Kuda Kepang...

I was getting more intrested in Malaysian Dance Art form after learning bout MakYong. I found out there are another form of dance art that is quite similar to MakYong which is originated from Johor.. Its known as Kuda Kepang.. Hmmm.. i'm from Johor so i think i ought to find out more bout this dance art. What i know is that this dance art is linked with spirit possession. There's lots of infomation on this dance art actually and i was amased by the information i got on this dance art.. Finding out bout both of this dance art actually makes me proud of my Malaysian Heritage. I never thought that there are many types of dance art exisited in Malaysia. Thanks to Drama class i actually got to know more bout this dance art. I feel more exposer should be given to students especilly in primaly school, so that this heritage of ours would not fade by time. Ii'm proud of my heritage so i hope that though exposing this type of dance art will make younger generation appreciate Malaysian Dance art thus feeling proud to be a Malaysian.

Mak Yong - a dance art

I was curious about Mak Yong... I wanted to found out what is it all about... so i browse through the net and found out thet Mak yong is all about a dance which originated from Kelantan. It was a popular entertaiment in olden days. It was also a kinda theatre performance combaining dance, opera, drama and comedy. It was some kind of musical theater. I found out, experts believe that Mak Yong appeared well before the Islamization of the country. It was performed as a royal theatre under the direct patronage of the Kelantan Sultanate until the 1920s. Henceforth the tradition was continuing in its original rural context without neglecting the numerous alteration acquired
I wanted to know how was it performed thus I found out that a typical Mak Yong performance opens with an offering followed by dances, acting and music as well as improvised monologues and dialogues. The mak yong range consists of stories, existing in the oral tradition, dealing with the adventures of gods or mythical kings. The principal and earliest story in the mak yong range, entitled Dewa Muda, has tremendous spiritual significance. Mak yong performances last between about 9.00 p.m and midnight, and a story are generally completed in several nights.

Mak Yong is also associated with rituals in which shamans attempt to heal through song, trance-dance and spirit possession thus it actually causes controversy among the Malays because it goes against their belief and religion. This causes Mak Yong is no longer a popular dance art now days. This kinda of dance art I feel should be preserved for the younger generation. I myself have little knowledge on this type of dance art so I hope that this dance art will be conserved for no only the Malay generation but to the Malaysian generation as this is one of our heritages despite the controversy it cause