Joget ( Jawi: جوڬيت) is a traditional Malay

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

that originated in

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

in the colonial era. It was influenced by the Portuguese dance of Branyo which is believed to have been spread to Malacca during the

spice trade The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...

. In Malacca, joget dance is better known as ''Chakunchak''. The dance is one of the most popular folk dances in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

that is normally performed by couples in cultural festivals, weddings and other social functions. Joget gained popularity among the Malay community in Singapore after its introduction in 1942. The dance is of the Portuguese roots and is accompanied by an ensemble consisting of a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

, a knobbed

gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, a ''

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

'' (optional), and at least two ''

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 ...

'' or ''

gendang A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug/Bajau/ Maranao: ''gandang'', Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary ins ...

'' of

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...

. The tempo of Joget music is fairly quick, with a feeling of teasing and playing between the partners. The music emphasizes duple- and triple-beat division, both in alternation and simultaneously, and is sung in the northeast Malaysian style. One of the most popular types of Joget is called "Joget Lambak" which is usually performed by a large crowd together at social functions. In Indonesia, the term 'joget' is usually applied to any form of popular street dance, such as that to

dangdut Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian folk music that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic, and, to a lesser extent, Javanese, Malay, Minangkabau, Sundanese and local folk music. Dangdut is the most popular musical genre in Indon ...

music
Joget
an open source workflow software built in Malaysia, is named after this dance. Sri Lankan Kaffiringna music style and Joget has some related melodic variations. Both styles have a Portuguese influence, according to Sri Lankan musicologist Ruwin Dias.

References

{{reflist Malay dances Malay culture Culture of Malaysia