The dancing grounds are where we connect with our ancestors, where our heritage, language, and identity are passed on. ~ Phillemon Mosby (Torres Strait Island regional councilor, Australia)
On a sunny afternoon in Talekoi village, unlike the usual quiet days, children's laughter and the melodic sound of traditional Dayak music echoed through the village. The source of that beautiful sound is in a village field located uphill where dozens of children were gathering to practice the traditional 'Dadas dance'. With eyes sparkling with joy and enthusiasm, they followed every instruction from Rina and Rini, the dance teachers.
“When you move your feet, first put your right foot forward, lift your left foot back, then lower it to the ground,” explained Rina while showing the movement.
“Raise your hands in front of your chest, then slowly move them like this,” she continued.
In every dance move, the twin teachers, Rina Seruyana and Rini Seruyani, patiently gave directions to each of the children. The older kids followed and practiced the move with serious eyes. In a couple of days of practicing the Dadas dance, they easily mastered the healing dance. In contrast, the dance was quite challenging for the little one. Many of the little kids, although they tried hard to follow the simple movements exemplified by Rina and Rini, in the end, they created various funny movements.
Rina (red shirt) and Rini (brown shirt) were teaching the kids Dadas dance.
From a distance, many mothers smiled widely and were proud to see their children practicing traditional dance. One of the mothers who regularly watched the dance practice was Hetiana. She is the village secretary who used to be a Dadas dancer.
Oliv, a 12 years old from Talekoi who’s eager to learn the dance.
"Looking at the children practicing the Dadas dance brings back many of my beautiful memories from my youth, when I was a dancer. We used to have a dance academy in the village, but due to many internal issues, it disbanded. After the dance academy disbanded, the children here never learned and practiced any traditional dance. It was mainly because we couldn’t afford to pay the dance teacher. I am afraid that we may lose our tradition and the children may not understand our culture and past histories. Seeing the two young dance teachers voluntarily come here to help us preserve our culture and how our children are very enthusiastic about learning the dance gives me hope for a raise in our dance academics.”
Bringing hope back into the eyes of young people to preserve culture is one of our goals in reviving dance academics in Talekoi village. This is also the vision of Rina and Rini, two high school students from Palangka Raya who are willing to participate in this dance training activity in Talekoi village amid their busy preparation for final school exams.
Dadas dance is a traditional dance from the Dayak Ma'ayan which contains a lot of wisdom and ancestor stories. The dancers wear a pairs of big bracelet on both hands while dancing; three on each hand. If the younger generation in Talekoi village forgets their own culture, the next generation will forget their culture too. We feel that we also have a responsibility to take part in preserving the culture. That's what drives us to come here and teach the children about Dadas dance.
By igniting the dance academy in Talekoi village, we have begun our new journey this year to protect our precious heritage and identity as Indigenous Dayak.
Currently, we still need to buy bracelets and other dance equipments for the kids. You can support this program by donating. To find out more about the project and support our movement, please visit our website and find us on Instagram.
Written by Sumarni Laman