iso [i, saw] a 'kuda kepang' dancer

Posted by Out Of Focus (Muara, Brunei Darussalam) on 27 December 2007 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

The Kuda Kepang is a peculiar dance feature from Johor. The dance was once a totemistic worship however with the spreading of Islam, it renders the tale of nine Javanese men who spread the Islamic faith in the interiors of Java. In order to draw attention of the congregation, the nine Muslim evangelists rode on horse-back and dramatised stories of the battle waged and won for the cause of Islam.

The performers performed right in front of the block where I lived (in Singapore) to my surprise. There weren't any ceremonies at that time, just them doing their thing.

I'm not much of a story teller but at times it was a bit scary. The dancers were in a trance and I don't think they knew what they were doing. It seems like they had become the horses themselves by the way they move their mouths as though they were chewing grass..

More photos to come..

Cool Photoblogs | Listed on Photoblogs.org