A Murut dance troupe
A Murut warrior dance
A traditional Murut dance troupe made up of young performers
A dance performed by the Murut
Young dancers are taught the meaning of the dancesPhotos courtesy of and Copyright to
By Mohammad Abdullah
Our heritage must be upheld. We must not let our traditional heritage just be some distant memory or some text we read in the pages of history books.
There are those who ask: what is the point of letting our children learn the folk dances performed in the times of our ancestors? Education and study are more important than performing in some dances.
How utterly wrong one can be. The dances show our rich cultural and ethnic heritage and diversity. Through the dances we can learn our heritage, as well as our cultural identity.
Brunei has a rich cultural background. Much of our cultural heritage has been slowly eroded, and is dangerously close to extinction.
Through the effort of government agencies, as well as private companies and individuals, much of our culture has been retained. However, it is still slowly being eroded away.
Take the traditional dances of the Murut ethnic group which has several dances to commemorate festivals and events. Some of these dances have been forgotten by the new generation.
One of the dances is the 'Alai Ngapu Lun Rayeh' which is performed to greet the arrival of important people or brave warriors.
The ethnic Tutong have their own dances for various occasions too, such as the 'Temarok' performed after the sowing of the padi each year.
The 'Ancayau' is performed to celebrate a victory or the arrival of a warrior after a successful mission.
Finally, there is the 'Mengalai' which is performed at festive gatherings such as a wedding.
We need to preserve and document the ethnic heritage, advance cross-cultural understanding and inform the public, especially the young generation, of the ethnic experience through festivals, workshops, meetings and publications.
Without these efforts, our young generation might not understand why these dances exist, or why we still preserve them.
When they dance to their own cultural beat, they will know the meaning of the dances, what they represent to the people and what it means to take the steps their ancestors had once taken.
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Our heritage must be upheld. We must not let our traditional heritage just be some distant memory or some text we read in the pages of history books.
There are those who ask: what is the point of letting our children learn the folk dances performed in the times of our ancestors? Education and study are more important than performing in some dances.
How utterly wrong one can be. The dances show our rich cultural and ethnic heritage and diversity. Through the dances we can learn our heritage, as well as our cultural identity.
Brunei has a rich cultural background. Much of our cultural heritage has been slowly eroded, and is dangerously close to extinction.
Through the effort of government agencies, as well as private companies and individuals, much of our culture has been retained. However, it is still slowly being eroded away.
Take the traditional dances of the Murut ethnic group which has several dances to commemorate festivals and events. Some of these dances have been forgotten by the new generation.
One of the dances is the 'Alai Ngapu Lun Rayeh' which is performed to greet the arrival of important people or brave warriors.
The ethnic Tutong have their own dances for various occasions too, such as the 'Temarok' performed after the sowing of the padi each year.
The 'Ancayau' is performed to celebrate a victory or the arrival of a warrior after a successful mission.
Finally, there is the 'Mengalai' which is performed at festive gatherings such as a wedding.
We need to preserve and document the ethnic heritage, advance cross-cultural understanding and inform the public, especially the young generation, of the ethnic experience through festivals, workshops, meetings and publications.
Without these efforts, our young generation might not understand why these dances exist, or why we still preserve them.
When they dance to their own cultural beat, they will know the meaning of the dances, what they represent to the people and what it means to take the steps their ancestors had once taken.
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
please correct the caption of the picture. only one picture is belong to murut, others is dusun.thank you.
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