SAMAN: The Magical Dance

Harmonizing the rhythm of strikes to the hands, chest, thighs, floor, and also body movements in the midst of religious lyrics citing.

The humidity sets in immediately upon entering the Meurah Silu Hall of Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh; one night on last of May. A number of air conditioner attached on several corners was silent with no coolness. Nobody knows if they were deliberately turned down to save the energy, or the available power was just unable to simultaneously light and cool the hall. In that state, even sitting still already brought sweat down the body, moreover to do fast movements on a wooden floored stage.

However, that was exactly what eight teenage girls in hijjab did on that stage. The heat in the hall located on the third floor did not cease their movements. Those girls sat cross-legged in one row, but not motionless. They moved their hands, shoulders, and heads rhythmically. At first it was soft movements following the lyrics chanted by one of the girls at the center of the row. The lyrics contain praises to Allah, tribute to the audience (there were no audience), and the teachings to do good deeds. The lyrics are actually short, but was chanted with certain rhythm and repeated over and over; making one line of lyrics to be done in several minutes.

As the lyrics chants went faster, the hand strikes of the girls also become fast. They bend left and right, stroke their hand with the person next to them, striking their upper left and right chest, striking their thighs, striking the wooden floor (that was probably why the stage floor was made of wood), and shook their head to the left, right, front, and back. That is the Saman.

“Saman means eight. Usually it is carried out by eight dancers, but there are also more. Commonly in odd numbers, because one of them must be the lyrics chanter,” revealed Bira Agustin (24). The fair-skin man is a saman dancer who that night served as the dance coach for the Malikussaleh University of Lhokseumawe students to perform in an art and culture event.

The lyrics and movements in Saman dance, explained Bira, could also distribute religious messages. In the rhythmic movements there are several mandatory movements and there are those modified with modern moves. In the progress, Saman has been improvised in a way that it has become different with the basic Saman movements introduced in Gayo of Central Aceh.

Bira has been studying Saman since 2001 when he was still a member of the Cut Meutia Art Studio in Pendopo Bupati Aceh Utara. It was M Rizal who introduced him to Saman dance and several other dances. They were not just Acehnese, but also dances from other regions in Indonesia. In his numbers of cultural visits to various cities in and out of Indonesia, Bira feels his competence in performing dances other than Saman to be very useful.

On the hands of M Rizal, tens – even maybe hundreds - of dance artists in the wester and eastern parts of Aceh have been produced. Unfortunately, when visited to the Pendopo Bupati Aceh Utara in Lhokseumawe, it is said that M Rizal has now reside in Banda Aceh, along with the fading of support to the dance art development from Northern Aceh District government.

Bira who is now finishing his thesis at the Tarbiyah Faculty of English Major at the Malikussaleh National Islamic Academy (STAIN); is trusted to coach at the Ratu Malikah Nur Ilah Dance Studio that comprise of 15 dancers and eight musician. Whether there is an event or not, they continuously practice daily, except for Saturdays and Sundays, or when the students have exams at their campus. That is why, they not only learn Saman, but also several other Acehnese dances such as the Poh Kipah, Likok Pulo, Ranup Lam Puan, and some dances from out of Aceh such as Serampang Dua-Belas.
“Although, when performing out of the region, Saman and Seudati dances are the most appreciated by the audience. Maybe because those two dances are the most popular,” said Bira.

Maybe that is not the only reason. Saman has also become an amazing performance because of the uniformed and swift movements; making it seems smagical. The harmonization of strikes to the hands, chest, thighs, and also the stage floor, plus the body movements are those that captivate the audience; resulting in a prolonged ovation after the performance. The audience does not seem to care much for the lyrics chanted in the Gayonese language they don’t understand (although in some performance, the lyrics can also be presented in English or any other language as requested).
In the cultural activity of Peyasan Pase in Northern Aceh, 11 Saman dancers brought the lyrics chant in Gayonese language that is not understood by most of the audience, but the entire attendance seemed to have been cast under a spell, thus not moving their concentration from the stage. And at the end, with no delay, they immediately stood up and gave a standing and loud ovation.

The Saman dance that has always been the favorite show at the Peyasan Pase, was performed by 11 Saman dancers dressed in traditional Gayonese costumes dominant with red and black colors. The motives of clothes they have on are similar to the Batak Ulos from Northern Sumatra and Tana Toraja ofSouthern Sulawesi. Those Saman dancers are from the Rempelih Gayo Studio of the Gayo Luew District, Aceh Province. According to Samsul Bahri, the head of the Rempelih Gayo Studio, dancing Saman is like everyday meal to his pupils. Dancing can be done anytime and anywhere, so it comes off as no burden. It is no wonder that Rempelih Gayo was successful in becoming the best performed dance group in 2005, 2006 and 2007 at the Tourism Festival in Jakarta.

