Dikir barat

Dikir barat (Jawi: دكير بارت; Thai: ลิเกบารัต; rtgs: Li-ke Barat) is a musical form, native to the Malay Peninsula, that involves singing in groups—often in a competitive setting. Dikir barat may be performed either with percussion instrumental accompaniment, or with no instruments at all. The dance is partially similar in movement to Endang except that actions of hand clapping are further incorporated to produce rhythm. The origins of dikir barat are not clear; it is found in both Thailand and Malaysia, and today the Malaysian government actively promotes it as an important part of Malaysian national culture.

Dikir barat is typically performed by groups of ten to fifteen members, though there is no actual set size, even in competitive environments. A group usually sits cross-legged on a platform, sometimes surrounded by the audience. Where the dikir barat is performed competitively, the two competing groups will both be on the stage at the same time.

In a typical dikir barat performance, the group will perform two segments. The first is led by the tok juara, who is often the person in charge of the musical training of the group. This first segment usually contains the more complex musical arrangements, and will likely feature the awok-awok (chorus) singing in unison with the tok juara, as well as responsorial segments of singing, similar to what the tukang karut does with the awok-awok, later in the performance. Though musically more complex than what will follow, the first segment is seen as the "low-key" segment of the performance.

...
Wikipedia