Did you know that apart from traditional wear from each state, Malaysia has its own performance according to the region?Sure, you may know of the Joget or Zapin dance that we learned about in school, but we actually have more dances that you’ve never heard of– especially these ones, which have been controversial or banned in our history.
Did you know that it was banned in Kelantan around the 1990s? Why? Well, this performance was so ancient that it was widespread even before the Islamization movement kicked in. Apart from being done as a performance to the royalty, it was also done as a ritualistic healing practice therefore had some elements of animism and ancient Hindu-Buddist roots. Hence, the dance was banned due to not being Islam-compliant.
But the most interesting part is that this dance is associated with mystical spirits! For a dance to commence, a ritual is done at the beginning to invoke the spirits to ‘possess’ the dancers so that they could ‘perform’. The dancers will then perform for hours until the end, when the shaman will eventually free the spirits from the dancer’s bodies.
3. Tarian Dabus – Perak Popular in Perak, the Dabus dance is a warrior dance that has roots in Sumatran and also the Middle East. It was not originally a dance but an art of self-defence. An art that started almost 300 years ago in Perak, this dance features dancers moving to the beat of the traditional music and singing while holding the dagger called ‘anak dabus‘. The ‘anak dabus’ looks like a sharp tool with a four-bladed head . But the head design can differ.
Between Violating the Shariah and Keeping The Tradition Nowadays, the dance did not include any more real stabbing because, well, it didn’t sit well with society. There were rumours of people condemning this self-hurting behaviour and claimed that it was against the shariah. But it wasn’t banned or anything as some religious experts said that as long as they don’t hurt themselves or practice any superstition, there would be no reason to ban it.
Passed down to generations of Indian Muslims in Penang, the performance was adapted to the Malay tradition and also a combination of other cultures. Then the exclusive and unique Boria tradition was born. Now, truly eccentric and a part of Penang’s intangible heritage, a Boria performance involves a comedic sketch followed by a musical segment of dancing and singing, led by a lead singer .
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