Pepatay Dance East Kalimantan

Helloindonesia.id – A young man sat half cross-legged wearing traditional Dayak clothing complete with a crown, shield and mandauw around his waist. Another young man then came out carrying a shield and a saber. Meanwhile, the hum of the sape instrument was played to accompany the battle. They are presenting one of the dances from Dayak Kenyah called the pepatay dance.

Pepatay dance is a dance that tells the story of Dayak knights who are good at war. This dance is usually performed by two young men wearing Dayak Kenyah traditional clothes. The traditional clothing of Dayak Kenyah men is called the sapei sapaq. Sapei sapaq are generally black in color, with a vest-shaped top.

The vest is decorated with bright contrasting beads. According to the traditional Dayak Kenyah elders, the contrasting color of the beads on the sapey sapaq is a symbol that Dayak Kenyah people love nature as if they love harmony in diversity.

The bottom of the sapei sapaq is in the shape of a loincloth. This section is called abet kaboq. These loincloth pants are also decorated with contrasting colored beads.

The movements of the pepatay dancers are dominated by movements that are agile, agile, and tend to be acrobatic. Every now and then, when sighing a dance movement, the dancers usually let out shouts to provoke the opponent. While shouting, they remain in the ready position (stance). At this stage, the dancer’s movements will usually rotate slowly following the movements of their opponents.

In the show, the pepatay dancers use the original mandau. Therefore, the action of attacking each other by the two dancers became increasingly tense. The show that was witnessed became even more fun.

This two knights’ sword fighting dance is one of the exotic sides of Borneo. This dance must be performed when welcoming a guest of honor or at other cultural activities. Pepatay dance represents Dayak Kenyah people who are brave but still uphold harmony. Valuable cultural heritage values ​​that should be preserved and preserved as a diverse cultural wealth of the nation. [AhmadIbo / IndonesiaKaya]

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