FOLK DANCES IN ASIA

This is all about, the world’s famous folk dances. Watching the shows gave us a glimpse of the
people in different countries and how beautiful their culture. I was mesmerized by their lovely
performances and dresses. Aside from that, it seems I traveled all around the world.

Malaysia
The wau bulan is an intricately designed Malaysian moon-kite that is traditionally flown by men
in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. It’s one of the Malaysia’s national symbols. Its gracefully
flight is portrayed in a folk dance which symbolizes the soaring spirit of its youth.

Thailand
Thailand is a culturally-diverse nation. The Loy Krathnong held on the full moon of the 12th
month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the Western calendar this usually falls in
November. Is a much celebrated offering festival in the predominantly-Buddhist of the country.
The south, represented by a fan dance Rabum Taree Geepus has its strong link to nearby
Malaysia is chiefly Islamic in faith and culture.

Indonesia
Indonesia has around 300 ethnic groups, each with cultural differences developed over
centuries, and influenced by Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Malay, and European sources. Traditional
Javanese, Minangkabau and Balinese dances, for example, typify strong contrasts of culture
among the component islands of the archipelago.

Singapore
Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse, a mixture of an ethnic Malay population with a
Chinese majority, as well as Indian and Arab immigrants. There also exist significant Eurasian
and Peranakan communities. Despite the diversity, the various ethnic groups have strived to
unite into a harmonious nation.
Timor-Leste
According to a legend, an old crocodile and a boy as his close friend set off for the east, and
they traveled the oceans for years searching for the place of the rising sun. as the crocodile
died, he grew and grew, and his ridged back became the mountains and his scale the hills of
Timor Lorosae, the young nation of Timor-Leste.

Vietnam
The non la, the conical hat of palm leaves has a sort of informal Vietnamese national symbol of
charm that is recognized worldwide. It is the non la which gives shelter to the Vietnamese
ladies’ blushing cheeks like a crowing bud protected from sun, rain or rough wind.

Brunei Darussalam
There is a wide array of native folk music, and dance. Brunei shares some cultural perspectives
and links with the countries of South Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and
Philippines. The strong Islamic influence means that dance performances and music are
somewhat restricted. One folk dance is the Adai Adai which performed to a group work song
sung by fisher people while they fished.

Laos
The Traditional Lao dance is called the lum vong. All the dancers form a circle. The size of the
circle depends on the song being played, the lam or morlam. All the dancers will move in a
circular way repeating the circle until the song stops. The circle and the dance are varying
coordinated and oriented. Despite the complexity of the fingers, this is one of the easiest
dances of Southeast Asia that even a non-Lao can perform.

Myanmar
Thing water Festival marks the start of the Burmese lunar calendar New Year, which occurs in
mid-April at the height of summer heat. The Festival is celebrated with water as a symbol of the
flow of time, washing away past misdeeds to provide spiritual renewal, and greeting the up-
coming monsoon to bring a bountiful new beginning. This three-day festival in Burma is
celebrated with splashing water, the performances, courtship, general good cheer and dancing
which is preceded by the jolly joker dance of the old bachelor U Shwe Yoe and his lady love Daw
Moe.
Cambodia
The Kingdom of Cambodia is dominated by the imposing temple of Angkor Wat and the
Mekong River and the Tonle’ Sap (the fresh water lake), an important source of fish and
paddies for the growing of rice. Majority of its population are the Khmer traditionally
represented by the checkered cloth called the kroma. There is a considerable number of
Muslim Charms who are easily identified by their traditional dresses resembling those worn by
the Malays.

Philippines
The Spaniards used religion as an excuse to capture Filipino’s hearts and minds, the Americans
redirected the Filipino way of thinking through education. Because of these, the Filipino have
neglected and set their own Malay-based culture and identify, making the country a chiefly
westernized country in the whole of the ASEAN. The existing folk music and dances are
evidences of such redirection.