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Yospan Dance One of Culture in Indonesia

Indonesia has a lot of culture that is spread in various regions. Moreover, Indonesia is a country consisting of islands, so that the people also have different backgrounds. One of the arts that are well-known among the public is Yospan Dance, which is a traditional dance from Papua.

The History of Yospan Dance

One of the traditional dances that come from Papua is the Yospan dance. In Papuan civilization, this dance is a type of social dance or dance of camaraderie amongst young males.

Yosim Pancar, also known as Yospan, is a fusion of the Papuan folk dances Yosim and Pancar.

The history of the emergence of Yospan dance is none other than the merging of the two dances, namely Yosim and Pancar.

Yosim himself comes from Sarmi, a district on the North Coast of Papua. While Pancar comes from a dance that was developed in Bia Numfor and Manokwari, coinciding in the 1960s.

The development of its dance occurred during the Dutch colonial period in Papua.

Due to its popularity, dance Yospan was frequently performed at events, including welcome ceremonies, social gatherings, and festivals celebrating art and culture.

Yospan is frequently presented abroad to observe local festivals.

Yospan Dance Moves

After knowing the history of this dance, maybe you are interested in trying the dance. There are several moves contained in this dance and you can do some tutorials from the internet.

Here are the kinds of Yospan dance moves, including:

1. Seka Moves

Yospan dance begins with the movement of the seka where the dancers will walk towards the front with a count of each footstep that is stomped on the ground/stage twice.

There are two variations of this movement, namely the usual wiping motion and the five rotating positions in place.

Seka movement comes from tribes in the Papua region, precisely in Timika, Kaimana to Fak Fak.

No wonder the use of this movement is quite well known and widely spread on the island of Papua. Now the use of this dance has been developed to welcome guests or tourists from outside.

2. Pacul Tiga Moves

The following motion is often referred to as the Maneru beam motion, Pacul Tiga. The name is taken from a place in the interior of Biak Island in Papua.

This movement is quite popular among the people because it has its own uniqueness. In this part of the movement the dancers will dance forward in three steps.

The third step calls for the dancers to pause, alternately toss their right and left feet forward while facing front, bend, and then stand back up. Folk parties frequently employ this motion as well.

The goal is to entertain the public after doing various strenuous activities every day by enjoying the dance.

3. Gale-Gale Moves

The next move is called Gale-Gale. The gale-gale movement involves the dancers taking four steps forward and then dragging their feet on the floor or stage on the next four counts.

The standard gale-gale motion and back-and-forth gale-gale motion are the two different types of gale-gale motion. 

This movement incorporates elements of the Balengan dance, a popular social dance from the Mor-Mambor islands and Wondama Bay.

You will be fascinated if this dance movement is showed because it shows a very stunning exotic in your eyes. Moreover, the movements are also unique and different.

That was information related to the Yospan dance which is a traditional dance from Papua. This dance is useful in many ways, from welcoming guests to other festival events.

We should maintain and preserve local culture in order to keep its existence.