Nadia Siregar Master of Papuan Traditional Dance

Nadia Siregar Master Tarian Tradisional Papua

by Charles Roring

Nadia Siregar, an Indonesian girl, began learning Papuan traditional dance in 1993 when she was still at grade 3 of elementary school. She likes dancing because she sees that Papua island has many tribes and every tribe has its own unique cultural characteristics. “They are very interesting but I only want to focus on the traditional dance,” she said.

National and International Performance

Nadia is now a member of IRIANTOS Dance Group. Its chairman is George Wellem Yomaki. Their dance group has 30 members. Together with this group, Nadia has traveled across the country and even abroad to perform various Papuan dances. Some of the festivals where she and her friends performed were:

·         Papuan Art Festival in Biak island in 2002

·         Multicultural Festival in Australia from 14-18 February 2004

·         Dance performance in Korror city of Palau islands in 2004

·         Theater Performance on the Exiled and Virtual Body in Makassar city from 10 to 11 August 2007

·         Monolog Performance of Makkunrai Project at the Societet de Harmoni building of Makassar city celebrating Kartini Day on 1 May 2008

·         Nusantara Cultural Carnival in Jembrana Bali in September 2008

·         President and Vice President of Indonesia’s Campaign Declaration at the Monument of Proclamation in February 2009

·         Festival of Folk Theater Media on national level in Malang city of East Java, 30-31 May 2009

·         Nusantara Cultural Festival at the State Palace of Jakarta on 18 August 2009

As a Dance Teacher that inspires other youths

Nadia Siregar’s national and international performances’ have attracted a lot of youth to learn dancing from her. They admire her because she can perform Papuan traditional dance although she is not an indigenous Papuan. They asked her to teach them dancing. Some of them were non Papuan whereas others were Papuan. Before this, very few non-Papuan youth learned Papuan dances. Now Nadia’s achievements have inspired many non-Papuan and Papuan youths to also study them.

On the afternoons she teaches dancing to Papuan and Indonesian teens both at her home and at the secretariat of their IRIANTOS Dance Group.

“For beginners, I teach them basic movements, body movements and various dancing patterns. Actually, I have taught dancing since I was in elementary school. My mother took me to mothers’ meeting in KODIM and asked me to teach them how to perform such Papuan dances as Yospan and Sajojo.”

These youths want to be like her travelling across the country and abroad to perform Papuan dances. As a result, some of them have now become the members of the IRIANTOS dance group. Before this, they thought that only indigenous Papuan that could learn and perform the traditional Papuan dance. Now they are more confident that they can also perform it.

The response from the senior members of the IRIANTOS dance group is very positive. They welcome the new Indonesian dancers.

Preparing for the next performance

Nadia and her Iriantos Dance Group are busy practicing for the next event. They will be performing theatrical dance on 5 December 2009 commemorating the HIV/ AIDS day.

Her favorite dance

Nadia can perform many kinds of dances but one of her favorites is Tifa dance ( Rii Piiworotu dance). It is originally from Wandama Region especially from Wontuboi village. The dance depicts the story about how the big families of Yomaki were formed.

Once upon a time there was a man named Mamberaki who was the ancestor of Yomaki clan. He showed up when there as a big flood. He brought 3 sacred things. They were Piiworotu (kind of drum in East Indonesia), Revo (sacred book) and Tabura (kind of trumpet made of marine shell).

Carrying these articles, he came down from Mount Wontuboi to find survivors of the flood in the village. By blowing the Tabura, he was able to meet the survivors of the big flood. Then he showed the three articles to these survivors and began asking,” from these three things, which one do you prefer?” They rejected the sacred book and chose the Piiworotu because it had a beautiful form. In addition it had clear sound and beautiful ornaments.

So, the Piiworotu was used as communication equipment and as a traditional music instrument.

Challenges

It is not always easy to reach her current level of professionalism in dancing. She has to overcome many challenges. Some of them are:

·         Language barrier. Papuan has many tribal languages and she does not speak any of them. She can only understand some daily words in Biak language.

·         Criticism over her identity. People still criticize that the indigenous people should be the ones who perform the Papuan traditional dances and not a non-Papuan like her.

·         Open costume. Most of the costume that she wears during her performances is open. For her it is still acceptable as long as it does not violate morality.

Nadia and her family

Nadia has two sisters and one brother. The eldest sister is a doctor working in Jakarta. She is the second. The third sister is now studying Mathematics in the Institut Teknologi Surabaya. Her youngest brother studies in high school.  

All her sisters and brother and her parents support her activities in dancing. Her father works in Sipil Angkatan Laut. Nadia’s mother is the one who always accompanies her in many of her local performances. “Unfortunately, she cannot accompany me during my overseas performances.”

Nadia was born on the October 30, 1986. Her email address is nadia_siregar013@yahoo.com; She can be contacted at +62813 440 27397. She graduated from naval architecture department of Hassanudin University in 2008.