Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên)\n\nCultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands covers all the fertility red soil in the territory of 5 provinces including Kông Tum, Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Đắc Nông, and Lâm Đồng. \n

Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên)\n\nCultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands covers all the fertility red soil in the territory of 5 provinces including Kông Tum, Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Đắc Nông, and Lâm Đồng. \n

Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên)

Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên)\n\nCultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands covers all the fertility red soil in the territory of 5 provinces including Kông Tum, Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Đắc Nông, and Lâm Đồng. \n

Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên)\n\nCultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands covers all the fertility red soil in the territory of 5 provinces including Kông Tum, Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Đắc Nông, and Lâm Đồng. \n

Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên)\n\nCultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands covers all the fertility red soil in the territory of 5 provinces including Kông Tum, Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Đắc Nông, and Lâm Đồng. \n

The Melanau ethnic is one of the biggest in Sarawak living in the Mukah area. Some are Muslims and some Christians. Those that still practice animism worship the Ipok ‘spirit’, the manifestation of the strength and power of nature. Ipok consists of Ipok Laut (Sea Ipok), Ipok Balau (Jungle Ipok), Ipok Sarauang (Sky Ipok) and Ipok Iyang (Soil Ipok). On the first night the faith healer is alone in his house after being told that someone has fallen ill. The faith healer bargains with the ‘spirit’ including obtaining the spirit’s requests for the Bebayoh ritual. The second day involves the sick and the faith healer at the faith healer’s house or at the sick person’s premises depending on the spirit’s request. On the night itself the faith healer informs the sick person’s family about the spirit’s requests. The preparation begins in the evening of the following day. The Seladai Dance is then performed. The substances for the Bebayoh ritual are young leaves such as the betel nut leaves, jasmine flower, incense, a drum, candle, and glass fragments on a white cloth. Incense is burnt to start the ritual with mantras recited by the faith healer in the language of the faith healer’s spirit and that of the Ipok, at the same time hitting the drum used to detect the sick person’s illness. The candle is lighted inside the drum and then placed on the faith healer’s face. Other musicians play the rest of the musical instruments such as drum, kulintangan and gongs. After detecting the illness, the faith healer swallows the candle. The betel nut leaves are then swayed on the sick person’s body. The Ipok’s spirit enters the sick person’s body to cure him. Then the sick person steps on the glass fragments. The Seladai dance is then performed by seven unmarried couples with the faith healer circling the dancers with the isem pesai (a kind of young leaves). The sick person has to undergo abcentism like he is forbidden to consume stingray and shark, as well as beans and eggs. On final evening (the seventh day) is the end of the treatment. The sick person has to prepare the ‘payment’ to the faith healer that includes gold, a small spear (made of bone – as the spirit’s food), and a live chicken.

