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FOLK DANCE FORM: Kuda Kepang
 

Kuda Kepang Dancers
Photo credits: TDC Malaysia

Kuda kepang, a hobby horse trance dance popular in the state of Johor, is accompanied by a percussion ensemble consisting of 2 drums, a hanging gong, a pair of knobbed gongs (kenong) on a rectangular wooden frame, and 5 angklung or bamboo tubular chimes (Mohd. Ghouse 1992).

It tells the story of nine Javanese men who spread Islam into the interiors of Java. To catch people's attention, these men rode on horseback and dramatised tales of battles won for Islam. The dance is performed by nine dancers who sit on two dimensional horses made of hide. (TDC Malaysia 1996)

 

Music

Audio Examples (MIDI  format)
Kuda Kepang