Sigale-gale dance is a traditional dance performed by a sculpture made of wood that resembles a human being. This dance comes from the province of North Sumatra is proud by the Batak Toba community. Sigale-gale has a graceful meaning. Sigale-gale can be said of Batak puppet art since hundreds of years ago.
The story of the gale-gale is about a boy who is very dear to his father. In the Batak tribe a boy in high regard, so that if in the family did not have a boy, it becomes an infamy for Batak tribe.
The atmosphere of the Sigale-gale puppet show is very interesting and entertaining. Imagine, a doll on the back consisting of two or three of these puppeteers will pull the anatomical rope paths. Dolls that reach up to one and a half meters are given a traditional Batak costume. In fact, all the elements of his movements in the show create the impression of a human model. His head can be turned to the right and left the side, his eyes and tongue can also move, both hands then move like human hands that can dance and lower his body lower, like squat while dancing. Yet all the movements are only on the coffin, which is where the Sigale-gale dolls are stored after being displayed or played.
Gale-gale dance also has its own story, in ancient times there was a king who lived in the region of Toba. The king has a son named Manggale. At that time there were still frequent wars between the kingdoms, therefore the king then ordered the Manggale's son to go to war. Manggale was killed during the war. The king also felt sad and very devastated over the departure of the only child, so that his health worsened.
One of the royal advisors gave advice to the king to make sculptures made of wood with a face resembling the child. When the statue is finished, a royal healer performs a ritual ceremony by blowing sordam and summoning the spirit of Manggale to be inserted into the statue. The health of the king was getting better when he saw the statue is similar to his son's face.
Until now, Sigale-Gale is still on the island of Samosir, North Sumatra and is still often played by using the music player. Sigale-Gale became one of the cultural icons in North Sumatra that still attract attention for visitors both locally and internationally. The meaning of single-gale dance for the local community is that something bad does not happen again and is also considered to be unlucky.
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