Dikir barat

Dikir barat, dikir hulu or lebe ulu is a musical form, native to the northeastern coastal region of Malay Peninsula, that involves singing in groups—often in a competitive setting. Dikir barat may be performed either with a percussion instrumental accompaniment, or with no instruments at all.

The art originated among the peasantry of Patani who would incant verses back and forth with each other (dikir, from Arabic: ذِكْر, romanized: dzikr) as a form of entertainment while harvesting their paddy fields; this would be later be developed to be performed in functions for guests from faraway lands (jamuan lebe ulu, 'banquet of inland/upstream imams') hence the art would be known as lebe ulu. It was only the spread to Kelantan in the 1930s where it is given the popular name dikir barat– barat ('west') referring to the location in relation to Kelantan.