‘dance’ a traditional Samal dance.
This beautiful dance, also danced by Tausug women and others, is traditionally accompanied by gongs. Women wear tight-fitting
tops, flowing trousers, and long, false nails which extend the line of the dancers arms. From early childhood, dancers' hands
and arms are bent backwards to achieve this hyperextended line. The gongs play polyrhythms, and the faster the tempos, the
slower the dancer moves, creating tension and excitement. During World War II, many gongs were destroyed by the Japanese,
and they are becoming rare. Therefore, the igal is currently often danced to western-style pop music. This dance looks like it may have originated in India, similar dances
being found all over Southeast Asia where the old Hindu-Indian empire existed. Also, igal dance postures are found in Indian art. In the rural areas of Bali, Indonesia, a specific type of dance called igal is still performed among the Hindu people there. The majority of the people of Bali are Hindu, even though Indonesia is a
Muslim state.