Laolakhome dance (Jubi)
Berlin, 9/3 (Jubi) – An Papuan dance troupe attracted much attention when it performed Laolakhome dance from Tolikara at the Indonesian Pavilion at the world’s largest travel and tourism convention ITB Berlin in Germany on Saturday (8/3).
One of the Germans, Sabina Murgen, said after watching the performance that the dance immediately reminded her to a Cuba dance called Voodoo Cuban that contains magical powers and that . she wanted to visit Tolikara and would like to see it closer one day.
According to the dance team coordinator , Saulus Nare, Laolakhome did not contain any magical elements. It consisted of several elements, Wisisi ( dance), Tenggen Digwe (Bracelet Swap), incooperated with Yum Yege (AnyamNokens), Wim Ekwi (tribal war), Tenggen Wakwi (How to Make Fire), Gomo Kwe (calls War) and accompanied by the Wirinare song.
The dance tells a story about a traditional party/big event where all the young men and women from various villages gather. They party and dance with their own style, regardless of hometown origin.
The man and women stared at and then get to know each other. When evening comes, one man will become a “matchmaker” to connect the men and women. If a woman are attracted to ta man and/ or vice versa, there would be a bracelet exchange process. After the woman called the man’s name , then the matchmaker would go grab him and take to her. If it was found that the man likes the woman, then before taking her, he must give the bracelet to the woman’s family. If bracelets and other properties are not sufficient then his friends would support and help him until the request is fulfilled. After that, the woman can be brought together to go to sleep overnight in honai.
In the next morning, friends of the woman would calculate the treasures collected during the night and would announce them afterward. The treasures then were shared to her friends evenly.
However, if the meeting between the man and the woman at the party were unknow by parents . It means that both man and woman had made a secret arrangement without noticed by anyone. On the agreed date and month, the man would go to her hometown and take her with him.
If the parents did not know, one of the women from the village who saw them, would report to her mother that her daughter had been taken away by a man to his village.
If her mother was not successfully met, then it would be reported to the father, the family and the woman’s uncle. Then they would search for their daughter.
Then, there was a commotion as a man family did not want to return the woman back. As a result, fighting ensued. At the beginning they would fight with hands and other blunt object, but because the atmosphere was getting hotter, eventually they would use spears and arrows.
There fell a victim and the victim was about to be burned directly in place by using traditional way, with rattan and wood or bamboo, then the corpses burned.
Soon after that, they called for tribal war but the victim’s family tolerated one to two months, so that the offender pay compensation / pay-head. It means to pay the required form of pigs, stone axes and kobawi (money). This payment instrument is similar when paying dowry. (Jubi / Albert/ Tina )
