The crowd cheered as the whip holder, a man dressed in black and wearing a blangkon (traditional Javanese headdress), entered the area accompanied by 16 other men in yellow and orange costumes.

The bells on their anklets jingled rhythmically as they danced with their bamboo horses and wooden swords. Once in a while the whip holder slashed them with the whip causing the audience to flinch or step back in shock. But the dancers kept performing powerfully as if they felt no pain. They were performing the oglek dance, which originates in Yogyakarta.

One of the dancers, Legiran said the dance symbolized the unity of the physical body and spiritual mind and was commonly performed during ceremonial events.

“The dance is usually performed during wedding ceremonies, anniversaries or other ceremonial events like kenduri. Actually the oglek can be performed on any occasion because the dance also symbolizes the worship of God and we can worship Him anytime,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The 47-year-old man said he had been performing the oglek dance since he was in elementary school, adding that he became interested in the dance because it was similar to martial arts. He said he had performed the oglek in Jakarta a total of three times. 

“A few years ago I performed the oglek in Jakarta with my father and brother. I’ve practiced for two months for today’s performance,” he said.

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