In conjunction with the 1^st anniversary of the United Nation’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (JOAS) organized a national workshop and exhibition titled the “Strife of the Orang Asal” from 9 – 13 September 2008 at the Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur with. The theme of the Celebration was “Celebrating the Adoption of the United Nation Declaration Rights of Indigenous People (UN-DRIP) at the international Level, Calling for its application at the local level”.

ADC would like to highlight the Cultural Night of the 5 days workshop and Exhibition. Among the indigenous people who performed that night were the indigenous people from Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Johor, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak. It was very educational. For the first time, I got to see the cultural dances of the Orang Asal from the peninsular Malaysia with my very own eyes.

One of the cultural dances performed was the “Tarian Sewang” by the Orang Asal Negeri Sembilan. The dance consists of dancers and the musicians. The dancers danced along to the music played with sounds of bamboos knocking together called “Pensong”. The performance was led by the singer also known as the “tukang Karut”.  This dance is similar to the cultural dance by the Temiar tribe from Kelantan.

Another dance that is unique was the “Genggulang” dance performed by the Mah Meri and Temuan tribes. It is unique because of the masks worn by the dancers. The costumes are made by tree-barks and grass skirts.  These dances by the Orang Asli are strongly rooted in their spiritual beliefs. They are commonly used by witch-doctors as a ritual to communicate to the spirit world. However, nowadays it is usually performed to welcome guests and also to celebrate their festivals.

All the way from the east, the Sabahan tribes performed the “Sumazau” dance. This dance is the traditional dance of the Kadazan people in Sabah. It is usually performed at social events or religious ceremonies to honor the spirits of the paddy during the harvest season, to protect as well as defend against the bad spirits and to cure illnesses. The Dance is simple and many guests had joined in to dance. The dance movements are soft and slow as though imitating birds in flight.

The Sarawakians bravely performed their Warrior Dance that night. This dance is popularly known as “Ngajat” and usually performed during the “Gawai” festival also known as the harvest festival to celebrate the tribe’s victorious warriors. It tells the story of the most fearsome of Sarawak headhunters. The dance performed dramatic jumps and hunting actions with their weapons; the blowpipe and the shield. Whereas the female dancer moved gracefully and softly to represent the lady-like reputation of the female Iban tribe.

The cultural night was full of joy and very educational for me as well as the guests. These various traditional dances are an eye-opener to all of us .Our country has more than three major races, Malay, Chinese and Indians. If you have always wanted to experience a different sight of cultural dance in Malaysia, this authentic dance of the indigenous tribes in Malaysia is a good one. Hopefully, the event will be held again next year and you would not want to miss it.