Engaging Archaeology through Performing Arts: Prospect and Challenges in Malaysia

Abstract

This paper dwells on the issues and prospects of performing arts and its context in Malaysian archaeology. The amalgamation of performing arts and scientific archaeological data and interpretation could be further translated into different ideas and products. The approach of performing arts taking place as a tool to relay archaeological information is new and still scarcely used in Malaysia. The recent discovery of the Sungai Batu site at Merbok, Kedah opened up many new platforms for collaborative research especially between the fields of archaeology and performing arts. The amalgamation between the science and arts added to the wealth of knowledge about the civilisations that once flourished in the area that represented Kedah Tua (Ancient Kedah). Evidently, philosophy and culture are reflected in arts and design of each and every single artefact, structure, and feature. The methodology used in this research to interpret scientific data to the masses in an artistic manner was through theatre. Findings showed that theatre (and artistic license attached to it) as a tool of performing arts was able to informally present the interpretation of archaeological discoveries at Kedah Tua to the audience in a non-academic setting yet engaging and at the same time communicating the re-imagined stories based on the archaeological findings in a much entertaining manner.