Earliest dance forms
The Mah Meri (of the Senoi group) don beatiful, skilfully carved wooden masks during their dances and other ceremonies.
The oldest dance traditions in Peninsula Malaysia belong to the Orang Asli. This lively indigenous performance tradition was thriving before the coming of other Malay peoples into the land. The early Malay dances are manifestations of the ancient harmonious relationship between the Orang Asli and nature. They feature dance idioms that reflect the flora, fauna and their habitat. Dance fulfils ceremonial, social, and in some instances, healing functions within these indigenous Malay communities.
- Information in the full article includes
- Dance and the natural environment
- Dance in the rainforest
- Dance of the proto-Malays