Belitung as a favorite destination for tourists now does have a lot of special natural dishes to watch. But apparently outside of that, the country of the Rainbow Warriors also has several other things that are not less interesting to explore. One of the impressive things besides the natural tourist destinations to watch in Belitung is its culture. More specifically from the Belitung culture that you shouldn't miss, the dance. But what are the unique and interesting dances for us to watch in Belitung? The following explanation.
1. Mendulang Timah Dance
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First, a unique and interesting dance to be witnessed in Belitung is the Mendulang Timah Dance or the Pendulang Timah Dance. As the name implies, the dance created by the Belitong Lesong Batang Dance Studio, Lesung Batang Village, Tanjungpandan District, Belitung Regency will describe the traditional Tin-paning activities carried out by the people. The dance performed by some teenage boys was so lively because of the joy that was presented by them. By only wearing shorts, before dancing, the bodies of dancers without clothes will be covered with mud first. After that, the dancers then carried out panning movements. The mud that sticks throughout the body of the Tin Panning dancers themselves is a colorful kaolin mixture made from cake coloring.
From the appearance of the dancers like that, making the Tin Mendulang Dance feels more lively when witnessed. The dance movements in the Mendulang Timah Dance are somewhat attractive. Not only in its movements, but the attractiveness of the Mendulang Tin Dance can be seen from the sounds or shouts coming out of the dancers' mouths. By bringing a pan, the dancers will make a circle and make movements together with the tool that was brought. You can witness the Mendulang Timah dance at several events, such as at the Belitung Beach Festival which was then held at Tanjung Pendam Beach.
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2. Sekapur Sirih Dance
The next dance that is interesting to watch in Belitung is the Siriapur Sekapur Dance. This dance is usually performed in big events in front of important guests as a sign of respect. In this dance we will find 10 to 12 peanri where in the formation there will be two male dancers who are behind. Named Betel Sirih Dance because the dancers when appearing to bring a container or box containing betel to be given to the guests of honor who sat in the front row. Giving betel to this guest itself has the meaning of respect and a sign of friendship. For the Sekapur Sirih dance movement, this is fairly agile and attractive. The movements of the Sirih Sekapur Dance are increasingly seen by the clever accompaniment of the traditional musical accompaniment of typical Belitung gambus. Because it is a welcoming dance, many of the dancers' movements in the Siriapur Secret Dance imply a symbol of welcome to the guests. But in one of the Sekapur Sirih Dance movements, we can also find movements spreading flowers. The movement to spread flowers is believed to have meaning as a sign of repelling reinforcements.
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3. Campak Dance
It was named the Measles Dance because it was brought and developed by someone named Nek Campak from Riau to Bangka-Belitung. This traditional dance itself had experienced acculturation with Portuguese culture during the colonial period. From this acculturation, some European things emerged from the Measles Dance, such as costumes for female dancers, accompaniment music (accordions and violins) and movements that had the impression of a European style. Despite experiencing acculturation with Portuguese culture, local culture is still visible from this Measles Dance. This can be seen from several things such as the rhythm of rhymes, costumes for male dancers and also accompaniment (gongs and drums).
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Measles dance itself illustrates the joy in adolescent association. For this reason, the dance will then be performed by young men and women with expressions of excitement. For the title, the Measles Dance was first presented when entering the rice harvest season or after returning from ume (garden). But now this dance is performed when there are important events such as weddings, welcoming guests, and others. When displayed, you will see male and female dancers in pairs. With agile movements and expression of excitement, the dancers will dance to the music. When in the middle of the Measles Dance there is a poem reply as a hallmark of Malay culture performed by the dancers. In order to make the show more lively, in this Measles Dance, dancers will usually invite the audience to join in the dancing.
4. Sepen Dance
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This dance is very thick with Malay culture. Not only in the costumes, but the thickness of the Malay culture can be seen from the movements and accompanying music. The dance that was presented as a form of welcoming and welcoming guests was indeed very interesting to watch. Because in this dance there are elements of martial arts movements. Another interesting thing from the Sepen Dance can be found from the beautiful movements performed by the dancers by moving places but still maintaining the neatness of the ranks. For the dominant movements in the Sepen Dance, we can see the applause based on the accompaniment of music. Nevertheless we will also be able to see the agility of the dancers' feet when the Sepen Dance is displayed.
In the movements displayed in the Sepen Dance it is mentioned that there is a hidden meaning in it. The costumes used by the Sepen dancers themselves are quite striking because of the bright colors to symbolize cheerfulness. And in this dance performance officially, there will be accompaniment of songs that are very thick with traditional Malay music. Some traditional Malay music in the Sepen Dance itself can be found from drums, tambourines, accordions, violins and others. As for the songs played to accompany the Sepen Dance, these are typical songs of the Malay people of Belitung.
5. Men Sahang Lah Mirah Dance
Finally, an interesting dance to watch while in Belitung is the Men Sahang Lah Mirah dance. The dance created by the Sepintu Sedulang Art Studio itself illustrates the joy of the Bangka-Belitung people during the harvest of white pepper or sahang in the local language. Do not forget also in this dance illustrated how grateful people are when harvesting fields by always giving thanks to God. In this white pepper harvest, people usually use Suyak which is a place made of woven rattan or bamboo for the purposes of putting the harvest.
Those are some interesting dances for us to watch while on holiday in Belitung. By watching this dance there will certainly be something different and more memorable while on vacation to the Laskar Pelangi country. Not only that, by watching the dances earlier you will have a broad insight to the treasury of arts and culture in Belitung in particular and in Indonesia in general.
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