Mak Yong Traditional Theatre is normally portrayed as a Malay dance drama that contains acting, dancing and singing. There is a consensus that Mak Yong originated from the ancestry of the Kelantan-Patani Government, and said to have established around 400 years ago at the Malay sultanate palace of Kelantan-Patani. Then it spred to the states of Terengganu and Kedah after which it settled at Serdang Muda, Sumatera and Riau Islands, Indonesia. A Mak Yong traditional performance does not use lots of props, set and background to portray a scene. Its performance structure is permanent and uniform although the storyline is different. A traditional performance in villages is held in an open theatre. The audiences sit on three sides while the fourth side is for musicians. Most characters are acted by women and the storylines are based on traditional folk stories. The Buka Panggung (literally translated as ‘Opening the Theatre’) ceremony starts a performance followed by the story plot and ends with the Tutup Panggung (or ‘Closing the Theatre’) ceremony. In the Buka Panggung ceremony the performance begins with the Mengadap Rebab segment, that is paying homage to the rebab (oud), the main musical instrument regarded as a chaste element in a performance. The actor who plays the Peran Tua character, that is the Elder Joker, pays homage to the oud and places it in the middle of the theatre while Jong Dongdang sings the song ‘San Gendang’. The actors who play the characters of Pak Yong, Mak Yong and Jong Dongdang stand in a circle while the maidens sing the song ‘Sedayung Mak Yong’ or the song ‘Sedara’. At the end of the song Pak Yong instructs the maidens to return to the palace, and this marks the end of the segment. The main characters are Pak Yong, Mak Yong, the King, Queen, Elder Joker and Junior Joker. There are also other characters like the Royal Soothsayer, Ship Captain, Guru, soldiers, genie, ghost and giant, depending on the storyline. The main musical instruments are a three-string oud, two drums and two gongs. There are also additional instruments to increase the degree of the melodious sound like cymbal, small bells and flute. In the year 2005 Mak Yong was recognised and proclaimed as “A Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). In the year 2008 Mak Yong was proclaimed as A Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Mak Yong Traditional Theatre is normally portrayed as a Malay dance drama that contains acting, dancing and singing. There is a consensus that Mak Yong originated from the ancestry of the Kelantan-Patani Government, and said to have established around 400 years ago at the Malay sultanate palace of Kelantan-Patani. Then it spred to the states of Terengganu and Kedah after which it settled at Serdang Muda, Sumatera and Riau Islands, Indonesia. A Mak Yong traditional performance does not use lots of props, set and background to portray a scene. Its performance structure is permanent and uniform although the storyline is different. A traditional performance in villages is held in an open theatre. The audiences sit on three sides while the fourth side is for musicians. Most characters are acted by women and the storylines are based on traditional folk stories. The Buka Panggung (literally translated as ‘Opening the Theatre’) ceremony starts a performance followed by the story plot and ends with the Tutup Panggung (or ‘Closing the Theatre’) ceremony. In the Buka Panggung ceremony the performance begins with the Mengadap Rebab segment, that is paying homage to the rebab (oud), the main musical instrument regarded as a chaste element in a performance. The actor who plays the Peran Tua character, that is the Elder Joker, pays homage to the oud and places it in the middle of the theatre while Jong Dongdang sings the song ‘San Gendang’. The actors who play the characters of Pak Yong, Mak Yong and Jong Dongdang stand in a circle while the maidens sing the song ‘Sedayung Mak Yong’ or the song ‘Sedara’. At the end of the song Pak Yong instructs the maidens to return to the palace, and this marks the end of the segment. The main characters are Pak Yong, Mak Yong, the King, Queen, Elder Joker and Junior Joker. There are also other characters like the Royal Soothsayer, Ship Captain, Guru, soldiers, genie, ghost and giant, depending on the storyline. The main musical instruments are a three-string oud, two drums and two gongs. There are also additional instruments to increase the degree of the melodious sound like cymbal, small bells and flute. In the year 2005 Mak Yong was recognised and proclaimed as “A Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by the United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). In the year 2008 Mak Yong was proclaimed as A Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The origin of this ethnic group dance is not known but it is strongly believed to be in existence along with the Iban ethnic group since the 16th Century. The Ngajat dance is believed to been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most significant harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses for the celebration. The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but been innovated and perform by all. The dance is arranged in straight lines and a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers. Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak’ or ‘ketebong’ assemble the music. There are in fact several types of Ngajat dances, such as Ngajat Induk, Ngajat Bebunoh, Ngajat Lesong, Ngajat Semain, Ngajat Berayah and Ngajat Ngemai Antu Pala.\n\nThe ‘Ngajat Lesung’ for example is one of the famous Iban traditional Ngajat dance in Sarawak. The knees are bent and kept close together as they twist from side to side, ending with a simple tap of the heel on the ground. The arms move from left to right in front of the body. The dance is done gracefully. The hornbill, an iconic bird of Sarawak, symbolizing all the movements. The male dancer in this dance represents the warrior who shows off his strength by biting a wooden mortar called the ‘lesung kayu’ with his teeth while dancing. It weighs about seven kilogrammes.

The origin of this ethnic group dance is not known but it is strongly believed to be in existence along with the Iban ethnic group since the 16th Century. The Ngajat dance is believed to been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most significant harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses for the celebration. The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but been innovated and perform by all. The dance is arranged in straight lines and a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers. Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak’ or ‘ketebong’ assemble the music. There are in fact several types of Ngajat dances, such as Ngajat Induk, Ngajat Bebunoh, Ngajat Lesong, Ngajat Semain, Ngajat Berayah and Ngajat Ngemai Antu Pala.\n\nThe ‘Ngajat Lesung’ for example is one of the famous Iban traditional Ngajat dance in Sarawak. The knees are bent and kept close together as they twist from side to side, ending with a simple tap of the heel on the ground. The arms move from left to right in front of the body. The dance is done gracefully. The hornbill, an iconic bird of Sarawak, symbolizing all the movements. The male dancer in this dance represents the warrior who shows off his strength by biting a wooden mortar called the ‘lesung kayu’ with his teeth while dancing. It weighs about seven kilogrammes.