Tuesday, August 26, 2008
We watched a video on a
malay cultural dance during a
RSP lesson.
The performance was at Malay Village, a location in Singapore.
At first, there were a few women dancing gracefully, and they seemed like they were imitating the actions of female horses.
Then, the malay men came on stage and they were so called 'possessed' by the spirit of the horse, and started behaving like real horses.
Once in a while, the men would go to a corner and have water splashed on them so that they'll be sober.
There was a man who whipped the 'horses', but the 'horses' could not feel pain as they were 'possessed'. They moved to the rhythm of Gamelan music in the background. There were a few people who were playing on the Gamelan in a synchronised rhythm.
I feel that this performance shows the beliefs and the culture of malays in the southeast asia region. The 'horses' show the malay community's belief in spirits, and Gamelan shows the practices of the Indonesians. I feel that the video was a good learning experience, and i got to know more about the religion and practices of the people in our neighbouring countries.
another part of SEA; 12:33 AM
