 The
“Siput Kepah” Dance
By Eric Chong
In Langkawi, there is a “traditional”
though somewhat obscure dance called the Siput Kepah dance. This is an outdoor
dance performed only seasonally on estuaries. The only musical instruments
accompanying this dance is a piece of broken coconut shell scrapping the
sand. The “dancers” move to the rhythm of the scraping sounds.
The main movement comes from their Gluteus Maximus, in short their backsides.
With their gluteus stuck out in the air, their heads stuck somewhat between
their legs, and their hands armed with a broken piece of coconut shell, the
Siput Kepah dance is performed by jiggling or swaying the widest and highest
part of the anatomy at that moment.
The Siput Kepah dance is performed not for
its artistic values but to meet the basic need of survival. These
“dancers” are actually digging for the seasonal cockles –
Siput Kepah. To locals, cockles are categorized in many different names.
If you mentions cockles people here will think that you are talking about
“hum” which is a different types of edible seashell.
 Right: the "dancers" out at the
banks
of estuaries during low
tide.
In the evenings, it is a common sight to see the estuaries around Langkawi
teeming with locals of all ages – some surprisingly well dressed for
just digging for Siput Kepah. At low tide, the banks of the estuaries stretches
out into the sea for a good half kilometer. Within these three hours or so,
the Siput Kepah harvesters must dig for their meals. The Siput Kepah are
found from an inch to three inches from the surface of the sand. Most of
the harvesters use a fragment of a coconut shell to dig for the cockles.
They look for anything that’s slightly oval shaped. More often then
not, it’s the tasty siput waiting to be picked up. The Siput Kepah is
placed in the pocket, a plastic bag or a container. If you’re new at
this, don’t just throw them out of their hole onto the sand. Dead as
they may look, they can still burrow their way back into the sand when
you’re not looking.
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In search of Siput Kepah.
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Once the tide starts to rise again,
it’s time to go home to cook the siput. The simplest and tastiest method
of cooking is to fry the siput with a bit of ginger and some thick soy sauce.
You’ll be surprised to see that no matter how many siput you cook,
they’re never enough.
The Siput Kepah dance is performed along most estuaries
at the change of the monsoon season – May to June and October to November.
The main estuaries being Kuala Melaka (close to Delima Resort), Kuah river
(in town) and Tanjung Rhu.
Now that you have an understanding of the Siput
Kepah dance, you may join them in their evening exercise. This is a profitable
way to spend your evening as you’re sure to be able to end up with at
least a handful of cockles for your dinner.
About The
Writer
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