Horsing Around Melayu: Kuda Kepang, Islamic Piety, and Identity Politics at Play in Singapore’s Malay Community

In Singapore the term Melayu refers to the Muslim descendants of pre-colonial inhabitants, Muslim immigrants from the Malay Peninsula and insular Southeast Asia and, occasionally, descendants of Muslim immigrants from India and the Hadhramaut. Thus, in the Singaporean context, ‘Malay’ encompasses a complex array of plural ethnic, regional, and linguistic identities. Kuda kepang is a hobbyhorse trance dance introduced by Javanese immigrants to Singapore, but has been localized by Singaporean Malay practitioners, and has become a unique expression of Singaporean Malay identity. Utilizing information gained through the ethnographic study of more than a dozen Singaporean kuda kepang troupes from 2011–2013, this article explores kuda kepang performance as one embodiment of Singaporean Malay identity and provides insight into how individual Singaporean Malay performers are actively transforming and refashioning the art of Singaporean kuda kepang to reflect their changing understandings of their ethnic, social, and religious identities in Singapore.