Names of Regional Dances and Their Origins – Indonesia is a nation that is very rich in cultural diversity. Sinaumed’s definitely agrees that Indonesia has a rich culture, one of which is the variety of regional dances which have their own characteristics. Every region in Indonesia must have regional dances that describe the culture of their respective regions.
There is a term that says that an extraordinary nation can be seen from the culture they have. Likewise, the cultural values contained in the regional dances will reflect how cultured our nation is. As part of this nation, we should be proud and contribute to maintaining and preserving culture.
Apart from knowing and understanding the dances of the Sinaumed’s region itself, you must also know dances from other regions. This is where it will build awareness that in fact we have cultural diversity that beautifies our nation.
With every ethnic group in Indonesia having its own distinctive dance, to date there are more than 3,000 original Indonesian dances that can be learned through the Mini Encyclopedia: Dances of the Archipelago.
The following is a list of 25 regional dances that Sinaumed’s needs to know as an effort to get to know their own culture and to interpret cultural values that can be taken:
1. Saman Dance from Aceh
Saman dance is a regional dance originating from the Special Region of Aceh which is popular both domestically and in the eyes of the world. This dance is usually performed by many dancers in a combination of sitting and half standing movements. Saman dancers also usually sing on stage while dancing at the same time.
The dancers usually wear colorful costumes but still match their headscarves and Acehnese batik cloth as their subordinates. Saman dancers also usually wear hijab because the majority of Acehnese are Muslims.
This dance can be interpreted as a form of togetherness, cohesiveness because the dance requires dancers to be compact and work together. In addition, this dance also reflects education, religion, manners, and heroism because dancers are likened to an army.
2. Tor Tor Dance from North Tapanuli
Tor Tor dance is a regional dance originating from North Sumatra, to be precise the area of Lake Toba in Tapanuli. This Batak dance is usually performed during certain rituals, namely weddings, funerals, thanksgiving ceremonies, and healing ceremonies for sick people. This dance is usually accompanied by traditional musical instruments, namely Magondangi.
The dancers usually wear dance costumes made of Batak songket woven cloth with a headband. The meaning of this dance is as a medium of communication between the living and their ancestors as an encouragement for the soul.
3. Plate Dance from Minangkabau
Plate dance is a regional dance originating from Minangkabau which has a characteristic where the dancers carry plates while dancing. This dance usually consists of 3 to 5 people accompanied by the strains of traditional Minangkabau, Bonang and Saluang musical instruments.
Dancers usually wear a typical Minangkabau costume with a tapered headdress, bell bracelets on their feet, and carry two to three plates in their hands. The plate dance has a symbolic meaning of offering the harvest to the creator. This is a form of gratitude for the Minangkabau people for the sustenance that their god has given them.
4. Taruk Langgai Dance from Mentawai
Turuk Laggai Dance is a regional dance originating from the Mentawai, West Sumatra which is inspired by the movements of animals in nature, such as birds, snakes, chickens, and monkeys. This dance is usually accompanied by traditional Mentawai musical instruments, namely the Gajeuma and Uliat drums.
The costume of the Turuk Laggai dancer is very unique, only using a cloth covering the genitals and a distinctive headband with a wild feel. This dance has the meaning of daily dance for the people of the Mentawai islands, the majority of whom are hunters, so many dance movements imitate animal movements. Usually this dance is performed for ritual treatment ceremonies.
5. Ronggeng Blantek Dance from Betawi
The Ronggeng Blantek dance is a regional dance from the Betawi ethnicity which has a fast tempo with energetic movements. This dance usually consists of female dancers accompanied by traditional Betawi musical instruments, namely trumpets, trombones, baritone, drums, gongs, cymbals, and tehyan.
The dancers usually use costumes with bright colors such as green, yellow, red, with flower head ornaments which are also colorful. This dance is usually performed to welcome invited guests in big events.
6. Jaipong Dance from Karawang
Jaipong dance is a regional dance originating from Karawang with a relatively more modern movement concept. This dance combines elements of silat, wayang golek, and tap tilu created by H. Suanda and Gugum Gumbira, an artist from West Java. The traditional music that usually accompanies this dance is the gong, lute, drum, and fiddle.
