1. Mendu
There are two versions explaining the origin of the Mendu performance. Henri
Chambert-Loir as cited by Raja Hamzah Yunus (1997 C.E) said that the Mendu was
brought to Malay land by South East Asian artists. The idea was based on the
similarities encompassed within the mendu and performance which was popular among
societies in Siam, Yunan, Vietnam, and Cambodia called mendura. The main similarity
lies in the place (spacious land) where both performances were played. On the other
hand, B.M. Syamsuddin (1987 C.E) revealed another version mentioning that the
mendu, the popular art in Bunguran, was essentially the development of Wayang Parsi
performance spread in Penang Island in 1780s. Further, he explained that the mendu
was exclusively intended for men and began to expand for women in 1970s. From both
versions, the first version considerably makes sense while the second tends to be the
history of MakYong origin. Apart from the debate over the origin of the mendu, the
performance started gaining the popularity among Bunguran Barat society in 1870 C.E.
Like Mak Yong and Bangsawan, the mendu performance is the amalgamation of several
art elements: dances, music, songs and actions. Besides in Bunguran, the mendu
develops and proliferates in other areas especially in Pulau Tujuh (seven islands) which
consists of East Bunguran (Ranai and Sepempang), Siantan (Terempa and Langi), and
Midai. There is a group of mendu whose majority of the member come from Natuna
region. Even, the first thought when the word mendu is heard will refer to Bunguran-
Natuna. It is so since those areas constitute the central place of the mendu performance.
Despite the similarity, the mendu is distinct from Mak Yong and Bangsawan in that the
conversations during the mendu performance are staged without the script. Therefore,
the players are demanded to internalize plot of the story and to develop his character
through the performance. Simultaneously, the players convey the dialogue, and perform
the dance. The dances are accompanied by traditional music whose sounds are emitted
through the combination of gong, drum, violin and tin. The songs played during the
mendu performance typically are Numu Satu, Lemak Lamun, Lakau, Catuk, Air Mawar,
Jalan Kunon, Ilang Wayat, Perang, Beremas, Ayuhai, Tale Satu, Pucok Labu,
Sengkawang, Nasib, Numu Satu Serawak, Setanggi, Burung Putih, Wakang Pecah, Mas
Merah, Indar, and Tarik Lembu. To add more color for the mendu performance, several
kinds of dance are performed such as Ladun, Jalan Runon, Air Mawar, Lemak Lamun,
Lakau, and Baremas.
Adopted from folklore of Bunguran-Natuna society, Hikayat Dewa Mendu (Deva
Mendu Tale) is the usual story played in the mendu performance. The plot of the story
is rendered in seven main scenes in which each of them are not a separated entity:
1. Describing the life of heaven and the fall of Dewa Mendu and Angkara Dewa to
the earth. The story of the first acquaintance between Dewa Mendu and Siti
Mahdewi until they formed a family is also plotted in this scene. Some mendu
performances separate the scene into two different scenes (the fall of Dewas
and the forming of family).
2. Portraying sad event regarding the separation of the couples due to the evil
created by Maharaja Laksemalik and the tremendous effort of Dewa Mendu in
finding his soul mate.
3. Depicting the tale narrating an interesting and amusing biographical incident of
Siti Mahdewi: her giving birth, the naming of her son “Kilan Cahaya” and her
meeting with Nenek Kabayan.

2. 4. Narrating the long journey of Dewa Mendu until he reached Bahailani Kingdom
and married the daughter of the Bahailani King.
5. Narrating the journey of Dewa Mendu to Majusi Kingdom, and the story of
marriage between Angkara Dewa and the daughter of Majusi King.
6. Narrating the journey of Dewa Mendu to a kingdom ruled by king Firmansyah.
In the tale, the king was so upset since her daughter were asked in marriage by
Beruk King which was disliked by the king Firmansyah. The daughter of King
Firmansyah eventually met Kilan Cahaya.
