Wutukala dance is one of the traditional dances of the Moy people in West Papua. This dance describes the activities of the community when hunting fish. Usually this dance is performed in groups or in pairs between male dancers and female dancers. The Wutukala dance is one of the most well-known traditional dances in West Papua, especially in the Sorong coastal area where the Moy people live. This dance is usually performed at various traditional ceremonial events there.
The History of Wutukala Dance
Wutukala dance is a dance that depicts the activities of the Moy tribe when fishing. Moy tribe itself is one of the tribes that live in the coastal region of Sorong, West Papua. Since a long time ago most of the people there were living as fishermen or fish hunters. Historically, in ancient times the Moy people only used spears as tools to search for fish.
But along with the more difficult to find fish with these tools, they then use tuba root powder to facilitate them in finding fish. This tuba root powder is used because it contains a kind of mild poison that makes the fish dizzy and easy to catch. How to find fish later became a tradition in the Moy Tribe community and to commemorate the innovation, they poured in a dance called the Wutukala Dance.
Function and Meaning of Wutukala Dance
Wutukala dance is functioned to appreciate the development and innovation that they do in their livelihood as fishermen from time to time. In addition, this dance is also interpreted as an expression of gratitude for the abundance of blessings that they get from innovation and livelihood development.
Wutukala dance performance
Wutukala dance is usually performed by male dancers and female dancers. The number of Wutukala dancers usually consists of 5-6 pairs of male and female dancers. In the show, dancers use traditional clothing and dancing equipment such as spears for male dancers and noken (fish container bags) used by female dancers. Accompanied by accompaniment of songs and music accompanying dancers to dance with a unique and cheerful movements.
This movement in Wutukala Dance depicts community activities when hunting fish. The movement is like the movement of catching fish with a spear by male dancers and the movement of catching catches by female dancers. The movements in Wutukala Dance are quite varied and each movement certainly has its own meaning in it.
Wutukala Dance accompanist
Wutukala dance performances are usually accompanied by traditional Tifa music. In addition there are also some who add some musical instruments such as guitar, bass, ukulele and others to make it more interesting. In addition to accompaniment music, Wutukala Dance is also accompanied by folk songs that illustrate the joy and gratitude of the community. The accompaniment of the accompanying music would certainly be adjusted to the songs.
Wutukala Dance Costumes
the costumes used by dancers in the Wutukala Dance performance are usually traditional clothing. In male dancers usually only wear clothes such as skirts made of roots and leaves attached to their waists. While on the head, male dancers use head coverings made of Cendrawasih feathers. In addition, their body parts are also colored with black and white ethnic paintings. For female dancers usually use clothes that are almost the same as male dancers but are more adapted.
The Development of the Wutukala Dance
In its development, Wutukala Dance is still being preserved and developed by the people there. Various creations and variations are also often added in each show, both in terms of motion, costumes, and accompaniment to make it look attractive. Besides this dance is not only performed in traditional ceremonial, but also often performed in various cultural events such as art shows, cultural festivals, and tourism promotion. This is certainly done as part of preservation efforts and introduce to the younger generation and the wider community of the culture they have.
This is our information about traditional dances from West Papua called Wutukala Dance. Hopefully this will be useful and will broaden your horizons about traditional Indonesian traditional culture. So, do you intend to spend a wonderful vacation to the West Papua region?
