seudati (English: “Acehnese competitive singing performance”) is a term or concept described in Jongejan’s Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu in relation to Aceh. Two competing groups sing to each other at festive occasions (weddings, circumcisions).
Translation
Acehnese competitive singing performance
Description
Two competing groups sing to each other at festive occasions (weddings, circumcisions). Each group has a leader, well-dressed boys, lead singers, followers, helpers, sometimes a master of ceremonies. Begins seated in the posture for ritual prayer, then becomes a contest of pantuns and mutual taunts, ending with both groups reciting simultaneously trying to outshout each other.
Significance
The term seudati is recorded by Jongejan as part of the cultural, administrative, or institutional vocabulary of Aceh.
See Also
Source
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 148, 149, 181.