa, Dewa Indera Indera Dewa, excerpts from the Thai Manora story Chan Ta Kolop, and a portion of the performance of a Javanese Wayang Kulit Purwo story entitled Java Dewa Rutji.