Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 21, 2025
Still swaying her body, she begins to circle, contra-clockwise, around the gongs, and soon she is joined by others until all the dancing space is filled. The scene is most picturesque, for these dances usually occur at night, in rooms illuminated only by the flickering light of torches.
The women, armed with long pestles, gather around and, keeping time to the music of copper gongs, they circle the mortar contra-clockwise, striking its edge three times in regular beats of 1, 2, 3; on the next beat the leader strikes the bottom of her pestle against that of her neighbor, on the first and second beats, but on the third she pounds the rice in the mortar.
Having thus done all in her power to influence the spirits she may administer some simple remedy, after which she begins to dance contra-clockwise, around a bamboo pole on which leaves and betel-nut have been hung. This ceremony usually takes place in the house, but if the man was taken ill in the forest or in his field it may be conducted there.
With arms interlocked behind one another's backs, and singing in unison, they begin to move contra-clockwise. The left foot is thrown slightly backward and to the side, and the right is brought quickly up to it, causing a rising and falling of the body. The step, at first slow, becomes faster and faster till the dancers have reached the limit of their vocal and physical powers.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking