Nusantara Module Students Show Aceh Tradition Gallery |

Female students from various universities in Java performed the typical Acehnese tarek pukat dance.

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COME greeted with Acehnese cultural arts, and returned to display Acehnese arts and traditions. That was the atmosphere presented on the stage of the Hall of the ACC Building at Malikussaleh University, Uteunkot, Lhokseumawe. After one semester of participating in the Independent Student Exchange (PMM) program at Malikussaleh University, 140 students from various tertiary institutions from outside Sumatra will finally return to their respective campuses. They were released in a simple but meaningful ceremony in the ACC Building Hall, Tuesday (3/1/2023).

The farewell ceremony lasted only a few hours, but getting there required long and tedious preparations with various limitations, such as limited time and the difficulty of getting a vehicle. That is what 20 students of Group 3 Nahrasiyah of Malikussaleh University did. They will perform the tarek pukat, ratoh jaroe dances, and a number of Acehnese traditions that they learned during the four months following the Nusantara Module activities which are part of this event.

Since last September 2022, Mohammad Faisal et al have prepared dances and a gallery of Acehnese traditions that will be displayed at the farewell ceremony. They were trained directly by the choreographer from the Cut Meutia Meuligo Studio, North Aceh District, Raisa Agustiana. "There are many challenges because most students have never known dance before," he said, Monday, January 2, 2023.

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According to the alumni of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Malikussaleh University, they performed two dances, namely tarek pukat and ratoh jaroe. Both of them demand harmonization of movement and high concentration from the dancers. "Because if one dancer is wrong, it will disturb the other nodes," added Raisa who is also a former administrator of the Meurah Silue Cultural Arts UKM, Malikussaleh University.

Apart from tarek pukat and ratoh jaroe, the Tradition Gallery also displays a number of Acehnese traditions such as intat lintoe/dara baroe or escorting the bride and groom, the tradition of celebrating birthdays, and peuratep aneuk or lulling children to sleep, as well as displaying the traditional art of alee tunjang typical of Aceh which is almost extinct. All of these traditions are displayed in a series of performances accompanied by traditional Acehnese music.

The lecturer for the Nusantara Group 3 Module, Ayi Jufridar, said that alee tunjang is a student social contribution module activity. "They left a legacy in the form of three mortars to the traditional alee tunjang artists in North Aceh," said the lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business.

In the dress rehearsal that was held at the Hall of the ACC GOR Uteunkot Campus, 20 Nahrasiyah Group 3 students looked enthusiastic about performing dances and the Tradition Gallery until evening, along with other group students. A member of Group 3, Indah Muji Utami, admitted that she was both excited and nervous about appearing before the Chancellor of Malikussaleh University, Prof. Dr. Herman Fithra Aseang Eng and other vice-chancellors.

“We have practiced several times, but all of that means nothing if in the last performance we can't perform optimally. But we are confident that everything will run smoothly,” says a student from the 17 August 1945 University in Semarang, Central Java.

Meanwhile, Reva Ngulya Savi'ah from Tidar University, Magelang, said she was proud to be able to perform Acehnese dances and traditions. "Regardless of whether our performance is good or not, this is a form of our respect for the wealth of arts and traditions in the archipelago, including Aceh. This is the core of the objectives of the Nusantara Module program," she said.

The Coordinator of the Freedom Learning Program at the Merdeka University Malikussaleh University, Prof. Dr. M Sayuti, said the procession of releasing 140 PMM students was carried out by the PMM students themselves, starting from being the emcee (MC) to performing on stage.

“Several groups presented Acehnese art and culture. it is part of the diversity that further strengthens the meaning of the objectives of the student exchange program," said the lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering. []

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