The hand-waving dance of the Tujia people in western Hunan is the dance with the most ethnic characteristics and ancient customs of the Tujia people. The hand-waving dance, also known as "Sheba" and "Sheba", occurs in the Tujia people's sacrificial rituals and is mainly spread in Longshan, Yongshun, Baojing, Guzhang and other counties in western Hunan.

The Tujia hand-waving dance has a long history and is said to have evolved from the White Tiger Dance and the Bayu Dance.

"Huayang Guozhi·Bazhi" records:

Ba Shi was brave, and he sang and danced to impress the Yin people. The former disciple Yang Ge, in the old world, was called King Wu to defeat Zhou. He sang before and danced behind.

Therefore, the song and dance performed during the war against Zhou was the Bayu Dance, and the White Tiger Dance was the predecessor of the Bayu Dance. The characteristic of the hand-waving dance "waving the same hand" is based on the simulation of "dragon walking and tiger walking", and its basic movements are those of the white tiger.

In addition, Du You's "Tongdian" recorded the "Spear Yu" and "Nu Yu" in the Bayu dance, as well as the "armor", "line up", "bow and arrow" in the hand-waving dance, etc. The military dance is exactly the same, so it is inferred that the hand-waving dance and the Bayu dance have the same origin and different branches, and they should have originated in the Zhou Dynasty.

There are many folk legends. Generally speaking, it is said that Duke Peng led his troops to fight. In order to boost the military power and boost morale, he ordered his subordinates to seduce the enemy with songs and dances, or to drive away homesickness by waving their hands and singing. After the victory in the battle, this hand-waving dance spread to the people.

Some people also say that Tujia people naturally like singing and dancing, and hand-waving dance is purely an art activity for self-entertainment of Tujia people.

The entire activity of hand waving dance takes the form of ritual dance, singing, etc., and tells the story of the origin of mankind, the migration of nations, and heroic deeds.

After the sacrificial ceremony, the "Tima" or altar master will lead everyone into the waving hall or waving terrace to dance the waving dance and sing the waving song.

Some hand-waving songs are called "Sheba songs" in Yongshun, Baojing and other places. They were first sung by "Tima". The lyrics are mainly composed of myths and legends and past production and life scenes. , and then the crowd responded in harmony.

In ancient times, Tujia people danced this dance before fighting to boost their morale. There are several types of hand waving dance: single swing, double swing, big hand waving, and small hand waving. The hand-waving dance, beating of drums and gongs are magnificent and touching. When dancing, the hands swing at the same side, kicking the feet and waving the hands, moving forward and backward, in pairs, and the artistic conception is vivid.

Hand-waving dance is not only a folk entertainment and fitness activity, but also a unique artistic wonder on the stage. It is precisely the "hand-waving hall where many beauties gather, joining hands in slow singing. The sound of drums and gongs is murmuring." The words are lingering, and the lingering sound is "ho-ho-ho."

The hand-waving dance has a strong sacrificial color. The song is born with the dance, and the dance is named after the song. Every year from the third to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar, men, women, old and young from every village gather in the Waishou Hall or Tuwang Temple.

First, Tu Laosi holds a broom and sings a song to ward off evil spirits. Then the team waves and holds the dragon and phoenix flags, plays the drums, drums, blows the horns, native horns, suonas, and sets off three eyes. Cannons and firecrackers, dressed in "Xilan Kapu", with flowered scarves on their heads and carrying magic sticks, entered the venue with the sound of "Hey Ho", dancing gracefully and making it very lively.

Waving dance is mainly divided into big hand waving and small hand waving. The Great Wave of Hands event is held once every three to five years, with tens of thousands of people participating in several counties, and lasts for seven or eight days.

The dance contains complex military hunting content and includes routines and formations. The small wave of hands is the village's own village. It is held every year and focuses on farming. During the dance, people form a multi-layered circle, with one person leading the dance and others dancing along, which is very improvisational.

The big hand waving must be carried out in the waving hall, which is large-scale and takes a long time. It usually starts from the ninth day of the first lunar month and ends on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The wave-waving team is usually based on villages and has many participants.

The specific content of the performance mainly includes 8 parts, including entering the hall, creating the world, the origin of mankind, migration and settlement, farming, self-defense against the enemy, and sweeping the hall. It is interspersed with beating the drums, singing folk songs, playing winter quince, playing flower drums, and singing grass-cutting gongs and drums songs, showing the Tujia ancestors' journey through mountains and rivers, migration and reproduction, agricultural activities, daily life, war scenes, etc.

