Traditional Modal Systems in Southeast Asia: Comparative Perspectives on Musical Identity and Contemporary Transformation

Abstract

Southeast Asia harbors a rich diversity of indigenous modal systems including Javanese pathet, Balinese patet, Vietnamese điệu/hơi, Thai thang, and Philippine modal-tonal frameworks each of which functions not merely as a technical organizing principle of melody, but as a dynamic carrier of collective cultural identity. Despite the scholarly significance of these systems, existing literature has examined them largely in disciplinary isolation, leaving a critical comparative gap in the understanding of their shared regional logic and divergent contemporary trajectories. Drawing exclusively on published secondary sources, including ethnomusicological studies, cultural theory, and comparative musicology literature, this article offers the first systematic cross-tradition analysis of Southeast Asian modal systems through a cultural identity studies framework. Guided by Hall's (1990) theory of cultural identity and diaspora and Appadurai's (1996) concept of ethnoscapes and cultural flows, the study maps five modal traditions along a proposed "modal identity continuum," ranging from essentialist preservation to hybridized transformation. Findings reveal that, while each tradition has responded differently to the pressures of globalization, post-colonial nation-building, and digital mediation, modal systems across the region consistently serve as sites of identity negotiation rather than static musical artifacts. This study contributes a novel comparative framework to the ethnomusicology of Southeast Asia and advances the theoretical integration of modal analysis within cultural identity studies.