Existence of Graph Through Malay Traditional Dance
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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET) Volume 11, Issue 8, August 2020, pp. 53-62, Article ID: IJARET_11_08_007 Available online at http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJARET?Volume=11&Issue=8 ISSN Print: 0976-6480 and ISSN Online: 0976-6499 DOI: 10.34218/IJARET.11.8.2020.007 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed EXISTENCE OF GRAPH THROUGH MALAY TRADITIONAL DANCE Wan Muhammad Afiq bin Wan Muhamad Fauzan Laboratory of Ethnomathematics and Didactics, Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Sharifah Kartini Said Husain Laboratory of Ethnomathematics and Didactics, Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Mohd Rohaizat Abdul Wahab Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Laboratory of Archaeology and Archaeometry, Institute of the Malay World (ATMA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia ABSTRACT Ethnomathematics refers to the mathematics that was created based on culture and the value system of an ethnic. The Malay ethnomathematics is the mathematics inherited from the Malay civilization that was taught, uttered, applied, and developed in the language and follows the Malay values. The definition of a graph is a set consisting of vertices connected to one another through the group of edges. In creating choreography in the Malay traditional dance, it must follow several general principles of choreography and almost all traditional Malay dance apply the concept of symmetrical balance that focuses on strength and harmony. The concept of symmetry is also applied to the whole dance pattern that begins and ends with the same floor patterns and movement. Malay traditional dance involves steps that are simultaneous repetition in the shape of mapping that is matching, serial, transformation, shifting and flexible. If it is defined in dance, edges are the location of positions of the dancers and vertices refer to movement between one position to another. This study also determines every unique graph pattern derived from every type of Malay dance. Key words: Malay Traditional Dance, Graph Theory, Ethnomathematics. http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJARET 53 [email protected] Existence of Graph through Malay Traditional Dance Cite this Article: Wan Muhammad Afiq bin Wan Muhamad Fauzan, Sharifah Kartini Said Husain and Mohd Rohaizat Abdul Wahab, Existence of Graph through Malay Traditional Dance, International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology, 11(8), 2020, pp. 53-62. http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJARET?Volume=11&Issue=8 1. INTRODUCTION In early 1986, the term of ethnomathematics was introduced by D’Ambrosio as a technical art of understanding, informing, clarifying, learning, dealing, and managing the life of humans in a certain way that suits the society [1]. Besides, ethnomathematics is also defined as a branch of mathematics or related thinking that is derived based on culture and value system of an ethnic [2]. Ethnomathematics is not specifically owned by certain ethnic, but the uniqueness of ethnomathematics is rather outstanding based on the difference in culture that exists within the society itself. For the Malay community, Malay ethnomathematics refers to mathematics inherited from Malay civilization taught, mentioned, written, and developed in the Malay value system [3]. Culture is not isolated in one’s life because without it, the identity of the people will be lost. A great civilization will have an equally great culture. Culture also has varied definitions. According to Kamus Dewan (2015), culture is a way of life as well as the advancement of thoughts, manners, behavior, and so on [4]. Edward B Taylor defines culture as the whole complexity consisting of knowledge, facts, beliefs, arts, manners, laws, customs other abilities, and behaviors owned by the member of society [5]. Whereas arts refer to branches of culture, it is a wonderful and vast field to be digested because it is a combination of socio-culture such as beliefs, moral and ethics, creativity, custom and life rules [6]. The values of certain arts did not merely lie on the external beauty but it must be through its contribution to the society. Abdul Samad bin Ahmad (Asmad) stated in his book, Kesenian Tarian, the art of dance will only be acknowledged once it fulfills three main features; beauty, truth, and goodness to people and society [7]. The arts in focus in this article is the art of dance. The fineness of arts depends on the fineness of the artist who creates it and the fineness depends on his level of manner. Islam does not forbid its followers from being involved in arts neither forbids its followers to abandon anything than Arabic culture, but Islam acknowledges the diversity of arts that exists in every society as long as it does not violate the