ABSTRACT
This chapter examines music and motion within the Orak Lawoi's principal customary celebration, the semi-annual, three-day usik pelacak festival an occasion for venerating the spirit world, participating in a wide range of communal activities and launching a ritual boat to sea. Most Orak Lawoi practice an animistic worship of ancestors and spirits whom they collectively refer to as datuk, a Malay term meaning 'grandfather'. Shrines dedicated to both are found in all major Orak Lawoi settlements. On Lanta, Jam, Phuket and elsewhere, Orak Lawoi and Malays have long lived side by side and intermarried freely. They share a similar language and social and cultural practices. A primary function of the pelacak is to assure safe transit for the souls of the recently departed to a final resting place. In addition to the datuk songs, enjoyment songs and instrumental music that accompanies particular events, there are a number of tunes that occupy a place between ritual and entertainment.
