Abandonment vs. Adaptation: Religiosity and the Sustainability of Kenyah Traditional Vocal Performance in Central Borneo

Abstract

Religiosity, as distinct from religion, can be understood as a particular sense of the contours of the spirit world and of the human relationship with that domain. In communities that have undergone religious conversion, the way in which religiosity is reconciled with the new faith holds great significance for the sustainability of traditional music. This essay examines religiosity as it relates to the choice of the Kenyah of Sarawak, Malaysia, to abandon one type of traditional vocal performance and adapt another following the community’s late 20th-century conversion to Christianity. Ultimately, the study underscores the role of social, spiritual, and linguistic contexts and constructs (attitudes) in sustaining traditional music in such post-conversion environments.