Saman Dance, Typical Dance of the Earth Veranda of Mecca
Ditulis pada: January 24, 2022
Among the rich variety of dances and Indonesian culture, the Saman dance is an interesting dance and is well known by the wider community. Even Saman Dance is very popular internationally because it is often used as a mainstay in every international cultural performance.
In addition to being attractive, this dance also tests the concentration of the dancers by continuing to perform dynamic and compact movements. That is the attraction of the dance that comes from the earth of this mecca.
At first this dance was called Saman because it was created by an Acehnese cleric named Syekh Saman around the XIV century AD, from the Gayo highlands. Initially this dance was just a folk game called Pok Ane. Then it was added with verses containing praises to God and accompanied by a combination of clapping from the dancers at that time. The Saman dance was also used as a propaganda medium by Sheikh Saman at that time.
Initially this dance was only performed for certain special events to celebrate the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad Pbuh. Usually this dance is performed under the Meunasah (a type of stage surau). Over time, this dance also developed so that it is performed more often. Therefore, currently Saman Dance is classified as an entertainment/performance dance.
Saman dance is usually guided by a leader called the Sheikh. The dancer and the Shaykh must be able to work well together in order to produce a harmonious movement.
This dance is also usually accompanied by at least 5 kinds of songs, namely Rengum as an opening that contains praise, Dering, which is rengum which is followed by all dancers, Redet, a short song sung by a dancer in the middle of the dance, Syek, a song sung by a dancer. one of the dancers with a long, high-pitched voice.
Usually this song is also a sign for a change in motion. And the last one is Saur, which is a song that is repeated together by all dancers after being sung by a solo dancer.
This dance basically also has two elements of motion which are the basic elements in the Saman dance, namely clapping and clapping the chest. This movement is thought to be the influence of Sheikh Saman who studied ancient Malay dances which was then performed again in this dance. In this dance there are several unique hand movements such as shaking, kirep, lingang, surang-saring. Usually this dance has a tempo that is getting faster and faster to make it more interesting.
This dance is very interesting. This dance performance is also not only popular in their own country. But it is also famous in foreign countries. It is planned that the dance originating from the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam will be recognized and inaugurated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible world cultural heritage on November 19, 2011. Therefore, as an Indonesian nation, we should be proud to have a diversity of dances and cultures, one of which is the Saman Dance.
