People of Mother Earth, Father Sky keep their traditions alive
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Two concentric circles of dancers filled the stage. The inner circle of five male dancers revolved clockwise, while the outer circle of nine female dancers swishing horse-tail switches in the air revolved in the opposite direction.
The jingling rhythm from the straps of small bells that the dancers wore on their ankles, as well as the clinking of two small wooden rods played by one of the male dancers, kept the pace of the revolving circles steady, while an ensemble of gongs and percussion instruments provided a musical background.
This was the Leke Sora dance, one of the many dances of the Watublapi community from the island of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, which was recently performed in Jakarta by the Bliran Sina Arts Group. "The Leke Sora is a dance of celebration that is usually performed after the building of a house or after a harvest. It is also a dance of gratitude to Ina Niang Tana Wawa (Mother Earth, Father Sky)," said Daniel David, the group leader.
For the Krowe Sika ethnic group of Watublapi, Ina Niang Tana Wawa, or God, is but one of the four foundations that form the basis of their community. The other three are Ama Lero Wurang Reta (the forces of nature), Nitu Noang (the spirits of their ancestors) and Adat (tradition).
"Nature is our friend. We should love and respect it, as it has loved us and provided our daily needs. If we instead treat it wrongly, or live in sin, it could easily unleash its mighty forces against us, just like the spirits of our ancestors, who are always watching over us," said Daniel.
"As for Adat, one of our strongest traditions is working together. And being a community of mostly farmers, working together in this case means cultivating our land together," Daniel explained.
This tradition can be seen in the Manunggo and Togo Pare dances, which were also performed by the group.
In the Manunggo dance, a group of male and female dancers carrying long wooden sticks imitate farmers working together to open new rice fields, while in the Togo Pare dance, dancers hold hands in a circle and imitate farmers threshing rice with their feet after the harvest.
The community's tradition of folklore can also be seen in the Togo Pare dance, as explained by Daniel.
During the dance, one of the female dancers will occasionally imitate the high-pitched cry of a bird. This dancer, called the Irikikik, is actually calling the spirits of the threshed rice, so they do not depart and spoil the harvest.
Legend has it that rice kernels have spirits that are the incarnation of Ina Nalung Pare (Mother Rice). Ina Nalung Pare herself came into being when one of the Watublapian ancestors was said to have sacrificed his daughter to achieve a good harvest. When his wife learned of this and went to the field to stop him, it was already too late. All that she found was an empty field blooming with rice shoots. But every time she called out her daughter's name, the plants seemed to reach out to her. She then realized that her daughter had been transformed into the rice shoots.
Another tradition honored by the Watublapi community is that of manhood, which can be seen in the Awi Alu-Mage Mot-Tua Retalou dance.
In this dynamic dance, two warriors -- an archer and a swordsman -- show off their skills to the beat of gongs and percussion instruments. While the swordsman dodges pairs of snapping bamboo poles aimed at his head and feet, the archer climbs up a high bamboo pole and suspends himself on top of it supported only by his stomach.
The dance is usually performed to welcome youths that have succeeded in passing a one-week manhood test of survival in the forest. Youths of the Watublapi community are expected to be protectors of their villages against wild beasts and during tribal wars.
"But of course there are no tribal wars anymore. Ever since we embraced Catholicism, we try our best never to resort to such violence," said Daniel.
The majority of the Watublapi community are Catholics, and Catholicism has influenced much of the community's traditions.
"We have abandoned certain traditions that are not in accordance with Catholicism. But there has never been a conflict either, since Catholicism came to us peacefully and went along well with many of our native traditions."
Other cultures have also influenced the Watublapi people, such as the Chinese culture, as can be seen in their use of ivory and ceramic goods, and in the use of dragon-like figures in their woven cloths.
But even for a people used to assimilating elements of other cultures, the onslaught of the modern lifestyle of today worries Daniel. He fears that interest in the traditional ways will wane and that people will forget the old dances.
"And that would be such a pity because there are so many positive things that we can actually learn from our own traditions. Positive things, which I'm sure can help make our lives better," said Daniel.