Asyik
Encyclopedia
Asyik is a classical royal court dance popular in Patani and Kelantan
. According to Hikayat Patani
, the dance was created in 1644 to entertain the grieving Ratu Kuning over the loss of her favorite bird. The dance’s name "the beloved" could have been referring to the lost bird.
The performance begins with ten beautifully costumed dancers entering the dancing hall and sitting gracefully. The prima donna, also known as Puteri Asyik ("the princess of love") will then appear and the dance begins with gracious and delicate body movements and gestures.
The orchestra of the dance consists of eleven types of gedombak asyik (a small drum
), gambang (a xylophone
-like instrument, usually made of slabs of wood or bronze), and a rebab (a bowed lute
).
Although it begins as a court dance, over the time, the dance became popular among common people and used as folk entertainment during festivals and marriages.
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
. According to Hikayat Patani
Hikayat Patani
The Hikayat Patani, or Story of Patani, is a tale that chronicles the history and legends of the Sultanate of Patani, a small Malay-speaking kingdom located on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula...
, the dance was created in 1644 to entertain the grieving Ratu Kuning over the loss of her favorite bird. The dance’s name "the beloved" could have been referring to the lost bird.
The performance begins with ten beautifully costumed dancers entering the dancing hall and sitting gracefully. The prima donna, also known as Puteri Asyik ("the princess of love") will then appear and the dance begins with gracious and delicate body movements and gestures.
The orchestra of the dance consists of eleven types of gedombak asyik (a small drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
), gambang (a xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
-like instrument, usually made of slabs of wood or bronze), and a rebab (a bowed lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
).
Although it begins as a court dance, over the time, the dance became popular among common people and used as folk entertainment during festivals and marriages.