Indonesia has many varieties of traditional dances originating from almost all regions. It includes the land of Papua. In Papua, there are more than 250 tribes, one of them is probably the Isirawa Tribe. The tribe of Isirawa definitely also has its own traditional dance called Karamo Dance.
Karamo is a term in the Isirawa language that describes the art of dancing in the culture of the Saveri people. Saveri itself is another name for Isirawa, a tribe that exists in Sarmi Regency, Papua Province.
Just like other traditional dances of Papua, Karamo also has its own origin, meaning, and purpose. So here is the explanation!
The Origin of Karamo Dance
Basically, the origin of Karamo Dance is from one of the legends believed by the people of Isirawa. This legend relates to Came, a female giant from Oteraf Mountain. She likes gomo (breadfruit), so she planted and took care of the gomo tree all by herself. Delicacy of the gomo, then became very famous.
There are many people, even from outside the mountain, curious about the taste of the gomo. One of them is Muru, a young man who finally came to the mountain to take the gomo. However, he got caught by Came, then got killed by her. Then, she beheaded Muru and took his body, and head to her home.
After arriving home, Came then boiled Muru’s head while singing and dancing along with her followers. Her followers are not humans, but birds and other animals too. When one of his followers named Inovo, a bird, rested because he was tired, he saw that the villagers had surrounded the place.
Apparently, the villagers had heard of the death of Muru. Then, the villagers managed to kill Came and boil her head. However, Came, whose head is being boiled, can still speak. Then, she told the villagers about how she killed Muru. From what songs she sings and what dances she performs while killing him.
This is the origin of the birth of traditional arts of the Saveri people, including the dance of Kamoro.
The Formation of Karamo Dance
Because of the legend, it is kind of understandable when the formation of Kamoro Dance is not that much different from the Came Dance. Especially the basic movement of the dance, which is a back-and-forth movement. However, unlike Came Dance, Kamoro has his song called Karame.
The formation itself is two parties facing each other. Not to compete, but to show off achievements to get praise. Then, there are also other movements, such as holding arrows, hitting tifa, etc. They dance while singing the song of Karame. The lyrics are about the daily life of the Saveri people.
The Meaning of Karamo Dance
The meaning of Kamaro Dance is as a form of joy, gratitude, and pride. Usually, people do this dance for a certain stage of cultural achievement. For example, when a child gets off the ground, removing the bones of deceased ancestors, as well as other situations.
Another meaning of this dance is to generate positive optimism. It makes them believe in a better future. So, today must be better than yesterday, and tomorrow must be better than today. Aside from that, Karamo also contains unity values, religious values, and also politeness values.
The Purpose of Karamo Dance
There are many purposes of Karamo Dance for Saveri people. Apart from being an expression of gratitude, people also use this dance as an arena to get happiness. This is because, with Karamo, they can express themselves by singing their version of Karame.
Aside from that, Karamo Dance is also an arena to find a mate. They will find the right person for them while dancing Karamo. Then, the dance of Karamo can also be an arena of performance.
