| Description |
The Ya Abang Dance, also mentioned as Yaa Abang, is famous in Perhentian Island, Besut, Terengganu. Originally it was a worship dance to summon the spirit of the sick and to uplift the spirit of an individual. However, today this dance is only meant for performance and entertainment. It is said that this dance started from a friendship story between Batin Mina and Mat Kemaman. Batin Mina was overcome by a heavy storm and couldn’t face it, thus was saved by Mat Kemaman. Batin Mina was indebted to Mat Kemaman thereby accepted him as her own sibling. To prove her words Batin Mina dared to drink water from the remnants of Mat Kemaman’s pieces of cloths. Hence, this dance is said to be in memory of the close relationship. This dance is simple and does not have many dance floor patterns. The number of dancers is not limited and the audience can participate too. The dance is accompanied by songs sung by a couple of quatrain singers of both sexes. The musical instruments are drums and gongs. The ladies dancers wear the baju kurung with shawl, while the men wear batik sarong with normal T-shirt only. |
