Rodat is an Indonesian and Malay folk dance believed to have originated from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and was spread to the

Indonesian archipelago The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands. History ...

by the Acehnese traders in the beginning of 19th century. Rodat may have been the combination of two words ''hadrat'' ''Baghdad'' which means zikir (songs in praise of Allah and

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

)

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. Until the 1900s, Rodat was performed in all males groups with the original style of singing zikir with rebana accompaniment to celebrate Muhammad’s birthday and Malay weddings. However, by 1930, the dancing part was included and performed by transvestite dancers which were later replaced by the women dancers after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. With the addition of dancing and singing of popular Malay and Hindustani tunes and female dancers, the performance became popular at secular events such as the harvest celebration, Sultan’s birthday and festivities for Malaysian National Day. A Rodat performance involves singing of 8 to 12 verses from the ''Kitab Zikir'' (book of Zikir) which is filled with advice, customs, fun, contemplation and awareness, in responsorial style between the male and female groups of chorus members, and is accompanied by the rhythmic patterns of the

Rebana The rebana or terbangan is a tambourine that is used in Islamic devotional music in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. The sound of the rebana often accompany Islamic ritual such as the zikir. The name ...

drum. The number of performers ranges from 20 to 26 and consisted of three separate group of performers: ''pelenggok'' (12 male dancers), ''pengadi'' (eight drummers) and ''mak inang'' (four to six female dancers). The basic dance movements are divided into sitting-kneeling, a combination of squatting and standing (performed mainly by male dancers) and standing movements.

References

{{Dance of Indonesia Indonesian culture Dances of Indonesia Malay culture Malay dances

See also

References