Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, a fire performance () is a group of performance arts or skills that involve the manipulation of fire. It includes using fire as a finale in an otherwise non-fire performance. Performances can be done as choreographed routines to music (this type being related to dance). Fire performance reflects Indonesia's diversity of ethnicities and cultures. There are more than 1,300 ethnic groups in Indonesia, each with its own performances.

Variations

''Pepe-Pepeka ri Makka''

''Pepe'-pepeka ri Makka'' is a traditional

Makassar Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...

fire dance originating from

South Sulawesi South Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province in the South Peninsula, Sulawesi, southern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital and largest ci ...

. The dance's name reveals its connection to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, which spread to the communities of South Sulawesi in the 17th century—''pepe'' means 'fire', ''ri'' means 'in', and ''Makka'' means '

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

' (symbolic of Islam in general). This definition can refer to the song lyrics performed by the dancer. The sung verses that accompany ''pepe'-pepeka ri Makka'' are believed to be the source of the dancers' strength. The dance's motion and poetry illustrate the story of

Ibrahim Ibrahim may refer to: * Ibrahim (name), including a list of people with the name ** Abraham in Islam * Ibrahim (surah), a surah of the Qur'an * ''Ibrahim'' (play) or ''Ibrahim The Illustrious Bassa'', a 1676 tragedy by Elkanah Settle, based on a ...

(Abraham) who, by

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

's will, made peace with fire.

Candle dance

The candle dance (, ) is a dance originating from

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

. It is performed by a group of dancers accompanied by a group of musicians. The dancers carry burning candles on plates while performing graceful movements that emphasize the dancer's elegance in the sparkling candlelight but do not let the candles fall or drip wax. The dance requires little movement, but full concentration. This dance contains drama and stories; for example, it can evoke the atmosphere of a group of village girls helping their friend to find a missing engagement ring.

''Zapin Api''

''Zapin Api'' (; Jawi: ) is a firedance technique of the classical Malay ''

zapin ''Zapin'' ( Jawi: زافين) is one of the most popular dance and musical forms in traditional Malay performing arts. Dance movements are choreographed to melodies, which are performed using musical instruments such as the gambus (short-necke ...

'' founded in Rupat,

Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...

, Indonesia. Legend says that Rupat was cursed under a series of catastrophes in the 1500s and a harmonious balance between all of the elements was needed to restore peace in the area. This led the islanders, under the leadership of Panglima Sage Dagendang, to seek the assistance from the ''Pawang Besar'' (Great Mystique) of four natural elements: earth, fire, wind, and water. The mystique agreed to their request and summoned the

jinns Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

(spirits) from each respective elements for reconciliation. All of the jinns accepted the invitation to meet with the mystique, except the fire spirit, who demanded that he would arrive only if a special celebration would be held for him. The fire spirit sets the rules for the performance—including its use of fire and the

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

that the mortals should abide by during the performance—thus creating the ''Zapin Api''. The performance has several strict rituals that must be adhered to by participants and spectators. All the dancers, musicians, and instruments are required to bathe in sacred water and a few days before the performance. The performance begins with participants reciting prayers and burning

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

. Then, the leader recites mantras with a Malay orchestra in the background to summon the spirits. Dancers accompany the orchestra, slowly adapting a spellbound position and drawn directly into the fire.

''Sanghyang''

''Sanghyang'' is a sacred pre-Hindu dance from Bali which aims to ward off evil. ''Sanghyang'' is a dance of spiritual communication between humans and the supernatural by singing songs of praise to the accompaniment of beats. In this dance there are always three important elements; ''api'' (fire), ''gending sanghyang'', and dancers. Common ''sanghyang'' dances include ''Sanghyang Dedari'', ''Sanghyang Deling'', ''Sanghyang Bojog'', ''Sanghyang Jaran'', ''Sanghyang Sampat'', and ''Sanghyang Bojog''. (Indonesian)

''Kecak''

''Kecak'' is a form of

Balinese Balinese may refer to: *Bali, an Indonesian island *Balinese art *Balinese dance *Balinese people *Balinese language *Nusa Penida Balinese * Bali Aga Balinese **Balinese script **Balinese (Unicode block) *Balinese mythology *Balinese cat, a cat bre ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

dance and music drama which depicts a battle story from the Hindu epic ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. ''Kecak'' is typically performed by about fifty to one hundred men arranged in concentric circles, and whose rhythmic chanting and movement quickens during the performance. Trance rituals often accompany certain sections of the ''kecak'' dance, such as during the portrayal of the burning of

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. Here, the dancer playing Hanuman is blessed by a priest and enters a trance state for the 'fire kicking dance' which follows. The dancer does not feel any pain from the fire because he is in a state of trance.

Gallery

File:Atraksi Sembur Api Reog Ponorogo.jpg, ''

Reog or () is a traditional Indonesian dance in an open arena that serves as folk entertainment and contains some magical elements. The main dancer is a lion-headed person with a peacock feather decoration, accompanied by several masked dancers an ...

'' fire dance File:DSC 1537 wikimedia2020 deni dahniel tradisi tari piriang kaco.jpg, ''Piring'' fire dance File:DSC00569-01.jpg, Javanese fire dance File:Tari tongkat api.jpg, ''Tongkat Api'' dance

References

Works cited

* * {{Indonesia topics Dance in Indonesia