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Kalimantan Dance

important, we can suppose that dancing in Kalimantan at that time was religious nod sacral in nature, and as the palaces of the kings were the centres of all cultural -activities, dancing in Kalimantan at tile beginning of tile Hindu-Indonesian period was also feudal.

king his opponent, shouts are heard. The fight with the mandau and shield is carried out in earnest, which means that the attacks are real and if there is it dancer who is not careful enough, there may be some blood shed, Spectators who are not used to seeing such a performance are Usually frightened. However, the dance is always performed by dancers who are equally skillful in handling the mandau and shield, so that such an accident never takes place. Only the shields of the dancers are damaged or broken into pieces because of being struck by the mandau.

The Mandau, Kenyah or Belian Dadas Dance used to be performed by the Dayak tribes when they went to battle or chopped up heads (mengayau) to add to their strength and magic power. The dance was also often performed by young men on reaching maturity. As a proof of his maturity a young man from the Dayak tribes must show his skill in handling weapons.

THE GANTAR DANCE

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The Gantar or Giring-Giring Dance is danced by men and women in pairs. The dancers wear beautiful regional dress and each carries one or two pieces of bamboo filled with grain. The long slender pieces of bamboo produce a sound when they are moved, and it is this sound that determines the rhythm. The accompanying music is usually a simple string-instrument. Sometimes an accordion or piano is used. The Gantar Dance is a dance offered to the Goddess of Rice and held after harvest as a token of gratitude. Formerly, after this performance the dancers would stab a buffalo prepared for the occasion. It was believed that the more blood coming from the buffalo, the stronger the rice to be planted.

The religious or ritual dances in Kalimantan may now be performed at any time, Purely for the enjoyment of the spectators.