Ansai Waist Drum
"Waist drum" is a folk drum form widely spread in northern Shaanxi, especially in Ansai County in Yan'an area, Hengshan, Mizhi, and Yulin areas. It is most popular in Yulin and other places, and is one of the most influential dance types in Shaanxi folk dance.
The waist drum in northern Shaanxi has a broad mass base and a long history of development. In some major spreading areas, almost every village has a drum troupe and every household has a drummer. And it is passed down from generation to generation and lasts for a long time. Precisely because it has been spread for a long time, has a wide scope, and has a large number of participants, although the basic form and rhythm of the dance are roughly the same, different performance styles and customs have been formed in different regions. Ansai waist drum is one of the representative ones.
Ansai waist drum is mostly performed in the form of a group, with drummers (called "sling drums" or "kick drums") ranging from dozens to more than a hundred. The team includes characters such as Latte Art, Umbrella Head, Barbarian Woman, Barbarian Man, and various small-stage performances such as "Donkey Running" and "Water Boat" to form a mighty folk dance team. The overall effect is emphasized in the performance. , requiring neat and unified movements and standardized formation changes, mainly through the heroic and rough dance postures and powerful drumming skills of the drummers, fully display the masculine beauty of the men living on the Loess Plateau
Ansai waist drum has a complete performance program and activity customs. In the past, it was mostly performed in festive festivals and temple fairs. The annual Spring Festival to Lantern Festival is the concentrated activity time. Recommended) first organizes sacrificial activities, called "visiting the temple": the dance team, led by the umbrella leader, beats the gongs and drums, blows the suona, and sometimes carries whole pigs, sheep and other offerings to the temple to burn incense and worship the gods. After the "visit to the temple" is over, the waist drum team begins a door-to-door New Year greeting activity, which is commonly known as "Yanmenzi". There is a proverb: "The gongs, drums and suonas are ringing, and the sticks are chopping under the buttocks!" At this time, the people could not sit still. At this time, the waist and drum team visited each house in the village and performed in the courtyard of the main house and in front of the kiln. For a while, the umbrella leader sang a few auspicious yangko based on the situation of each family to express New Year greetings. The head of the family believed that the waist drum team entering the courtyard to beat, dance and sing could ward off disasters and ensure peace throughout the year. This may be a legacy of the ancient "countryside Nuo" custom. Sometimes two teams of waist drummers meet on the way. Usually, the umbrella leaders sing Yangko to each other to greet the New Year and give way to each other, but sometimes they do not give way to each other. The situation is such that at this moment, the two teams are competing for the top spot. The sound of the gongs and drums is like rolling spring thunder. The drummers beat and jump like crazy, and the drum music pauses. The umbrella leaders of both sides appear on the stage to sing in antiphony. This is also an aspect of the competition skills. When one team's formations are chaotic first, their movements are inconsistent, their drumbeats and formations are not consistent, or they cannot answer the antiphonal songs, they will lose. So they took the initiative to give way and let the winner go first.
After the "Yanmenzi" is over, the waist drum troupes from neighboring villages also want to pay New Year greetings to each other, visit each other, and perform exchanges, which is similar to the Yangko dance in northern Shaanxi. It is also called "Taicaimen". On the 15th day of the first lunar month, waist drum teams from all villages gathered in the square to compete with each other, which became the climax of the waist drum performance of the year. . This not only invigorated the rural Spring Festival cultural activities, but also promoted the popularization and improvement of waist drum through mutual observation and competition. There was also a "turning the lantern" (also known as "turning the nine tunes") that night, and almost everyone was competing. , the whole family goes together. At that time, the drums sound, the lights flash, and the waist drum team leads the crowd, showing a lively scene.
The activities of the waist drum team often continue until the 17th and 10th of the first lunar month. Eighth, the ceremony ends after worshiping the God of Land. After that, the villagers prepare for spring plowing and production.
The performance forms of waist drum can be roughly divided into "road drum" and "field drum".
