Nevertheless, he does however suggest that Fort Canning was once the site of religious activity, craftsmen's workshops and a palace. Miksic also points out objects that have yet to be identified. More interestingly however, according to the Sejarah Melayu, Iskandar Shah was the mother of Sang Nila Utama, the founder of Singapore.2 Excavations by historian and archaeologist John Miksic however has not revealed any musical instruments although Miksic does mention the limitation of his work owing to extraneous factors. Here, mention is made of the queen of Bintan, Iskandar Shah who is said to have been the first to use or instituted the nobat, which refers to both a drum as well as a royal orchestra that performs during a ruler's coronation, Bagindalah yang pertama nobat, maka diturut oleh segala raja-raja yang di bawah angin ini.1 The significance of the nobat lies in that it is believed that the ruler will not be accepted unless the nobat is played. Although the Sejarah Melayu is a work belonging to more traditional literary genre than history, it nevertheless provides some clue to what type of music could have been performed and heard in prior to the arrival of the British. However, references to music can be found in the classical Malay text Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) that traces the origins and descent of Malay royalty. Musical Practice of Malay ‘traditional’ forms Malay Community Much has been written about the little that is known about pre 19th century Singapore, among the recent works being the Singapore History Museum's Early Singapore 1300s - 1819: Evidence in Maps, text and Artefacts.

Instrument zapin melayu