Tarian Etnik 1 : Ngajat Iban

Ngajat Iban

The origin of this indigenous dance is not clearly known but it is believed to have been in existence along with the Iban tribe since the 16th Century. The Ngajat dance is believed to have been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most important harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses and so on.
The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but not anymore.
The dance is arranged straight lines and in a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers.
Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak or ketebong’ provide the music. The musicians may be either male or female.

How To Learn Ngajat Dance

The two-month ngajat class is organised by the Women’s Wing of Dayak Association Miri (DAM) and is conducted by a ngajat expert, Phyllis Muda, every Tuesday and Wednesday at the 3rd Floor of Rumah Dayak, Jalan Merpati here.
Entry fee is RM30 per person.
There is also a ‘betabuh’ class at the same building every Monday and Thursday.
Participation fee is RM50 per group.
The classes are aimed at enabling the younger generation to further enrich their lives by knowing more about the betabuh and the ngajat for their lifelong skills, and to preserve and value the uniqueness of the Iban cultural dance and music instruments.
Jacqueline hoped Iban children would take the step to master the dance and learn the ‘betabuh’as early as they could so as to keep their unique culture alive.
For enquiries on the classes, call Rumah Dayak at 085-435467, organising chairlady Jacqueline Selaka (085-653670/013-8482446, Caroline Lung (019-3623627/429409), organising Juliana Esah (611785/013-8378485), Betty Pan (012-8719778) and Cherenie Gisang (019-8748126).

Jenis-Jenis Ngajat

Tarian Ngajat sangat popular dalam kalangan orang Iban di Sarawak.
Tarian Ngajat terdiri daripada beberapa jenis, antaranya ialah:-
Ngajat Induk
Ngajat Bebunoh
Ngajat Lesong
Ngajat Semain
Ngajat Berayah
Ngajat ““Ngemai antu pala”
Ngajat bagi orang-orang Iban ialah tarian semasa menyambut Hari Gawai orang-orang Iban sebelum berperang dan selepas musim menuai. Pada zaman dahulu tarian tersebut ditarikan selepas mereka kembali dari berperang.
Penari akan memakai pakaian tradisi seperti 'sirat', 'gagung' atau baju burung. Penari juga memakai topi yang dihias dengan bulu-bulu burung. Gagung merupakan sejenis baju yang tebal dan keras yang diperbuat daripada kulit haiwan seperti kulit beruang tetapi tidak dijahit kiri dan kanannya.
Tarian ini ditarikan dengan berdiri atas bulatan langsaran ke atas dan ke bawah, penari akan melompat bersama iringan lagu. Setiap rentak yang dimainkan adalah bersesuaian dengan upacaranya. Bagi Gawai Sandau Ari, gendang Rayah dimainkan untuk tetamu kehormat dan orang yang menyambut gawai untuk ber'Rayah' sambil membawa tengkorak musuh.
Satu lagi jenis tarian ini ialah penari akan memegang perisai kayu di tangan kiri dan pedang di tangan kanan lalu menari seperti berdepan dengan musuh dengan menghayunkan badannya ke kiri dan ke kanan.
Lagu iringan dibunyikan daripada alat-alat seperti gong besar dan kecil, gendang, tawak, bebendai, engkurumong dan sapeh, iaitu alat bertali seperti gitar.

Video Ngajat Iban (Dari Youtube)