Portuguese and Luso-Asian Legacies in Southeast Asia, 1511-2011, vol. 2: Culture and Identity in the Luso-Asian World: Tenacities & Plasticities

9. The Influence of Portuguese Musical Culture in Southeast Asia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

9 ThE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE MUSICAL CULTURE IN SOUThEAST ASIA IN ThE SIXTEENTh AND SEVENTEENTh CENTURIES Christian Storch Portugal’s encounter with the world has in many respects already been the subject of academic research. However, relatively little research has yet been done on Portugal’s musical influence as a result of the development of, for instance, its Southeast Asian centres in Goa, Malacca, Macao andTimor. Until today, there have been only few studies of musical life in these centres in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. From the time of its first encounter with Portugal through Vasco da Gama’s arrival in 1498, Southeast Asia faced a persistent European attempt to control, to dominate and to proselytize in the countries between India and the Philippines. Portuguese and other European cultural and musical influences necessarily accompanied the political and religious conquests from the very beginning. This study is part of a post-doctoral project that seeks to summarize the hitherto existing research on this subject, prior to a comprehensive study of Portuguese musical culture in its Southeast Asian urban centres in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.The aim of this chapter is to examine how a musical culture was established, how it interacted with local music traditions, and how both Portuguese and local cultures influenced each other over the long term. 208 The Influence of Portuguese Musical Culture in Southeast Asia 209 It will also try to show what kind of role music played at the intersection of missionary work, urban entertainment and imperial representation, being a means for both cultural exchange and political segregation. “WE COME IN SEARCh OF ChRISTIANS AND SPICES”: ThE BEGINNINGS OF MUSICAL INFLUENCE IN CALICUT AND GOA, INDIA Whether or not the quotation above represents the truth, it nonetheless defines what Vasco da Gama and his companions were looking to achieve when they entered Calicut on 20 May 1498: the spread of Christianity and trade. According to A.J.R. Russell-Wood, “the half century after Vasco da Gama’s arrival in Calicut (May 1498) was characterised by trade and missionary activities rather than exploration per se in the East.”1 Right from the beginning the attempt to spread the Christian faith — and, of course, to find the Saint Thomas Christians — had been accompanied by the fight against Muslim culture and its representatives, who had already been trading with India for several centuries. The question reported to have been posed by some Arabs to the newcomers — “What the hell are you doing here?” — and the reply — “We come in search of Christians and spices” — marked the beginning of a cultural and musical conflict that was to continue for more than a century. On their ships the Portuguese travellers brought not only presents from King Manuel I, along with weapons, but also missionaries and European musical instruments as a means of proselytization and to combat boredom among the sailors during the long journey by sea, respectively. After their arrival in Calicut, da Gama and some of his companions met the ruler of the area on 28 May 1498. Da Gama’s diary reveals how the Portuguese used their instruments as a demonstration of power: “and we all went there very well dressed and took our weapons, trumpets and many flags with us”.2 According to the diary, the king of Calicut welcomed the Portuguese with “many drums, trumpets and shalms”.3 The first intercultural music parade between India and Portugal had taken place. The first expedition of Pedro Álvares Cabral to India, with thirteen ships and seventeen clerics, arrived in Calicut on 13 September 1500. Among these clerics were eight diocesan priests, eight Franciscans, and one curate. Among the Franciscans were the famous Portuguese theologist Friar Henrique Soares de Coimbra and the organ player Friar Matteu, the latter of whom is said to have been able to play an organ on one of the ships.4 Cabral, like his successors in the following years, used music to impress potential trade 210 Christian Storch partners as well as to irritate enemies through the extensive and noisy use of trumpets, drums and other instruments. Several sources describe the use of musical instruments on specific occasions, such as the landing of Lopo Soares in Cannanore, which was accompanied by six “trombetas” (trumpets) and “com uns orgãos e um tangedor” (with an organ and a player) in 1504/05,5 or the conquest of Goa in November 1510...