Kedah is a flat plain except for Gunung Jerai. It was easy for the Japanese to capture Kedah. I visited Kedah to see for myself, and true enough, Kedah is as flat as a pancake and very easy to capture. Even the roads are straight. I passed by the aerodrome and thought for a second, this must be where things happened.
This is the account of the battle that occurred in Kedah:
http://www.fepow-community.org.uk/arthur_lane/Percivals_Report/html/battle_for_kedah.htm
There's mention of Singora, Jitra, Changlun, etc.
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Malaysian traditional dances
When we look at the Malaysian traditional dances, we can see that they resemble a lot of dances throughout Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Why?
A lot of the dances are about another world, the world of fairy princes and princesses, of beasts and spirits, and many have to do with nature - the sea, waterfall, caves, rock forms, big trees, etc. Why?
Are we superstitious? Must we be superstitious?
Sometimes the dances are nice to watch, sometimes it is hard to believe that that is what the people truly believe in. Sometimes it makes us wonder, whether people ever stop and leave the unseen alone or they live with it.
Does superstition govern what the Malays believe in and what they do? Yes, most of the time. Why?
Are the dancers drugged before the dances? No, not that I know of. But in some dances, they appear as if drugged. How do we tell?
Dancing all night long and not stopping may point to drug consumption prior to the dances. A normal Malay dance will tire the dancer easily and an hour is sufficient to force a traditional dancer to rest.
Do the Malays mix drugs and dancing? I don't know. Well, if I see people dancing like the flickering candle-light, like jello or worms on ambers, I would suspect some drug consumption by the dancers. If they do weird dance steps unlike the normal ones, then maybe too, they are on drugs. Sometimes the dancers look like they are in a trance. Why? How is this possible without drugs?
Is it easy to get up and dance a Malay dance? In school, we were forced to dance, like it or not, or we get the feather duster caning on our lazy legs. Nobody wants to dance for nothing in public. But at international festivals, Malaysian students dance for Malaysia.
Will Malaysians dance and not mix drugs and dance? I think that is the best way to go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mak_yong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulek_Mayang
A lot of the dances are about another world, the world of fairy princes and princesses, of beasts and spirits, and many have to do with nature - the sea, waterfall, caves, rock forms, big trees, etc. Why?
Are we superstitious? Must we be superstitious?
Sometimes the dances are nice to watch, sometimes it is hard to believe that that is what the people truly believe in. Sometimes it makes us wonder, whether people ever stop and leave the unseen alone or they live with it.
Does superstition govern what the Malays believe in and what they do? Yes, most of the time. Why?
Are the dancers drugged before the dances? No, not that I know of. But in some dances, they appear as if drugged. How do we tell?
Dancing all night long and not stopping may point to drug consumption prior to the dances. A normal Malay dance will tire the dancer easily and an hour is sufficient to force a traditional dancer to rest.
Do the Malays mix drugs and dancing? I don't know. Well, if I see people dancing like the flickering candle-light, like jello or worms on ambers, I would suspect some drug consumption by the dancers. If they do weird dance steps unlike the normal ones, then maybe too, they are on drugs. Sometimes the dancers look like they are in a trance. Why? How is this possible without drugs?
Is it easy to get up and dance a Malay dance? In school, we were forced to dance, like it or not, or we get the feather duster caning on our lazy legs. Nobody wants to dance for nothing in public. But at international festivals, Malaysian students dance for Malaysia.
Will Malaysians dance and not mix drugs and dance? I think that is the best way to go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mak_yong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulek_Mayang
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
