Like Tigers Around a Piece of Meat: The Baba Style of Dondang Sayang

Throughout Malay-speaking Southeast Asia, the Malay pantun has long provided a medium for social intercourse between people of varied ethnic backgrounds. One of the most elaborate forms of pantun singing is Dondang Sayang. With a focus on Baba Chinese contributions, Like Tigers around a Piece of Meat traces the history of Dondang Sayang and analyses through texts from Singapore and Malacca how the poets achieve works of profound meaning.