| Johor Attractions |
|
| Written by asiamind | |
| Sunday, 08 June 2008 | |
|
Johor is hugely popular for its cultural heritage. It exudes a big Bugis influence during those years when they first came by to the state before venturing to other parts like Selangor and Malacca. The Arabs too have set foot in the state and poise a strong influence in the politics and culture of the state including the arts like the Hamdolok and the Zapin dance. Culture The Zapin Dance is said to be introduced by the Muslim missionaries that came from the Middle East during the 14th century. It is a widely popular Johorean culture among Malaysians that traditionally was only performed by males but the modern version has since observed that female too has been performing. The Zapin was originally a religious ceremonial dance and only evolved to be an entertainment event which is accompanied by a traditional music ensemble consisting of the accordion, gambus, violin, rebanda, dok and the violin. The Kuda Kepang is another form of cultural performance that is of Javanese heritage. It is a dance or comes in a form of a game with a horse shaped puppet. The performers form the legs of the ‘horse’ and is performed normally by 10 to 15 people accompanied by musical instruments like the gendang, kinong, angklong, jidor, bonang, soron kecil and the gong that forms the ensemble. The Hamdolok is a cultural theatre performance found in mostly wedding ceremonies or festivals that integrates a blend of Middle Eastern and Malay artistic characters. It is believed that the origins of this performance was introduced by the Arabs who came to Johor. Using the maracas, tambourine, conga and the gambus, it is performed with the musical instruments and poetry recital by the Bedouin to commemorate the Prophet Muhammad’s birth. |
| < Prev |
|---|