Boys and young men among the Gayo people of Aceh province in Sumatra perform the Saman sitting on their heels or kneeling in tight rows. Dancers clap their hands, slap their chests, thighs and the ground, click their fingers, and sway and twist their bodies and heads in time with the shifting rhythm. The verses they sing offer guidance and can be religious, romantic or humorous in tone. The Saman is performed to celebrate national and religious holidays, cementing relationships between villages.

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