The dancers usually wear a long, elegant kebaya costume with a long scarf around their neck. Jaipong dance is not only an ordinary dance entertainment, but also has a meaning as a means of communication between people by representing friendliness, politeness, agility, and never giving up.
7. Mask Dance from Cirebon
Mask Dance is a regional dance originating from Cirebon which is popular, and was even used as a medium for preaching the spread of Islam by Sunan Gunung Jati. The costumes that are usually used by the dancers of the mask dance are bright colors like red using 5 different types of masks.
The masks that the dancers use have their own names and character meanings. For example the banner mask which symbolizes a baby who is still clean from sin. While the pamindo mask is a symbol of chivalry and the patih mask symbolizes maturity.
8. Bedhaya Dance from Yogyakarta
Bedhaya dance is a regional dance originating from the Yogyakarta palace which is usually performed by women. In the past, this dance was only intended for the palace circles. This dance has the concept of slow and graceful graceful movements accompanied by Javanese gamelan instruments.
The dancer’s costume uses a Javanese kebaya with a Yogyakarta special jarik cloth with a siger on the head as a crown. This dance has a meaning that tells the story of the spiritual figure of Nyi Roro Kidul who is believed to be the ruler of the spiritual world on the north coast of Java.
9. Serimpi Dance from Yogyakarta
Serimpi dance is a regional dance originating from Yogyakarta which is also only performed in the palace. This dance also has several types, such as genjung, babul, screen, bondan, anglir cloudy, and dhempel. The dancers, numbering 2 to 4 people, dance to the accompaniment of Javanese gamelan.
The costumes used by dancers are kebaya and jarik subordinates who are elegant like princesses. This Serimpi dance symbolizes fire, water, wind and earth as natural forces.
10. Gambyong Dance from Solo
Gambyong dance is a regional dance originating from the city of Solo which has been known since the days of ancient Javanese kings. Until now, the Gambyong dance continues to experience choreographic development. Previously, this dance had its roots in the tayub dance or folk dance during harvest festivals, then the palace took it and developed it into a flexible and beautiful dance.
11. Reog Dance from Ponorogo
Reog Dance is a regional dance from Ponorogo which is played by a number of men wearing a lion’s head mask crowned with peacock feathers which is very large and heavy. The meaning of the reog dance is the satire of a servant of the Majapahit king, Ki Ageng Kutu, to the king who was considered corrupt and under Chinese influence. This can be seen in the costumes of dancers who use lion barong masks.
12. Jaran Kepan Dance from Ponorogo
Jaran Kepang dance is a regional dance originating from Ponorogo which is also famous in several areas in Java as the Lumping Horse or Jatilan dance. The dancer’s costume which is characteristic of this dance is a piggyback prop made of woven bamboo and animal skin.
This costume is meaningful as a brave army of Majapahit warriors. Another distinctive feature of this dance is that the dancer will experience a trance or trance which will perform attractions beyond normal people’s reasoning and even tend to be dangerous. For example eating glass, devouring fire, and so on.
13. Kecak Dance from Bali
The Kecak dance is a regional dance originating from Bali which is played by dozens or even dozens of male dancers. This dance is taken from a ritual dance to repel reinforcements called the Sanghyang dance in Bali. This dance is not accompanied by musical instruments but the chants of the dancers themselves. The meaning of the Kecak dance is to depict an army of monkeys helping Rama who is fighting Ravana, the evil king of the jinn.
14. Pendet Dance from Bali
Pendet dance is a regional dance originating from Bali which is now widely staged to welcome guests or tourists who come to tourist attractions in Bali. In the past, this dance was only performed for rituals in temples. This dance is also played by many dancers who use gold-colored kemben and cloth while carrying a bowl as a flower holder. The real meaning of this dance is welcoming the arrival of the Gods to earth.
Character education based on local wisdom as the cultivation of national values and culture is very much needed in this era of globalization. This is because the challenges that will be faced by the younger generation in the future will be tough. This book is presented as learning material, especially for grade 11, in order to understand various methods and approaches to art education in Indonesia based on the 2013 Curriculum.
15. Ledo Kancet Dance or Gong Dance from Kutai Kartanegara
Kancet Ledo Dance or Gong Dance is a regional dance originating from Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. The costume worn by the Kancet Ledo dancers is very unique, namely the traditional clothes of the Dayak Kenyah who will dance on a gong. The meaning of this dance is balance in life which is symbolized by the character of a beautiful, clever, and graceful lady-in-waiting.