“They only take breaks for praying and eating,” added Alamsyah Ariga (24), the head of Seulawet Art Studio of IAIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh.

Saman dance has also been known since the 14th century. The lyrics that is chanted to accompany the dance – also a term in Saman – are mostly in Gayonese. Word is that the dance was invented and developed by an Islamic Religious Figure namely Syekh Saman. Saman dance is the evolution from the dance art originally called the “Pok Pok Ane” which was the lyrics chant accompanied by strikes to the hands, chest, and thighs. Syekh Saman then beautifies the Pok Pok Ane dance by various movements like the now well-known Saman dance.

According to Alamsyah, Saman is one of the media to spread religious advices. The dance itself reflects education, divinity, politeness, heroism, harmony, and togetherness. “At times of yielding the pddy-field, or when celebrating Islamic religious days such as the Birth of Prophet Muhammad, Aidil Fitr or Aidh Adh, Saman competition is often held.”

He explains that Saman can be divided into two important parts which are the lyrics chanted by the Sheik and the dance movements. The opening of lyrics chant is usually the rengum, which is the opening or beginning of the Saman dance. “Rengum usually contains the greeting or praises to Allah and Prophet Muhammad,” Alamsyah said.

Rengum is usually followed by dering, which is the chanting of lyrics by the sheikh that is repeated by the dancers, making it seems like a continuous call-outs. The dancer at the middle of the row often answers the chanting with short sounds call the redet. And then there is the syae, that is the song sung by a dancer with highpitched voice, usually as a sign for movement changes. Lastly, the chant is repeated by the entire dancers and that is called the saur.
The movements in Saman use two main motion elements; strikes to the hands and strikes to the chest. That is why in Rempelih Gayo Studio, Samsul Bahri does not accept girls, for there is the chest strike movement. Several regions try to combine male and female dancers or play the rapai (hand percussions) to accompany the Saman dance. “We don’t want to do those also. We maintain the true Gayonese Saman to keep its originality preserved,” affirmed Samsul Bahri.
Saman is a traditional dance of the Gayonese people that can be said as the secluded society in the Aceh Province. The people in Garo region such as the Central Aceh, Bener Meriah, Gayoe Lues, and several other regions, uses Gayonese language in their daily routines. Gayonese language is very much different from the Acehnese language used by the coastal people. For instance, Bireuen District that is only two hours land trip away from Takengon, the capital of Cental Aceh, has a different language. Not just language, but the cultures in specific also differ.

However, Saman dance also evolves outside of Gayo. The coastal Acehnese societies such as those in Lhokseumawe and Northern Aceh also study and perform the Saman dance. Bira Agustin (24), one of the dancers who is now coaching the Saman, admitted to have been performing the Saman dance in Medan, Padang, Riau, Batam, Manado, Jakarta, NTT, Bali, and Semarang. Bira has also introduced Saman dance to foreign countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Australia, and Malaysia. “For Malaysia even, we perform Saman almost every year, besides Seudati that is also very famous abroad,” said the STAIN Malikussaleh Lhokseumawe student.

Alamsyah Ariga (24) has another view on the Saman that is widely known especially outside of Aceh. According to Alamsyah, the people outside only knows the Daman dance, so many other dances those are similar are also called the same. “They could well be Likok Pulo or Rapai Geleng dances, but since they are performed by dancers from Aceh then it is called the Saman. When actually, the real Saman dance originated from Gayo,” he elaborated. He revealed that Saman dance has now been very much improved with modern dance, whether in lyrics or movements. However, he wishes that such does not eliminate the originality of Saman dance from the Gayo region. “Saman is not just a dance, but it is also the media to spread religious advices for Gayonese people. It has also become the event of socializing amongst dancers and also between dancers and the audience,” he added.

It is a certain pride for Alamsyah when Saman becomes global society’s cultural wealth. That is why he highly supports Unesco’s effort in achieving patent for Saman as the traditional dance of Gayonese society that has become a part of global culture. “I also dream that one day there would be Saman dance schools in foreign countries,” he smiled. The young man has also been performing Saman in various major cities in Indonesia, and also in Malaysia, China, and the United States of America. “By the end of June we will also perform again in China,” he confirmed.

Teks by Ayi Jufridar
Source: arti special edition, 2010.