Ireng mask dance also known as Topeng Ireng or Dayakan ( jv, ꦠꦺꦴꦥꦺꦁꦲꦶꦉꦁ) is a traditional Javanese art that developed in

Magelang Regency Magelang ( jv, ꦩꦒꦼꦭꦁ) is a regency in Central Java, Indonesia, famous for its 9th century Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Its capital is Mungkid. It covers an area of 1,085.73 km2 and had a population of 1,181,723 at the 2010 Cens ...

, Central Java,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The main attraction of the Ireng mask art lies in the costumes of the dancers, which are almost similar to the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

tribes in America or the Dayak tribes in Kalimantan. Colorful feather decorations similar to the crowns of Indian chiefs adorn the heads of each dancer. Likewise with the feather crown, the makeup of the dancers and the clothes of the dancers are also like Indian. Tufted and full of cheerful colors. Meanwhile, the lower part of the costume is like the Dayak clothing, the fringed skirt. For footwear, they usually wear gladiator shoes or boots with rolling bracelets, which are almost 200 pieces per player and make a clattering noise with every movement. Each Ireng mask dance performance will be noisy accompanied by various sounds. Starting from the sound of footsteps that cause a prolonged clatter, the screams of the dancers, the sound of the accompanying music, to the voices of the singers and the audience. Songs in Javanese Salawat /

Qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...

dangdut Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian folk music that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic and to lesser extent, Malay and local folk music. Dangdut is a most popular musical genre in Indonesia and a very popular in other Malay w ...

are the characteristics of the accompaniment of this dance performance. The musical instruments used to accompany Topeng Ireng performances are very simple, such as

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

kendang Kendang or Gendang ( jv, ꦏꦼꦤ꧀ꦝꦁ, translit=Kendhang, su, ᮊᮨᮔ᮪ᮓᮀ, translit=Kendang, ban, ᬓᬾᬦ᭄ᬤᬂ, translit=Kendang, Tausug/ Bajau Maranao: ''Gandang'', Bugis: ''Gendrang'' and Makassar: ''Gandrang'' or ''Ganr ...

suling The suling or seruling ( Sundanese: ) is a musical instrument of the Sundanese people in western Java, Indonesia. It is used in the Degung ensemble. Bamboo ring flute can also be found in Southeast Asian, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Mal ...

, and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. The rhythmic music created will blend with the movements and screams of the dancers so that the Topeng Ireng performance looks attractive, full of dynamism and religion. Usually the dancers consist of 10 people or more and form a square or circular formation with body dance movements that are not too complex. The dancers also look very expressive in performing their dances.

References

{{Dance of Indonesia Dances of Indonesia

See also

References