Kabasaran is a traditional Minahasanmartial art and war dance from North Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is performed by several men clad in red costumes, wielding a sword with a shield or a spear. The dancers are called kawasalan, which implies imitating like a pair of fighter cocks.[1] the word kabasaran is derived from kawasalan.
The dancers work daily as farmers and guards of the Minahasan villages, but serve as waranei (warriors) if the village is attacked.[1] According to Minahasan custom, the weapons and status of waranei is hereditary. The kabasaran dance is performed exclusively by men of waranei lineage.[1]
In general, the basic structure of the dance consists of nine movements (jurus) using the sword (santi) or spear (wengkouw), also the stance moves which consists of two steps to the left, and two steps to the right. The dance is accompanied by percussion instruments such as gongs, drums, or kolintang called pa 'wasalen.
Gallery
Traditional clothes worn by kabasaran dancers
Kabasaran dancers use traditional weapons
Kabasaran dance performance at an event in North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Soccsksargen regions of the Philippines to the north, the Maluku Sea to the east, Gorontalo and Celebes Sea to the west and the Gulf of Tomini to the southwest. With the outlying island of Miangas to its north, it is the northernmost island of Indonesia. The province's area is 14,500.28 square kilometres (5,598.59 sq mi), and its population was 2,270,596 according to the 2010 census; this rose to 2,621,923 at the 2020 Census, while the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 2,659,543. North Sulawesi is known as a heaven for divers around the world.
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The Minahasans or Minahassa are an indigenous ethnic group from the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan pre-Christian creation myth entails some form of ethnic unification, before the nineteenth century the Minahasa region was in no way unified. Instead, a number of politically independent groups (walak) existed together, often in a permanent state of conflict.
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Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases "Indian martial arts", deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines, by Classical times they were used generically for all fighting systems.
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