ACEHNESE SAMAN Quo Vadis

Since the inscription of the Saman dance of Aceh on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) on 24 November 2011, the people of Indonesia and Acehnese have had high hopes. Around 400 participants from 137 countries attended the inscription announcement of the Saman dance of Aceh by the session of UNESCO in Nusa Dua, Bali. We consider the inscription a mandate, trust, and challenge.

When people see the live performance of the Saman dance, the dancers’ movement, harmony, accuracy, and speed amaze many. The people of Indonesia and Aceh, the birthplace of this “head-shaking” dance, highly valued the dance. Saman dance is everyone’s favorite. People perform it from smallscale events at schools or villages to grand government ceremonies at the national level. The Saman dancers can dance on any occasion. They can perform at the opening of a formal or non-formal event, reception of guests, festivals, or even at the closing of any event. People favor Saman dance, which can perform regardless of time and place. However, the philosophical meaning of the dance has eroded.

When the Saman dance gained popularity at the national and international levels, especially after the Aceh peace process, fundamental problems unraveled. The origin of the Saman dance, the composition of the movements, and the lyrics of the poems (songs) in the dance remain unanswerable questions. Instead of speaking of its development to date, people are debating the history of the Saman dance using their respective references to strengthen their arguments.

We hear Sheikh Saman started and introduced the Saman dance, but the detailed biography of this figure is unknown. Several sources say—although there must be evidence from previous studies—that Syekh Saman came to Aceh and spread the teachings of his tariqa with poetry and zikr movements. However, various contemporary sources, both books and online media, only mention the name of Syekh Saman came from Medina to Aceh in the 18th century AD. That is it with no more information.

Snouck Hurgronje mentions in his book “De Atjehers” that Saman originates from outside traditions that permeate the dance traditions of the Acehnese people. We believe that the Samaniyah

(sammaniyyah) tariqa, having roots in Madinah, adopted and developed the Saman dance. Indonesian Muslims subsequently favored the religious tradition. However, there is no information on how the Saman dance spread to remote areas and integrated with the highland culture from the Saman or Samaniyah tariqa place of origin in the coastal region of Aceh.

It is also worth noting that we regard the Samaniyah tariqa as the creator of the Saman dance. Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim al-Samani al-Hasani al-Madani (1718-1775) was the initiator of the dance before it spread to several regions, including Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, and Indonesia. Then, the muktarabah tariqa, particularly the Samaniyah tariqa, flourished in Aceh.

Although there are no comprehensive research on how the tariqa spread in Aceh, we found out about prominent figures known as muridin (followers) and propagators of the Saman tariqa, such as Sheikh Muhammad Saman, a disciple of

Sheikh Marhaban and Muhammad Saleh. The prominent figures and Teungku Chik Di Tiro are all contemporaries during the war fights between the people of Aceh and the Dutch; Syekh Saman is also related to Commander Chik Di Tiro.

So, is it true that propagators of the Samaniyah tariqa are the creator of the Saman dance? Do Sheikh Saman and other tariqa propagators conceive the idea of the Saman dance, or is it one creation of the Samaniyah tariqa’s followers? We should add that these figures lived and came from the northern coastal area of Aceh, not from the highlands and interior regions.

While we have not resolved the historical issues on the origin and spread of the Saman dance in Aceh, other problems arise, such as the right to claim and status of the Saman dance that is said to belong to a particular region in Aceh. Criticism emerged from other parties who thought they were more entitled to the ownership rights of the Saman dance. Problems arose when the Saman dance spread across regions throughout Aceh, penetrating the ethnic groups and native tribes of Aceh. Saman dance eventually spread throughout Aceh, although each ethnic group wondered about the originality and authenticity of the dance. From the new variation, poetry, or lyric to the number of dancers becomes a “classic” issue when we talk about the Saman dance performance until today.

The debate on the Saman dance also extends to the innovative performances of Saman at the local, national, and international stages. For example, we should limit the number of dancers, as it shouldn’t be a mass dance. Some artists consider the mass Saman dance a breakthrough, a contemporary innovation. However, the “conservative” group thinks this innovation has diverged from the rules and pillars of the Saman dance.

The “hot” and engaging issue about Saman dance is the subject of female dancers. This discussion interests artists, observers, and scholars, which has become a topic of debate, especially when we juxtapose our discussions and writings with Islamic law on the code of behavior in man-woman interactions, except for girls who have not yet hit puberty.

The dance movements of the female dancers no longer follow the standard Saman. Therefore, some artists call it the ratoeh jaroe (hand movement) dance, a new term in Acehnese dance because of the dominance of women in dance performances. The goal is not to compete and argue but to strengthen the art of this dance of rapid movements. So far, the artists agree only men perform the Saman dance, so if women perform a similar dance, the names will be different, including the ratoeh jaroe

Another issue to solve concerns the “syekh” role or the maestro of the Saman dance and the transmission of the maestro’s knowledge through a sustainable heritage education program. Maestro is the narrator or storyteller of Saman who performs on national and international stages. The maestro must understand and tell the meaning and philosophical values of the Saman dance and its lyrics, which will affect the strengthening of Saman education in various regions. However, the maestro is almost non-existent nowadays.

Two peas in a pod, the Saman dance education, and its development program is the responsibility of the Aceh government, especially the district/ city offices in charge of education and culture, although in vain. There is no local content curriculum for the Saman dance in Aceh schools. It is strange and ironic. We must safeguard the Saman dance as an intangible cultural heritage for humanity from becoming extinct, which encourages other people to promote other forms of dance arts from dying and becoming obsolete.

Now, Saman dance belongs to the world. Therefore, let the people of Aceh safeguard the collective memories of the Saman. Every 24 November, following the inscription of the Saman dance on UNESCO’s Lists of ICH, we should continue celebrating. The government and people of Aceh need to revive the philosophical values of the Saman dance, such as speed, accuracy, cohesiveness, togetherness, respect, tolerance, and cooperation, which are the characteristics of the Acehnese.

(Hermansyah, UIN Ar-Raniry academic and Acehnese philologist)