Dya Singh performing a traditional Sikh hymn (shabad).
KUCHING: The 19th Rainforest World Music Festival this coming August will feature two performing groups from Australia which are regarded as prominent guardians of their respective tribal arts.
Dya Singh is set to mesmerise audiences as a master musical interpreter of the traditional Sikh hymns, Shabad, with diverse influences from around the globe.
Acknowledged to be the most prominent singer/musician of the Sikh mystical musical tradition in the world today, Singh will bring performances that originated in Punjab (now North India/Pakistan) but spread throughout the western World with the recent diaspora of Sikhs worldwide.
Dya Singh’s father was a renowned Sikh spiritual minstrel from Malaysia and from him, Dya learnt Sikh songs and the art of singing beside his father in the Sikh ‘Gurudwaras’ since the age of five.
He stopped singing publicly for almost 15 years until 1992 when he began to perform at concerts in Australia. He turned professional in 1995 and proceeded to build his present career to its peak with over 26 CDs and many international tours throughout the globe to date.
His passion, skills and abilities were recognised by His Holy Highness, the Dalai Lama during the closing ceremony of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne in December 2009.
“Dya Singh is the true messenger of the universal message of Amritsar – the holy city of the Sikhs – and its Golden Temple and his group remind me of the Golden Temple – not as a holy shrine of the Sikhs alone, but a holy shrine of all people,” the latter had said.
A Dya Singh performance is not only able to move listeners with moods which are soothing, uplifting, exhilarating and hypnotic, it is also informative with interaction and improvisation between the musicians – all of which conveys the sense of joy that arises from creativity and spirituality meeting on stage.
The second performing group from Australia is dance troupe Naygayiw Gigi or ‘Northern Thunder’ from Bamaga, the northernmost town in Queensland. Since their genesis in March 2015, they have performed at several major events throughout the world.
The troupe’s prize-winning performance at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival and the Dance Rites Indigenous Dance Competition in Sydney as well as their performance in Papua New Guinea for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Torres Strait Treaty have since heightened their presence in the public eye.
The traditional dances are integral in the preservation, maintenance and revitalisation of the culture of Bamaga and Seisia Saibailgal in the northern peninsula area of Queensland, portraying traditional and contemporary stories, customs, astronomy, genealogies and daily life through movement, song and props.
Catch these performers at the Rainforest World Music Festival which will be held on Aug 5-7 at Sarawak Cultural Village in Damai.
Festival tickets and updates are available online or from the ticketing agents listed at www.rwmf.net with pre-sale prices available until Aug 4.
The event has been voted as one of the top 25 World Music Festivals by Songlines Magazine for the sixth year in a row and is supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak (MTAC) and endorsed by Tourism Malaysia with Malaysia Airlines Berhad as the presenting sponsor.