7. Depicting the emotional event when Dewa Mendu met his son Kilan Cahaya.
Unfortunately, the acquaintance was commenced by a fighting.
There are several versions of the story. However, the plot of those versions remains the
same even with slight dissimilarity.
Besides Dewa Mendu, there are other figures contributing the richness of Hikayat Dewa
Mendu characters such as Angkara Dewa, Siti Mahdewi, Maharaja Laksemalik, Kilan
Cahaya, Nenek Kebayan, Raja Bahailani, Raja Majusi, Raja Firmansyah, and Raja
Beruk. To enliven the performance with the fresh joke, there are two comedian
characters Selamat Salabe and Tuk Mugok.
The dialogue within the mendu performance uses daily language of spectators, usually
either Mendu language and/or Malay Language. The main character usually uses Mendu
Language while the other characters such as Jin, servants, and ladies-in-waiting use
daily Malay Language. Below are several words from Mendu and Malay Language in
Bunguran-Natuna.
Mendu Language Malay Language
Hutan baiduri (the jungle) Hutan rimba
Mahdiri kami (I, me) Saye
Ampun yadi tuanku (I am sorry) Ampun tuanku
Yadi tuan puteri (my princess) Tuan puteri
It is worth noting that Mendu language is varied in different areas. In other words, the
Mendu language in West Bunguran society is distinct from east Bunguran, or Sintan.
The example above is Mendu language in West Bunguran. As the other performance
arts such as Mak Yong and Bangsawan, the mendu performance encompasses messages
and values. One of the messages is the goodness eventually will triumph over the
badness.
Regarding the participants, te mendu performance requires at least 25 to 35 people. Five
people play the music, and the rest of 20 perform the action/drama.
Like Bangsawan, the mendu performance needs a stage where the artists perform. The
stage usually is an elevated area measures 4x4 meters which located in an open space.
The stage consists of three parts: a room for making up the actors, platform (often
raised), and an arena for berladun. To manage the stage and process of performance, a
person called Khalifah is assigned. His primary task is similar to that of director. Often
times, the khalifah do bermadah (delivering prologue consisting of the summary of the
next performance). One who is responsible for the safety of the players is called Syekh.
His job is to protect the players from bad spirit. Therefore, more often than not, the
mendu performance requires pulai tree (alstonia scholaris) planted in front of stage to
avoid the influence of bad magical powers which can cause harm fro the players. Both,

3. the khalifah and the syekh usually stand in the back of the stage. Sometimes, the Syekh
does the Khalifah„s job.
Baju Kurung and Teluk Belanga (Malay traditional dress for men), and Kebaya (women
dress) are the dress used in the mendu performance and sometimes those dresses can be
changed with other dresses according to the character played in the performance. The
duration of the performance in the past is different from the present. The mendu took
time about 3 to 40 nights, and now just takes several hours ranging from 45 minutes to
two hours. The mendu is performed to enliven marriage ceremony, Indonesian
Independence day, and other Islamic big days. In addition, the mendu also performed to
attract foreigners in cultural festivals initiated by local governments and other pertinent
institutions.
The performance is staged in several steps.
1. Peranta: informing the audiences that the mendu will be performed by striking
percussion instruments such as drum and gong
2. Madah: delivering prologue consisting of the summary of the next performance.
This is usually done by Syekh Mandu
3. Berladun: all the players dance and sing together in a circle form. Afterwards, in
pairs some players walk to the right and other to left. A player recite pantun to
welcome the spectators and ask for apologize in case the performance wouldn„t
be attractive.
4. The players sing wayat song or hikayat.
5. Commencing the first scene describing the kingdom circumstance. The drama in
the scene is combined with song Numu Satu. Each scene is accompanied by a
song. For Dewa Mendu scene, the usual songs played are Lamak Lamun,
Numu satu, Serawak, Aik Mawa or Burung Putih
6. The mendu performance
7. Beremas: the closing performance. The word beremas means packing for going
home. In this scene, the players stand in two lines, dance together, and express
their feeling and say good bye to the spectators.