"Road Drum" is a performance form in which the waist drum team dances while walking. It is led by two umbrella leaders, followed by the dance team B-Umbrella consisting of drums and latte art. There is a drum player behind the head, called "Toulu Guzi". He must be a skilled drummer. He directs the whole team's movement changes and rapid rhythm. At the back of the team, there are clowns dressed as barbarian women and barbarian men, and some dressed as Monkey King, Zhu Bajie and other characters from Tang Monk's Buddhist scriptures, twisting and making fun at will to add to the joyful atmosphere of the festival. Because "Road Drum" is performed while marching, its movements are generally simple and small in amplitude. It usually performs "cross step", "walking step", "horse step and waist wrapping" and other actions. Commonly used formations include "single crossing the street", "crossing the street alone", "Double crossing the street", "single dragon wagging its tail", "double dragon wagging its tail", etc.
"Field drum" refers to the performance form after the waist drum team arrives at the performance location and opens the venue. At the beginning, the umbrella head waved When the umbrella was called, the drums and music suddenly started to sound, and the dancers danced along with the umbrella head. This section is called "Stepping on the Big Field", and the performance is slow. The purpose is to open up the venue, open up the team, and stabilize the audience's mood. The second section is full of singing and dancing. The rhythm is getting faster, the movements are larger, and the formations are more varied. Commonly used formations include "divine tower", "ancient temple", "gold medal in front of the god", "rich and noble head", "monk wandering around the door", etc. After the "solar arc" pattern, the umbrella leader will stand in the center of the field and lead the yangko singing. The lyrics will depend on the occasion and the audience. During the "visiting the temple", there are temple worship rituals. Generally, the performance includes New Year greetings to the audience, as well as celebrations of harvest and good luck, etc. Content. When the umbrella leader sings, the dancers slowly circle around the field and repeat the last line of each section, which is commonly known as the "receiver sound". After singing, the umbrella leader exits the venue and enters carrying drums and lahua flowers. In this performance, various complex and changeable formations are performed. At this moment, the dancers are not limited by time, and they can express their unique skills with enthusiasm and ups and downs, bringing the performance to a climax.
In recent years, the performance has reached a climax. In order to highlight the skill of carrying the drum, the drummer performs alone in the venue during the "field drum" performance. Under the command of Toulu Guzi, the drummers are in high spirits and dance wildly. At this time, only the drumsticks are visible. Waving, colorful silks fly, drums sound like thunder, shaking the earth, powerful and contagious.
After this section, other forms of small performances are interspersed, such as "Donkey Running". , "Water Boat", "Stilts", "Two Ghosts Fighting", "Big Head Monk", etc. The number of program formats depends on the talents and conditions of each village. After the small performance, there will be a large waist drum performance. . At this moment, the gongs and drums are beating faster, the suona is playing harder, the drumming is more intense, and the mood is more joyful, making the whole performance end in a strong atmosphere and high emotions.
Ansai waist drums are played in different styles. The rhythm is divided into literary and martial arts. "Wen waist drum" is relaxed, cheerful, lively and small in movement, similar to the style of Yangko; "Wu waist drum" is cheerful and intense, rough and unrestrained, and has larger kicking, jumping and rotating movements. , especially the flying skills of the drummers, give people a heroic and exciting feeling. At present, Wen and Wu waist drums are gradually combined to form a new style, and Xihekou Township and Zhenwu Cave in Ansai are the most distinctive. It vividly reflects the honest and simple temperament and character of the local people. Especially in the performance, it organically combines folk martial arts and Yangko dance movements, which are relaxed and relaxed, lively but not chaotic, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner and majestic. , vigorous and powerful. People praised it as "generous in style and hard in tone". The style characteristics of Ansai waist drum can be summarized as follows:
1. Express the inner passion of the dancer through the changes of movement. When the dancers beat the drums, they can't help but shake their heads and shoulders slightly, so that the inner emotions and the external rhythms are organically combined to achieve both spirit and form, harmony and ease;
2. The dancers swing the drumsticks with great force. Whether they hit them up, down or around their waists, they have to throw the drumsticks away with both hands. But although it is ruthless but not brutal, it looks straight and strong, and it still has a sense of delicacy despite its fierceness;
3. When doing kicking and jumping movements, whether it is a big kick, a small kick or a leg kick, you must have "brute" strength. The rhythm is cheerful and difficult, which represents the rough, bold, vigorous and vigorous style of Ansai waist drum;
4. Turning during drumming is the key to Ansai waist drum performance.
In dance, every squatting and kicking movement must involve turning around, and the turning must be violent. Especially when doing a set of movements such as jumping, jumping, squatting, turning around, and starting at the same time, you must use rapid and violent force in a fixed rhythm. Only in this way can the changes and connections of movements be completed;
5. The rhythmic shape is complex and the jump amplitude is large. As the tempo of the performance quickens, the steps begin to perform complex kicking and jumping, and the body swings from side to side in an increased range. For example, when performing movements such as "horse step kicking", "jumping around", and "horse step jumping", the dancer uses lunges to jump backwards twice, then strides forward with the left leg, and kicks the ground with the right leg. It rises like a dragon and a tiger leaping forward, showing a tenacious and fighting spirit.