Small hand-waving is smaller in scale and shorter in duration. It is held from the ninth to the eleventh day of the first lunar month in the Tuwang Temple where each village is located. Its contents include offering sacrifices to Duke Peng, fighting mosquitoes, fighting with cattle, blocking ice mouths, digging the ground, sowing seeds, transplanting rice seedlings, weeding and harvesting, expressing the joy and joy of a good harvest from labor.

The hand-waving dance can be performed by a soloist, a lead singer, or a group of people singing together. The tune changes with the content of the dance.

"Bamboo Branch Ci" records:

In the city of Fushi, there is a brocade nest, and the water beside the Tuwang Palace is rippled.

Thousands of red lights are lit, and thousands of people are waving their hands. Song.

In some places, there is a Tuwang Temple in front of the Waving Hand Hall. The square in front of the temple is empty, with fir trees planted in the square, and colored lanterns hung on the trees. Tujia people dance around the fir trees. In some places, they dance in the corners of the fields.

The Tujia people turn this hand-waving dance into "fighting songs", "grass-plucking songs" and "grass-plucking gongs and drums" that are combined with farming activities. The performance is rough and funny, or two people sing in duet, singing and dancing at the same time, lively and free; or several people lead the singing, and everyone dances in harmony, which is very lively.

In some places, gongs and drums are hung in the center of the temple in front of the temple. One person beats the gongs, and the waving person steps on the drums, either with a single pendulum, a double pendulum, or a gyrating pendulum. There are many sets and rich content.

Some places dance during the day and night, while others dance for three to five nights, or more than 10 nights. This kind of dance is healthy and beautiful, has a strong flavor of life, and is widely popular among the masses.

There are many flags on the waving field. People are holding dragon and phoenix flags made of red, blue, white and yellow silk materials, wearing "Xilan Kapu" and holding Wine jars with the word "福" on them; carrying grains, game, carrying cakes, dumplings, and tofu; holding props such as eyebrow sticks, magic knives, court tubes, shotguns, and spears, drums and cannons, and moving songs. On the ground, men and women danced gracefully, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Just as described in a Tujia poem "Bamboo Branch Poetry"

There is a brocade nest in Fushi City, and the water beside the Tuwang Palace is rippled.

There are thousands of red lights and thousands of people waving their hands and singing.

The body movements of the hand-waving dance are mainly based on production labor, daily life and combat. They have developed and changed over a long period of time and are not exactly the same in different places, but their basic characteristics are the same, that is, turning, bending the knees, and shaking. ,sink.

Shunhuai is the most important feature of hand-waving dance, that is, swinging the same hand. It requires the hands and feet to cooperate tacitly and move in a consistent manner. The rhythm of the body drives the swing of the hand. The swing range of the hand generally does not exceed the shoulders. , the swing lines are smooth, natural and generous.

Bending the knees requires bending the knees slightly downward, straightening the upper body, and exerting force on the soles of the feet, making it look solid and steady; trembling means that the feet and arms shake slightly, giving a feeling of elasticity and tenacity. Feeling; sinking means that the body has a downward feeling when the accompaniment is repeated, and the movements are calm and solid.

These twisting, turning, bending, squatting and other action combinations require the alternating conversion of tension and relaxation of muscles in various parts of the body, the coordinated force and the close cooperation of the upper and lower limbs. Therefore, hand-waving dance requires high physical coordination.

The hand-waving dance of the Tujia people in western Hunan is a huge carrier that integrates song, dance, music and drama. The music of the hand-waving dance is divided into two parts: vocal accompaniment and instrumental accompaniment. The vocal music is mainly singing songs and hand-waving songs.

The percussion instruments of the hand-waving dance include a large drum and a large gong. A big cowhide drum, a pair of drumsticks, and a gong stick. The diameter of the drum ranges from about 0.6 meters to 0.85 meters, and the height is about 0.65 meters to 0.85 meters. The diameter of the gong ranges from 0.65 meters to 0.85 meters, and the concave and convex depth is about 0.04 meters. The drumsticks and gong sticks are arranged accordingly depending on the size of the gong.

When playing, one or two people beat the drum and gong in the center of their palms to direct the audience. Commonly used music cards include single pendulum, double pendulum, grinding eagle's wings, sowing seeds, etc. The rhythm is steady, strong and weak, powerful and deep.

In the hand-waving activity, the Tujia people recalled the hardships of their ancestors in starting a business, cherished the achievements of their ancestors, and displayed the life scenes of the Tujia ancestors. The entire activity has strong traces of ancestor worship.