Activity 12The Indonesian Island of Sulawesi is divided into six provinces, with each ethnic group birthing a variety of distinctive dance traditions. Alike other areas of Indonesia, dance is important to the people of Sulawesi, as their spiritual norms, ritual practices, and artistic expressions are intertwined as one. The dance traditions of Sulawesi remains focused on indigenous forms, and have attracted surprisingly little scholarly attention from the dance world

One of the dances is known as Tari Pakarena. It is a traditional dance from South Sulawesi. The slow and graceful movements of female dancers are accompanied by two double-headed barrel drums, or gendang played with fast interlocking patterns. The contrast between the subdued dance and live music is often interpreted to represent essential gender differences​