Drum-carrying costumes and traditional opera. Similar to the martial arts students in the film, they wear tight black clothes, a straw hat and a beard, with a red face and thick eyebrows, and the beard should be spread out during the performance. As times change, so do the costumes of dancers. In recent years, the waist drum costumes in Xihekou Township have become closer to life, but the costumes of the Zhenwudong waist drum team still retain the costumes of ancient warriors, with hero scarves on their heads, war skirts on their waists, and red tasseled shoes on their feet, which is quite similar to ancient times. Soldiers and generals on the battlefield.
In addition to the drumbeats played by the dancers themselves as the main accompaniment, Ansai waist drums are also accompanied by folk drum groups. The musical instruments include drums, cymbals, gongs, etc., as well as suona playing tunes. Commonly used tunes include (Soushan Order).
The form and development of Ansai waist drum are inseparable from the local historical and geographical environment and people's customs. Ansai is located in the northern part of the Yan'an region of Shaanxi Province. It has a vast territory with ravines and ravines. The Yan River meanders through the territory. It is a typical Loess Plateau landform. It has been an important military town in history, known as the "throat of Shangjun" and the "key of the north gate". It is one of the border fortresses that resisted foreign invasion. Local people say that as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, waist drums were regarded by garrison soldiers as indispensable equipment as swords, guns, bows and arrows. When encountering an enemy surprise attack, they would beat drums to call the police and convey messages; when two armies faced each other, they would beat drums to encourage them; when a battle was won, soldiers would beat drums to celebrate. With the passage of time, the waist drum has gradually developed from military use into a folk dance for local people to pray to gods, wish for a good harvest, and celebrate the Spring Festival. This makes the waist drum more popular, but in terms of drumming style and performance , continue to retain the heroic appearance of some Qin and Han soldiers.
In 1981, on a hillside called "Tomb Collapse" in Wangzhuang Village, Liangcun Township, Yan'an City, which is adjacent to Ansai County, people discovered an ancient tomb while plowing the land. Among them, two waist drum portrait bricks with the same shape and figure were unearthed, both of which were molded and fired. According to the appraisal by cultural relics and archaeological experts in Yan'an area, it was created in the Song Dynasty. The drum player depicted on the brick portrait is holding a thin drum on his waist, turning sideways, raising his head to the left, with his left foot on the ground, his right leg thrust forward, and his hands raised and lowered as if swinging a hammer to beat the drum; the person on the left is The person playing the cymbal jumps up with both feet, sucks the left leg, looks to the left, and makes a hi-hat shape with both hands in front of the chest. The drummer is shirtless, wearing bloomers and a colorful ribbon around his waist that floats down to the front. In particular, the movements and image of the drummer are quite similar to the fourth beat of "horse step and kick" and the second beat of "forward step" in today's Ansai waist drum. The waist drum portrait brick has a clear picture and beautiful shape, which vividly represents the waist drum performance in northern Shaanxi during the Song Dynasty in my country. It provides precious and informative cultural relics for the study of the historical origin and development of waist drum in northern Shaanxi.
In 1942, the new Yangko movement emerged in Yan'an and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, which developed the ancient folk art of Ansai waist drum and became a symbol for hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians to celebrate victory and liberation. , and was hailed as the "Victory Waist Drum", which spread throughout the land of China and was recorded in the glorious history of the revolutionary literary and artistic movement. In 1951, Ansai waist drum participated in a national folk music and dance performance. Ai Xiushan and other folk artists from Ansai Fengjiaying Village taught waist drum skills to the China Youth Art Troupe. After performing at the World Youth and Student Festival in Budapest, they won the The special prize made Ansai waist drum famous at home and abroad.