Hudoq T he giant creature shrieks. Its eyes glitter


behind a wooden mask that’s part bird, part dragon. It flaps wings made of rustling banana leaves, then slaps its sides. Flap, slap, flap, slap. For hours, this dancer and others dressed


as pests and beasts screech and stomp through this village in Indonesia. Yet the people in the village aren’t afraid. In time, they’ll chase the pests away. Aſt er all, it’s their tradition. It’s September, time to plant rice. So it’s also


time to perform traditional folk dances called hudoq. In some villages, 1,000 dancers join in. Each dance tells a story. T e bird-dragon


dancer, for instance, tells of a mythological creature trying to protect the rice crop. T e dance asks good spirits for help so that pests, disease, and floods won’t harm the rice.


Some dancers also act like clowns. T e


village people laugh so hard that they cry. T ese tears symbolize watering the rice crop. T e dance steps have meaning, too. Fast steps represent the rhythm of farmers sowing seeds. Slow steps calm the spirits that protect the rice, and make them happy. T e ritual is important. For 1,500 years,


people here have depended on rice to survive. T ey believe that rice is a giſt from the gods. T rough dance, they pass their beliefs in what is important to the next generation. All around the world, traditions like these


link people to their past. With dances, songs, and stories, they celebrate their unique cultures.


✶ Indonesia


Wordwise


culture: the beliefs and way of life of a group of people


oral history: information about the past passed down through talking, such as in interviews or storytelling


ritual: an act that is always done in the same way and in the same situation


tradition: a way of acting or thinking that has been practiced by a group of people for a long time


SEPTEMBER 2014 23


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