By: Ratu Bulkis Ramli, Andi Karman, Suparman, and Musriani

One of the dances originating from the coastal areas of Central Papua Province is the Seka Dance. This dance is a traditional dance of the people in the Timika, Kaimana, and Fakfak areas. Timika is the capital of Mimika district in West Papua, Indonesia. In this area there are two indigenous tribes, namely the Amunge tribe who inhabit the mountainous area and the Comoro Tribe or Kamoro who inhabit the coastal area.

Initially, the Seka Dance was present as a form of gratitude during the abundant harvest and was often carried out in the traditional wedding procession, namely when delivering the bride-to-be to the groom-to-be. In the past, the Seka Dance was also used by the Kamoro tribe as a symbol of spirit when going to war. In the Kaimana area, the Napiti and Miere tribes still use the Seka Dance in their daily activities, just like the Kamoro Tribe in Timika. In its development, the Seka Dance has changed into a social dance and is sometimes performed in the welcoming ceremony of guests.

The Seka Dance of the Kamoro Tribe of Papua, it was found that the movement of the Seka Dance focuses on the stomping of the feet, the movement of the hips and the waving of the hands, which follow the boisterous sound of tifa. There are 8 main movements in the Seka Dance of the Kamoro tribe, including; 1) Children’s timang movement; 2) Movement to cut down sago trees; 3) Sago pangkur movement; 4) The gesture of raising hands as gratitude; 5) Fishing movement; 6) Tabuh tifa movement; 7) Wipe movements 3 times; 8) Flapping of wings.

In this contemporary seka dance movement, symbols and movements that contain symbols that have meanings, including; 1) Forming the letter “H” of two bands. Facing one way forward. The movement of the child’s timang with the basic wiping movement in place forms the formation of the letter “H” which means day; 2) Forming the letter “U: two banjars. Facing one direction, front. The movement of cutting down sago trees and the movement of basic scrubs in the place that forms the letter “U”, which re-means; 3) Forming the letter “T” facing one direction forward. The movement of pangkur sago with the basic sweep movement at the formation site forms a “T” which means year, with the basic sweep movement and cutting down the sago tree; 4) Forming the letter “R” facing one way forward. The movement of raising both hands with the basic wiping movement in place and forming the letter “R” which means republic; 5) Form the letter “I” facing forward. The movement of catching fish for women and spearing fish for men with the basic seka movement forms the letter “I” which means Indonesia; 6) Form the letter “K” facing forward. Tick the tabuh tifa movement with a basic wipe in place. The formation forms the letter “K” which means collage; 7) Forming the letter “P” facing one way forward. The movement of the wipes 3 times in the place with a formation forms the letter “P” which means Education. The seka movement is carried out as a form of gratitude; 8) Forming the letter “G” facing one way forward.

The movement of the wings of the bird of paradise by forming an X in place. The flapping movement of the wings of the bird of paradise ushers and points the way. The symbols present in the dance movement are a representation of the life of the Papuan people. In addition, the dance formation used also symbolizes special meanings in each movement performed by the dancer.

Traditional dances tend to tell about the views and experiences of people in the past. Meanwhile, contemporary dance is more of a mix and match of choreographer’s expressions with current rality. In the Contemporary Seka dance, each change in formation forms a sign with certain meanings.

In the Contemporary Seka dance of the Papuan Kamoro tribe, it can be seen that every movement formation and dance movement carried out is a manifestation of representation that produces an interpretation of the reader. The meanings carried out in the movement are:

The first movement in the dance forms an “H” formation symbolizing the meaning of the day. The day can be interpreted as a beginning or beginning in life. In this part, the dancers perform the movement of carrying children which represents the beginning of human life or the people of the Kamoro Tribe. Carrying a child can be interpreted as a welcome to a newborn child. In this part, the movement and formation of the ranks carried out have a very significant correlation, so that this movement can be interpreted as a movement that shows the meaning of people’s readiness to face the day with new hopes.

The next movement forms the letter “U” with the movement of cutting down a sago tree. The meaning of the letter “U” in the dance is “repeat”, which refers to the movement of cutting down sago trees. In the process of cutting down sago trees, people usually swing their axes or machetes repeatedly until the sago tree falls. This activity requires high energy, persistence, and enthusiasm. Sago is a staple food of the Papuan people, so sago harvesting has become a habit of the community. Pruning sago is usually done by women, while men will hunt. The lives of the people in Papua are still very dependent on nature, including in meeting the needs of clothing and food for the community. The dance movement that forms the letter “U” with the movement of swinging axes/machetes repeatedly can be interpreted as the spirit of the community in foraging, especially sago which is used as a staple food of the community.

The next movement forms a “T” formation with a basic wipe movement. In this movement, the “T” formation is interpreted as a year, which means that the sago tree that has been hoed by the community has existed for many years. Sago has been a staple food of the community for many years. Therefore, the community continues to maintain and preserve sago trees. The meaning of the year in the “T” formation in this movement can also be interpreted as a representation of community activities based on local wisdom. The persistence of the Papuan people in maintaining this tradition is not an easy thing today. So it can be concluded that this formation can mean the persistence and tenacity of the community to maintain the culture of eating sago through the preservation of sago trees.

The next movement is to form an “R” formation with a basic sweeping movement of raising your hands up. The meaning of the letter “R” in this dance is interpreted as the republic of Indonesia, while the gesture of raising hands is interpreted as an expression of gratitude for the gift given by God. The formation of the letter “R” which means the Republic of Indonesia symbolizes that the people of the Kamoro Tribe of Papua are part of Indonesia. They feel proud and grateful because they were born in such an open and fertile land. The gesture of raising the hand symbolizes gratitude to God. The results of the sago harvest obtained by the community are a gift from God that should be thankful. Therefore, this movement can be interpreted as a movement of public gratitude for the blessings (sago) that grow in their land of the Republic of Indonesia.

The next movement is the movement that forms the formation of the letter “I” with the movement of catching/spearing fish. The meaning of the letter “I” in the form of the formation is interpreted as fish, which the Kamoro Tribe people used to net/spear fish to be used as a side dish. Fishing/fishing activities can be carried out by women or men. In addition to fishing, men are also usually tasked with hunting in the forest. In the process of foraging for food, women and men usually complement each other.

The next movement is the formation of forming the letter “K” with the movement of beating the tifa. Tiga is one of the typical Papuan musical instruments that has become global. Tifa is usually played during traditional ritual events of the Papuan people and at special dances of the Papuan people. Tabuhan Tifa gives the meaning of joy and gratitude to the community. In this dance, the joy in question is the result of sago harvesting and fishing. The community is grateful for being blessed with food from nature. Nature as a mother who feeds them and lives.

The next movement is the basic seka movement that forms the letter “P” which means education. Education in this movement means that everyone has the right to get a proper education. This formation can mean motivation for all Papuan people not to give up on learning and receiving education. The movements carried out in this formation mean gratitude because they have received many blessings, namely food sourced from nature. Nature and Papuan people are two things that are closely interrelated. They do a lot of activities in nature so nature must be maintained and preserved.

The next movement is a formation bending the letter “G” with the flapping movement of the wings of the Cenderawasih bird. The letter “G” in the formation means teacher, which means one can learn anywhere and anytime. Meanwhile, Cendrawasih is known as one of the birds that comes from Papua, so Papua is generally said to be the land of Paradise. In the wing flapping movement that is carried out, it can be interpreted as a freedom. Birds are associated with freedom or freedom in thinking, acting, and stepping. Overall, this movement implies that people are willing to step freely to gain broader knowledge.