Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

364
CULTIVATION
over we sat in groups and conversed till nightfall, when
our unsophisticated orchestra struck up its liveliest air,
and the business of the evening (dancing and singing)
commenced in real earnest. The performance was
strictly choral (in the old Greek sense of the word), and
the names of the airs (and their accompanying dances)
which were performed were as follows :— (i) " Radin,"
or "The Prince"; (2) " Gubang Laut," or "The
Pirateer"; (3) " Pukol Baling"; (4) " Ingkau Badan,"
the two last being tunes of the Bajau or Malayan
pirates, with whom the Besisi claim kinship. A little
later, after an interval for song-dances of the mimetic
type (viz. the "Siamang," " Bangkong," and " Gagau "),
the women, after considerable pressing, were induced
to join the entertainment and perform certain dances
called (i) the " P'rang," or the war-dance; (2) the
" Bengkalis";^and(3)the " Kopak " (the latter^of which
was said to be a purely Jakun air), the men doing the
actual dancing. Generally speaking, the motions of
the dancers were much freer than is the case with
the Malays ;
indeed, some of the dances, such as the
" Pirateer" (or " Gubang"), grew almost furious, and
roused great enthusiasm on the part of the audience.
The " Siamang " and its companion pieces, on the
other hand, were really acted in character by men of
the tribe, the actor repeating the words of the poem
after the Batin or tribal chief, and suiting his gestures
to the words as he did so. Some of this acting was
particularly clever.
I may add that the full dancing dress of the Jakun
on these occasions consisted of woven strips of " serdang"
(palm) leaves, which were made up into (i) a
' The name of an island oft" the believe, of a fish after which the island
opposite coast of Sumatra, and also, I was named.