law of Islam. In Muhammad Qutb’s work cited by Adnan M Wazzan, explains that Islamic art as [6]: “Islamic art is not of necessity an art which speak of Islam, and it is certainly not preaching guidance and enjoying virtue. Equally it is not barely facts of faith crystallized in philosophical form. It is an art which portrays the form existence from an Islamic point of view of this world, it is an eloquent expression of the Universe, Life and Man through Islam and human life, it is an art which paves the way of the complete integration of beauty and truth, for the beauty is reality of this universe while truth is the summit of beauty, and so they meet at the peak at which all the realities of existence come together” Islam highlights the concept of harmony regardless of race and origins and therefore enables Islam to be accepted by the whole world. However, the discussion on the definition of Islamic art requires different discourse and research. This research focuses on the connection between mathematics and Malay traditional dance. Malay traditional involves repetitious steps that simultaneous repetition in the shape of mapping that is matching, serial, transformation, shifting, revolving, and flexible mapping [8]. This article aims at observing graph shapes created in certain types of different traditional dance. http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJARET 54 [email protected] Wan Muhammad Afiq bin Wan Muhamad Fauzan, Sharifah Kartini Said Husain and Mohd Rohaizat Abdul Wahab This article is organized as follows: The definitions of ethnomathematics and Malay culture are given in Section 1. Section 2 contains the brief information about Malay traditional dances. While Section 3 focuses on the relationship between mathematics and dance, here some previous researches are stated. The methodology and findings are presented in Section 4, and Section 5 provides the conclusion of the research. 2. MALAY TRADITIONAL DANCE The art of dance is a branch of unique art. This form of art emerges from the observation of movements and the swaying of nature such as leaves and so on. This observation is later displayed in the form of dance and choreographed as a story to be presented to the audience. Besides, this art also adapts the daily life of the people. To illustrate, if the society’s life focuses on the fishery, then the elements of fish and sea will be embedded in the dance, such as Ulek Mayang in Terengganu. If the life of the society revolves around agriculture, then the movement that depicts agricultural life will be included in their dance, such as Belotah Dance in Perak The high degree of courtesy in the Malay society is manifested in its traditional dance. The dance is generally not performed singly, but rather in groups or pairs, be it the same or different genders. Even though the genders are different during the performance but it does not involve physical touching which is parallel to Islamic teaching that forbids touching between mahram (marriageable) couples. If necessary, shawls or mufflers are used as holders between the couples. As far as structure is concerned, dance needs to consider the organization of socio- economy, religion, and politics. Since the Malay society loves peace, courteous, and mutual respect, all these show in their dance that are performed slowly, gracefully and gently. The choreography of traditional dance focused on the Malay features itself that were set during the creation of the dance and later descended to the following generations in its original form. Secular dance, on the other hand, shows differences and additions in the choreography in line with the modern era. In contrast, ritual dance does not have any addition to its original form because it is believed that it will trigger spiritual anger. However, the addition took place in secular dance is not that prevalent since it attempts to sustain the original message of the dance. There are several variations of Malay dance, which is caused by the different purposes of the creation of the dance. There are three forms of Malay dance; the one for events or celebrations, namely Seni Tari Pertunjukan. The one for social and entertainment, Tarian Pergaulan or Hiburan. The last one, Seni Tari Pemujaan or Persembahan is for rituals or the ones practiced during the pre-Islamic era that later transformed into entertainment [7]. The art of dance is defined as a form of human movement that symbolizes the basics of culture which is based on courtesy, manner, and characters of a certain races. The richness of Malay arts has given birth to various forms and patterns of dance and therefore dances that are ethnic and regional in nature also exist. There are four types of dances that are not regional; Joget, Inang, Zapin, and Asli dance. These four types have been acknowledged as original Malay dances. According to Asmad (1991), the special feature of these dances is that it has its own rhythms and tempos [7].