ART IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multilingual and a multi-racial society - consist of Malay, Chinese, Indian and more who living side by side forming a rich cultural country. The art and culture of Malaysia have been mixing since the beginning of the country's history. The art of Malaysia have also been influenced by the cultures of Persian, Arab and European.

Art

Malaysia has attempted to protect its traditional art forms facing the influence of the outside world. Mak yong is a traditional form of Malay drama. It is the show with sing, dance, and act out legend about sultans and princesses. It's followed by an orchestra called a ' Gamelan' with every show consisting mainly of metal percussion instruments including gongs, xylophones, and drums.

Other artistic forms include Wayang kulit. Wayang Kulit a traditional theater art. It is form by using puppets and shadow. The purpose this Wayang Kulit play is to tell the classic tales of the Ramayana. Bunga Malai or Garland Making is an integral part of the cultural tradition of Malaysian Indians for religious event like weddings, moving house, or welcoming an important guest. Silat is the stylized Malay Art of Self Protection. It combines a sequence of supple movements, which allows a person to protect himself. The Blow Pipe or Sumpit is used by the tribal people with their hunting skills. It is an integral part of military art. Crafts such as batik also popular in Malaysia especially in Kelantan. The lion dance also famous in Malaysia. It is usually performed during Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year.

The Legend Of Lion Dance

The beginnings of the lion dance are linked closely to the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations. It is said that in early times, a legendary person known as Nian terrified the China and eat greedily its people on the New Year. The only animal that managed to wound this monster was the lion. Thus, in an attempt to frighten the monster, the villagers decided to disguise the lion with lions made of cloth. According to this legend, the dance is believed to usher good fortune, as well as ward off evil spirits.

The Lion Dance

The lion dance calls for perfect co-ordination, elegance and nerves of steel. Two dancers are usually needed to give life to a "lion". The first person is to control the movements of the head, eyes and mouth and the other who is behind the first person is to act as the body of lion. The first dancer that controls the head decides the movements, while the second must work in tandem with him.

The lion dance also has close relations to kung fu. The dancers are usually members of the local kung fu club. They practice in their club and some train hard to master the skill.

The Lion's Head
This isn't a simple task as the lion's head, which is brilliantly decorated with feathers, fur and glitter, which is weighs from 9kg to 15kg. It is a significantly heavy load to hold uphill while moving energetically.

The head is usually make by peppier Mache and bamboo, complete with eyes that blink and a mouth that snaps. Therefore, the first dancer must have perfect co-ordination in spite of the burden.

The dancers are usually attract with gifts, usually is angpow (money in red packets) attached to a vegetable, which are tied to a pole. The pole is then placed at a door or a window. Then, the dancers would try to get these gifts, making it look as though the lion devours them.

The Joker
The lion dancers are accompanied by two other masked dancers who act as jokers. The dance is commonly performed to the beat of the tagu (Chinese drum) and the clanging of cymbals.

Different Style of Lion Dance

Lion Dance have two different style. That is the Northern Style and the Southern Cantonese Style.

Northern Style
In the north the lions usually appear in pairs. Northern lions usually have long, shaggy orange and yellow hair with either a red or green bow on its head to represent a male or female.
During a show, northern lions look like a Pekingese or Fu Dogs and movements are very life-like. Northern lions sometimes appear as a family, with two large "adult" lions and a pair of small "young lions". Ninghai, in Ningbo is called the "Homeland of the Lion Dance" for the northern variety.

Southern Cantonese Style
The homeland of the Southern Style is the Guangdong. The southern horned lions are believed to be Nian. The Cantonese style can be divided into Fat Shan (Buddha Mountain), Hok Shan (Crane Mountain), Fat-Hok (minor style that exhibits a hybrid of Fat Shan and Hok Shan), Jow Ga (minor style performed by practitioners of Jow family style kung fu, exampled by the Wong People), and the Green Lion (Qing1 Shi1 - popular with the Fukien/Hokkien and Taiwanese).

Lion Dance In Malaysia

The regal and brilliant lion leaps from pole to pole. It dances and moves with the hitting drum, clashing cymbals and gong from the percussion team. Sometimes it is sleepy and sometimes it is playful. This is reflected in the fluttering of its eyelids, the tilt of its head and the sway of its hips. It then pauses to retrieve the Cheng (typically a green vegetable) tied to a pole before making a big show of chewing it. After it is satisfied, it spews the remains of the Cheng to the audience. The amazing fact is the lion is actually formed by two dancers moving as one.

Malaysia as World-Class in Lion Dancing

With talented and fervent lion dance masters such as Master Siow and other patrons of this unique form of cultural art, it is no wonder that Malaysia is home to the best lion dance troupes in the world. In the recent 8th Genting World Lion Dance Championship, all three Malaysian teams bagged the Eastern Lion King award, the Champion, the 1st runner up and consolation prizes.

Summary

Now, lion dance is become famous in all country eventhough in Malaysia. Today, lion dance is a more sport-oriented activity. Lion dance is more for recreation than a way of living.