tari saman
It has its origin from the Alas ethnic group and is normally performed to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad and other important occasions. Eight to twenty performers kneel in a row on the floor and make different kinds of torso movements accompanied by songs, clapping hands, slapping chests, slapping hands on the floor, etc. The songs are praises to God. The dance starts with slow movements and increases its tempo gradually to great speed and finally come to a sudden stop. There are many different regional versions of "Saman". (Adapted from aceh.net)
