Kuda Kepang

Well, I mentioned bout Mak Yong in my last blog. This time around, I want to talk about the other form of dance that also has spiritual value just like what they in Mak Yong. In Johore, another state in Malaysia, they have this dance called ' Kuda Kepang '. 'Kuda' means horse in English.

In this dance the choreography of the dance are of the actions of the rider of a horse. This sounds straight foward, isn't it? But, it isn't. The dancers of this dance have to be the mentally strong one. it's because, if they are not, they could be easily possesed by the spirit of the rider of the horse.

I heard from my Johorian friends that, when this dancers are possesed, their eyes glint just a little bit more than usual and the way they handle the mock horse is just like the way a horse rider gallop a real horse. Wicked isn't it?

In Indonesia, they are also a indigenous community that have this dance which called the tiger dance. Mind you, this tiger dance is not the exotic tiger dance. This dance is performed to worship the spirit of the tiger that considered as powerful animal and the strongest one in the jungle. The choreography of the dance resembles the actions of a tiger and including their facial expressions.

Hmmm...talking about these dance make me realize why the western use to describe the east as mysterious.