Tigal pranuk
Tigal Pranuk is a mimetic dance performed by imitating
the behaviors of mousedeers. The dance is performed by two male dancers,
one imitating the behavior of the naughty male mousedeer and the other
dancer, of the pregnant female mousedeer. The dance requires enormous physical
and facial flexibility to illustrate sound, movement and action of the
mousedeers.
According to a story, this dance originated when two mousedeers coincidentally heard a combination of the various sounds from birds and animals in the forest. The first sound they heard was ?boop-boop! boop-boob! boop-boop!? from a porcupine, bidos in his lair. This sound was immediately followed by a black bird locally known as terang, with the sound ?trang! trang! trang!?. Then came another sound ?treng-treng! treng-treng!? from the tingkuleng. The tikukor or tikaking that happened to be nearby answered with a melodious sound, ?kangking kong kor! kang king kong kor! kang king kong kor!?. The woodpecker, timagu then responded from his hiding place in a hollow of a tree, with a cheeky voice ?goo! ... goo! ... goo! ... goo! ... goo! ... goo!?.
The combination of these sound were so much like the sound of the gong and drum beats played together, which tempted the female mousedeer to dance. She came out of her hiding place under the buan (Dillenia sp.) tree, and being pregnant, she started to dance by stomping, hopping and wiggling clumsily to the catchy tune. The scene became merrier when she was joined by her equally naughty male partner and together they gleefully dance "chok! chok-chok! chok! chok-chok!" with their tiny thin legs in the muddy ground.
These performances by the mousedeers were witnessed by
some men in Bukar-Sadung, who happened to be in the area cutting timber
for building their houses. When they returned home to the village, they
started to imitate these dances. Tigal pranuk is performed until
today.
Rejang ayung
Rejang ayung is a mimetic dance performed by two
or more dancers. The dancers imitate the behaviors of monkeys living in
the jungle. The most interesting feature of the dance is the action when
monkeys pick lice from one another?s hairs. The musical instruments used
in rejang ayung are similar to those used in bidumak.
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# Encik Robert Sulis Ridu is currently a Research Assistant with Majlis Adat Istiadat. The information and recording of the traditional dances were obtained from his research and recording from different informants in Bau, Kuching, Lundu and Serian District. Encik Lawrence Sinos Sabo was formerly a Cultural Officer of Dayak Bidayuh National Association and now is a Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, while Encik Ahi Sarok is a Lecturer in Public Administration at the Faculty of Social Science, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Received on November 16, 1999.
Published on the Internet by courtesy of Mr.
Ahi Sarok (January 05, 2000)
Re-Published for bidayuh
dotcom by courtesy of Mr.
Ahi Sarok (May 03, 2000)
Citation:
Ridu, R. S., L. S. Sabu and A. Sarok. 1998. Bidayuh Traditional
Dance. Paper presented at the Bidayuh Traditional Music, Songs,
Dance and Costume Workshop held at Museum Tun Razak, Kuching on 16
- 17 May 1998. 16p. (http://www.geocities.com/dayung_biatah/biddance.html)
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