Keeping Johor zapin dance alive

By Nurul Izzati Mansor

JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 28  -- The zapin dance is so synonymous with the identity of the state of Johor that the dance has become a must in every celebration.

The traditional dance has a beautiful, gentle and elegant routine and uniqueness that it has become a trademark to the southern state of the country.

Starting with ‘taksim' (the prelude where dancers may walk slightly bow or bend with one hand in front and the other kept behind the body) as a sign of respect to gambus musicians, followed by a ‘pantun’ song to end with wainab's step, each dance move has its own meaning which is the specialty of Johor zapin.

Yayasan Warisan Johor (YWJ) zapin dance coach Rohayu Mohd Yusoh said the uniqueness of Johor zapin passed down from generation to generation could only be accompanied with traditional music involving mandatory instruments such as ‘maruas’ (hand drum) and ‘gambus’ (short-necked lute) which are also traditional Johor instruments.

Rohayu, who has served for 16 years at YWJ, said there are various types of Johor zapin and each type varies by the movement and style of dance which have their own meaning.

“In Johor, there are various types of zapin that represent each of the districts, for example Kampung Pekajang, Johor Bahru is well-known for Zapin Pekajang, in Batu Pahat, (Zapin Kores and Tanjung Labuh) and in Mersing (Zapin Tenglu and Tenglu Mak Usu).

"Now we have 16 zapin dances, so each district and type of zapin has its own meaning and that is the uniqueness of Johor zapin," she told Bernama when met at YWJ here.

Despite facing the current modern era that makes this traditional dance increasingly forgotten by the community, she said her team will not give up and will always promote Johor zapin to the new generation.

Rohayu said that, apart from promoting the dance at schools and expanding it in every district, YWJ is also studying the heritage dance.

A dancer, Mohd Yusof Salleh, 36, who considers zapin as an iconic dance, described the specialty of the Johor zapin dance lies in the combination of maruas music which is only used for the traditional dance.

“The uniqueness of the dance is that the music accompanies the maruas melody is exclusive for the zapin dance only, ‘telingkah kopak’ which is the maruas upbeat drums at the end makes the zapin dance lively.

"And the gambus passage is like a zikir (rhythmic chant), the dancers should follow the rhythm and steps according to the musical instrument to show the harmony of the zapin dance itself," he said.

Meanwhile, a young dancer known as Nazatul Atiqah, 23, admitted that zapin dance is not something that is easy to learn compared to modern dance.

-- BERNAMA