16. Shell Dance from North Sulawesi
Tempurung dance is a regional dance originating from North Sulawesi that uses North Sumatran traditional clothing costumes using shell or coconut shell attributes. The shell is usually used by the community for containers or bowls. The dancers will beat the shell and produce a distinctive sound. The meaning of this dance is an expression of the people’s gratitude for their coconut harvest.
17. Pakarena Fan Dance from South Sulawesi
Pakarena Fan Dance is a regional dance originating from Gowa, South Sulawesi with movements that reflect the character of Gowa women who are obedient, polite, respectful towards men = men (husbands). This dance has a unique concept, namely the dancers may not open their eyes too wide and lift their feet too high.
18. Paduppa Bosara Dance from South Sulawesi
Paduppa Bosara dance is a regional dance originating from the Bugis tribe of Makassar, South Sulawesi, which uses traditional clothing and dance properties in the form of Bosara which is commonly used to serve food. This dance has the meaning of hospitality and courtesy which is usually danced to entertain kings, welcome great guests, and traditional parties.
Dance, which is part of a cultural tradition, often has its own meaning. Likewise with other traditions such as the tradition of cutting fingers, the tradition of laying dead bodies which you can learn about through the book 70 Unique Traditions of Ethnic Nations in Indonesia.
19. Gandrung Dance from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTT)
Gandrung dance is a regional dance originating from Lombok which is played by female dancers with gamelan accompaniment. The costumes used by dancers are traditional Lombok clothes with crowns and fan properties being held. This dance is meaningful to entertain the soldiers first after returning from the battlefield.
20. Caci Dance from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT)
Caci dance is a regional dance originating from NTT which is played by male dancers who fight with whips and shields. The distinctive feature of the costumes used by dancers is that they are like knights armed with whips and shields. This dance is meaningful as the people’s gratitude for the harvest season or in land clearing rituals.
21. Lego Dance from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT)
Lego Lego dance is a regional dance originating from Lor Regency, NTT which is usually played by young children. This dance means inviting people to unite to build a village and country to be even better. In performing this dance, the dancers use traditional clothes with songket cloth typical of NTT.
22. Tide Tide Dance from North Maluku
Tide-tide dance is a regional dance originating from North Halmahera, North Maluku which is danced by male and female partners. The dance costume that the dancers wear is a combination of white cloth and barefoot typical Maluku batik jarik. The meaning of this dance is to give an overview of the social life between men and women in Halmahera in the past.
23. Saureka Reka Dance from Maluku
Saureka Reka dance is a regional dance originating from Maluku which is played by 4 young people, 4 boys and 4 girls. The costumes used by dancers are very simple but use unique dance properties, namely gaba-gaba, tifa, and totobuang which are made of long bamboo. The meaning of this dance for the people of Maluku is a form of gratitude during the sago harvest season.
24. Welcome Dance from East Papua
This Welcome Dance from East Papua is shown as a form of respect and an expression of gratitude for the happiness of the Papuan people for the arrival of guests. This dance is performed in groups using traditional Papuan clothing carrying spears, arrows and other weapons as their identity.
25. Sajojo dance from Papua
Sajojo dance is a regional dance originating from Papua which is accompanied by the Sajojo song. Dancers use traditional Papuan clothing from roots or leaves and decorations on their bodies. The meaning of this dance is to tell the story of a beautiful woman from the village. This dance is usually staged to welcome guests or other community parties.
This regional dance can also give us a meaning that can be learned to become a better human being. How about Sinaumed’s, are you now interested in learning about Indonesian dance? If Sinaumed’s likes traditional dance or wants to deepen his knowledge of dance or other cultural knowledge, sinaumedia as #SahabatUnlimits has good book and e-book recommendations to study. you can directly read and buy it at sinaumedia.com and sinaumedia Digital .
This 2013 Curriculum-based Cultural Arts Book is here and designed to hone competence, skills, knowledge, and form an attitude of appreciation for activities in a number of cultural arts. Includes dance, fine arts, music, and theatre. This book is suitable for you in grade 8 middle school / MA as the language of learning at school.