One more culture from Aceh (Indonesia) which is listed as one of the cultural heritage, namely Saman dance. Actually, Aceh which was ever famous in the world because of the tsunami in 2004 has a lot of unique culture, especially its regional dances. The special feature of the dance from Aceh is the number of dancers in each dance. If most of Indonesian dances only performed by a few people (usually not more than four dancers), local dance from Aceh danced by many people, for example is Saman dance. Saman dance usually performed by 10 people, both 10 women or 10 men. In fact, it is often done with more dancers because more dancers will make Saman dance more admirable.
UNESCO recognized the Saman dance as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, on November 24, 2011. saman dance is a dance that comes from Gayo tribe, Aceh. Gayo tribe is a tribe that originated from Aceh, they usually reside in district of Central Aceh, Bener Meriah, Gayo Lues, and Southeast Aceh. Saman dance is one dance of local dance which is interesting because it does not require a music instrument for staging. Although it is not accompanied by the sound of musical instruments during performances, Saman dance could impress everyone who enjoyed it.
 |
Saman dance, a local dance from Aceh
image source:https://id.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berkas:Tari_Saman_Aceh.jpg&filetimestamp=20150705074828& |
This dance combines the sound of the dancers, hand movements, hand claps, pats the shoulder, and pats thighs. Lyric which sung by the dancers while staging Saman dance is Gayo language (the language used by Gayo tribe in everyday life). In the Saman dance led by a leader who acts as a squad leader. Task of leader give a code to all members and to guide the course of staging thus conditioned.
In the beginning, Saman dance used as a means for conveying religious teachings through its lyrics in the song. Today, Saman become one of the a pride cultural heritage from Aceh. Saman dance is often performed when important events that are officially as guest visits between districts or states. In addition, Saman dance is also often used for the opening ceremony at a festival. Saman dance quite well known in the community and a lot of people from outside of Aceh who studied and dance them.
Saman dance is often referred to as a thousand hand dance because of the many dynamic hand movement. To be able to produce a compact movements, the dancer need to have a high concentration and hard training because of the timeliness and uniformity of movement is the key factor of Saman. Saman dance teach to discipline through hard training to produce a uniform movement, unified through movements that require cooperation among dancers, and morals through the songs sung during the dance.
