In May, I had the chance to catch Buka Panggung 2025, Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA)’s annual showcase for their traditional theatre subjects under the Pusat Seni Pentas Tradisional (PuTRA). PuTRA offers five core specializations in traditional theatre: Mak Yong, Mek Mulung, Wayang Kulit, Bangsawan and Randai. These are compulsory courses for all students, regardless of faculty, with each student required to select and train in one of the specializations. This makes Buka Panggung more than just an assessment; it’s practically a full-fledged festival. As someone who adores traditional performances, it’s such a rare treat to watch these art forms, back to back, in one place.
Credit to PuTRA ASWARA
This year, two Mek Mulung productions were featured: Mek Mulung Dewa Kaca (Diploma level) and Mek Mulung Putera Cahaya Bulan (Degree level). I want to focus on the latter, not so much for the plot, but for the fascinating presence and portrayal of magic in its world.
Credit to PuTRA ASWARA
What is Mek Mulung
Mek Mulung is a traditional Malay theatre form from Kedah, Malaysia, believed to be influenced by Siamese folk theatre. It has since evolved into a distinct cultural performance, combining acting, dance, music and singing. Historically, it was performed as village entertainment and has now been recognised by UNESCO in 2023 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
A Mek Mulung performance usually begins with ritualistic singing and dancing, followed by structured narratives featuring myth, folklore and local wisdom. The musical accompaniment includes instruments like the serunai, gongs, gendang and kecapi.
The Story of Putera Cahaya Bulan
In this tale, Puteri Nang Mara is troubled by a disturbing dream. She informs her husband, Putera Cahaya Bulan (Pucabu), the king of Negeri Selindungan Bulan. He consults his advisors, Awang Pengasuh and Awang Selamat, who then summon Wak Sebelum Nujum, a mystical seer to interpret the dream.
Putera Cahaya Bulan (mid) + Awang Pengasuh (left) and Awang Selamat (right).]
Wak Sebelum Nujum divines that Raja Gergasi (Giant King) from Benua Pakkian will attack their kingdom, kill Pucabu and abduct Puteri Nang Mara. To prevent this, the kingdom must stay awake for seven days and nights. Unfortunately, Raja Gergasi possesses a magical horn that puts everyone to sleep. After the horn is sounded, the kingdom slumbers and Raja Gergasi infiltrates the palace. Though Pucabu momentarily wakes and fights back, he is ultimately beheaded.
Puteri Nang Mara captured by Raja Gergasi
Puteri Nang Mara, now a captive of Raja Gergasi’s minions (Amat and Sena), makes a final request: to place Pucabu’s body into her ancestral golden coffin and let it drift upstream. Surprisingly, the coffin is found by two characters, Epong and Edeng, transgender shamans and former martial arts comrades of Pucabu. They resurrect him, and the trio journeys to defeat Raja Gergasi and save Puteri Nang Mara.
Putera Cahaya Bulan and Puteri Nang Mara reunited
The Theatre of Magic
One of my favourite elements in traditional theatre performances is the unapologetic use of magic. In Mek Mulung Putera Cahaya Bulan, we’re given a feast of it. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, this might just be your thing.
The Malay worldview encompasses a rich and layered understanding of the supernatural, in which magic is not merely illusion or trickery, but a part of lived reality, deeply intertwined with spirituality, nature and communal knowledge. Rather than a singular concept, Malay magic can be understood through multiple forms, each with its own logic, function and source of power. For the purpose of this discussion, I propose five major categories to frame how magic appears in Malay narratives and performances:
- Hikmat – mystical abilities often acquired through spiritual training or divine intervention;
- Keramat – sacred power associated with saintly individuals or objects;
- Azimat – physical talismans believed to hold protective or enhancing powers;
- Ubat – medicinal or healing magic, sometimes involving herbs, rituals or mantras; and
- Alamat – omens or signs that serve as supernatural warnings or guidance, often seen in dreams or natural occurrences.
These categories, while not rigid, offer a way to appreciate how the supernatural is not only present in traditional Malay stories, but also actively shapes the decisions, destinies and identities of the characters within them.
Unlike Mek Mulung Dewa Kaca, which leans into comical misunderstandings and palace drama, Pucabu dives deep into the realm of enchantment, starting with divination. Wak Sebelum Nujum reads dreams, foretells doom and advises on how to avert it. His predictions are accurate but incomplete, he doesn’t foresee the magical horn.
Wak Sebelum Nujum
That horn, of course, is a form of hikmat, a supernatural tool or wisdom. Its power to induce sleep is what gives Raja Gergasi his upper hand. Later, we learn that Raja Gergasi wants to ride Pucabu’s flying horse (think Pegasus meets My Little Pony) back to Benua Pakkian. Flight appears to be a recurring magical ability here, shared also by his quirky minions, Amat and Sena.
Speaking of which, Amat and Sena possess their own hikmat too, the power of invisibility, which they use to cast a spell to hide Puteri Nang Mara from view. They can see her, but no one else can, until they “lift” the magic. The performance handles this with humor, but the magical element is consistently present.
Amat (left) and Sena (right)
Then we learn something curious: Puteri Nang Mara herself is said to be so powerful that twelve kingdoms bow to her. She posesses a heirloom golden coffin, and makes the seemingly impossible request for it to float against the river’s current. This is the kind of magic you only get in folklore, a physical manifestation of power beyond logic.
The golden coffin of Puteri Nang Mara
But here’s the cheeky question: if Puteri Nang Mara is so powerful, why didn’t she just defeat Raja Gergasi herself? Easy: because then we’d have no story. Not every character can be overpowered, right? It’s a good reminder that no single person holds all the power and each character plays their part to drive the narrative. Like Pucabu consulting his advisors, we too must sometimes seek help beyond our own expertise.
Back to our story, two of the most intriguing characters are Epong and Edeng. With their mysterious healing knowledge, they bring Pucabu back to life using a magical potion and mantras. Yes, resurrect him. It’s mentioned that Pucabu was beheaded, gruesome, I know. While in real life this would be… theologically questionable, but in a fictional world full of magical logic, we shall let it slide. It’s fantasy, after all.
Epong (left) and Edeng (right)
Room for More Magic?
Interestingly, I’ve yet to see Mek Mulung performances lean into fully-fledged chant-based mantras that resemble traditional magical texts or corpus. Instead, Mek Mulung productions I’bve watched so far, the mantras are borrowed from pop culture or current trends for comedic effect. While I personally enjoy both, it would be fascinating to see a production attempt a more reconstructed or realistic magical lexicon. There’s space for both entertainment and gravitas.
Traditional theatre like Mek Mulung allows us to explore the fantastical without shame. It reminds us of a time when the impossible was part of everyday storytelling. In Mek Mulung Putera Cahaya Bulan, magic is not just spectacle. It’s a tool for narrative, a metaphor for social interdependence and a portal into a cultural worldview where anything is possible.
And that, to me, is where its true magic lies.
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The Mek Mulung Putera Cahaya Bulan production team
Instructors for Mek Mulung subject. From left: Along Hazirin, Syahrizan Sahamat, Fazyra Malik, Saiful Wazien & Akmal Ayob
Disclaimer: *This article has previously been published in Eksentrika on 7 June 2025