BORIA has its origins in the ancient Persian Ta’ziyeh, a musical passion play. In mid-19th Century, boria was the highlight of the evening performances in George Town.
In the last 150 years, as boria became more secular and popular, its choreography evolved from the military marches of the 21st Madras Cavalry to popular 1950s Malay music with rumba Latin influence.
In George Town, boria theatre begins with a parody of urban life, usually presented as a comedy sketch with themes that include Malay and Jawi Peranakan debtors running away from Chinese and chettiar money-lenders, the bullying, burly British navy officer and his servile crew of native sailors, the young flirtatious Malay girl avoiding the persistent advances of rich Jawi Peranakan and Indian Muslim men (mamak) and the British officer and the indulgence of urban Malays with titles and conspicuous consumption.
As a modern day parody of dysfunctional urban life in George Town, boria highlights the morals of the day with messages of social awakening and reform. These messages are consistent with the ancient theme of Islamic unity and brotherhood and the end of sectarianism in history.
In 19th Century Penang, boria was a way to express anti-colonial sentiments and the British authorities made several attempts to ban it. It was also diffused into the Red and White Flag secret society movements of that time and was temporarily banned after the Penang riots of 1867.
After Independence in 1957, a few prominent Malay scholars and education campaigners accused boria groups of distracting Malay youths from their studies and more “healthy” pursuits. However it continued to receive support from businessmen and bureaucrats and since the 1960s, boria had been promoted as Penang Malay theatre.
The characters in boria are based on urban Malay (Jawi Pekan) and Jawi Peranakan people and their relationships in Tanjung (or George Town) over the last two centuries to present day. They are not aimed at specific individuals and any resemblance to actual characters is not intentional. However, they serve as a lesson to urban Malays and Jawi Peranakan to lead more productive, moralistic and autonomous lives, free from dependency, conflict and rivalry.
The script of boria sketches generally depicts socio-historical episodes, political culture and relationships of the Jawi Peranakan and mamak vis-a-vis other ethnic groups and the use of boria as an instrument of protest against British rule.