Magical Elements in the Be Bengawak Dance

Helloindonesia.id – Jambi culture is inseparable from river culture, considering that the area is one of the regions in the archipelago that has a lot of river flow. Catching fish in the river for Jambi children is a fun activity, besides being able to play water, catch fish can be brought home or resold.

The Jambi people recognize lukah as a tool used to capture fish. The tool is a long cone shaped tube made from bamboo assemblies. From this is the emergence of a magical puppet art known as lukah gilo.

In Lukah Gilo’s art, it is decorated in such a way as to use pumpkin to resemble the head. Then recited the mantra with the aim of inviting spirits to enter into the lakah. When they are able to move themselves, that’s when they believe that spirits have entered into them.

Lukah’s art is the same as the game of jalangkung in Javanese society. This art is closely related to things that are supernatural. Interestingly, although the people of Jambi in general are familiar with lukah gilo art, the name of this traditional art varies in each region in Jambi.

The traditional art of lukah gilo later inspired the birth of a dance claim known as the Bengawak Be dance. The Bengawak Be dance does not trace in full the rituals in the traditional lukah gilo art, this claim only raises the basic idea of ​​the tradition, so as to create a new performing art.

In general, Bengawak Be dance is performed by men and women. The number of dancers is not determined, considering that this dance can be danced in large quantities adjusted to the size of the stage. In the Bengawak Be dance performance, the dancers wear Jambi traditional clothes that have been modified. The lower part is equipped with a Jambi songket patterned cloth. On the head, female dancers use small sized lakah to decorate hats, while male dancers wear jambi batik headbands.

The Bengawak Be dance movement is dominated by theatrical movements which contain elements of the story. Presenting the property of the dolls if gilo becomes important in this performance, the doll seems to be alive and play a role in the dance. So that even though the Bengawak Be dance is a new form of traditional lukah gilo art, the magical element in the traditional arts is not completely gone.

Visit too: http://balitraveldiary.com