The ‘kuda kepang’ dance is basically known as a traditional dance of Johor, especially the Malays of Javanese descent and it is also one of the games for people in Indonesia and also Singapore. The dance of ‘kuda kepang’ is a kind of traditional dance played by the Javanese people. The ‘kuda kepang’ dance has a clear Javanese background influence, coinciding with its history which states that it originated in East Java.
It was brought in by the Javanese community who migrated to the country and remains to this day without much modification. The ‘kuda kepang’ is a woven statue shaped like a horse without legs. It is made of woven bamboo or even animal skins that are patterned to be more attractive.
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There are actually 3 different stories on how the ‘kuda kepang’ dance was originated before and they are:
- The ‘kuda kepang’ dance was created by Wali Sembilan who settled in Java in the 15th century as an attraction in their efforts to spread the message of Islam in Java in an effort to spread Islam in the interior of Java, Wali Songo faced difficulties in approaching the people there. So he got the idea to dance while riding a horse. In the course of time, the horses were exchanged for animal skins or bamboo to replace real horses.
- The origin of this dance got to do with Saidina Ali. In order to imitate the steps of Saidina Ali’s army, the ‘kuda kepang’ dance was born. The events of the war that Rasulullah SAW and his companions went through are presented in the form of dances.
- Connecting its origin with the heavenly realm. A fairy horse named ‘Kuda Sembrani’ is said to have come down to Java to find his missing friend. After the meeting, they danced for fun.
According to belief, the ‘kuda kepang’ is controlled by some kind of supernatural power. Therefore, a special ceremony needs to be done before playing. If they fail to do so maybe something undesirable will happen to the players as well as the spectators. The ceremony begins with a spirit-worshiping ceremony. After that, the shaman will pray for the opening ceremony of the arena which is usually 40 ‘by 60’ in size.
The shaman will also provide meals for the entities. The meals are usually coconut, rice, ripe bananas, incense, white cloth, needles, thread, white chicken, rice, eggs, and potpourri. The minimum number of dancers is nine and the maximum is 15. These dancers are usually male-only.
One interesting thing in this dance is that often there are some dancers who will become lost self-control after the performance is over. Those people then can perform strange movements such as jumping as high as six or seven feet, climbing on bamboo or slippery stick or a rope, also peeling a coconut with the teeth. While the dancers losing their self-control, the sounds of the dancers’ accompaniment will continue to be played. Otherwise, they get angry and pounce on the players of those sounds.
Sources: TikTok LOCCO MY, Ini Cerita Dunia