Dance
It's said there's a different dance for every one of Sumatra's 100 districts, and that the island has as many dancers as single girls. Married women seldom dance. Sumatran dancers, known for their gaya (grace), are masters of smooth, soft, willowy movements. Candle dances (tari lilin or tari piring), in one form or the other, are performed all over the island. In the handkerchief dance, men and women each hold one end of a large white square cloth. They perform a kind of maypole dance, winding in and out and turning around, tying the handkerchiefs in a series of knots. At the conclusion, they untangle the cloth immediately and faultlessly.
Architecture
The traditional architecture, especially of northern and western Sumatra, is magnificent. Large rectangular buildings on wooden pilings are built one to two meters off the ground, with swooping saddle-shaped roofs and high gables at both ends that rise to a point. Structures are often adorned with geometric designs and buffalo horns, and carvings grace the gable-ends. So impressive are these structures that they've served as models for 'national' architectural styles. By contrast, houses along the rivers, swamps, and jungles of eastern and southern Sumatra are simple pole cottages with ladders (tigers can't climb ladders).
As for classical monuments, since Sumatra's great Sriwijaya were more concerned with international trade and control over the Strait of Malacca than in governing the interior, no great monument complexes were produced. The few temples and stupas that do exist (such as at Padanglawas, Muaro Takus, and Kota Cina) are in such a state of ruin they don't grab you like Java's finely crafted and preserved monuments.
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