Abstract: Chinese Yao folk dance. It is popular in areas inhabited by the Yao people in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and other provinces. It is often performed on traditional festivals of the Yao people, harvest celebrations, housewarming or weddings. The Yao people's chief dance has a long history. This dance is often performed in the Yao people's traditional rituals to worship Panwang and in some witchcraft activities for exorcising ghosts and evil spirits, treating diseases and divination. Nowadays, the Yao chief's encouragement has become a mass cultural and entertainment activity. Let’s take a closer look at the style and characteristics of the Guangxi Yao chief drum dance! Chinese Yao folk dance. It is popular in areas inhabited by the Yao people in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and other provinces. It is often performed on traditional festivals of the Yao people, harvest celebrations, housewarming or weddings. The Yao people's chief dance has a long history. This dance is often performed in the Yao people's traditional rituals to worship Panwang and in some witchcraft activities for exorcising ghosts and evil spirits, treating diseases and divination. Nowadays, the Yao chief's encouragement has become a mass cultural and entertainment activity. On June 7, 2008, the Yao Clan Chief's Dance was approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
1. The historical origin of Yao clan chief dance
This dance with unique national charm contains a beautiful love story. Legend has it that a long time ago, three people, a father and his son, lived on Yao Mountain. , the old man divided the family property equally between his two sons before his death. The elder brother was greedy for money and took all the family property for himself. The younger brother Dongbi had no choice but to wander around and work for others to make a living. The thirteenth sister of Fangsha, the daughter of King Pangu, saw that Dongbi was a good man, so she came down to earth to marry him. Dongbi's brother wanted to use wild methods to kill Dongbi and occupy Fangsha's thirteenth sister. King Pangu knew about this, helped Dongbi defeat his brother, and recalled Fangsha's thirteenth sister to heaven. Before farewell, Thirteenth Sister told Dongbi: There is a tree on Nanshan Mountain. Cut it down to make a long drum, put 360 rings on it, and wait until October 16th (the birthday of Pangu Wangpo). After 360 circles, you can fly into the sky like an eagle to reunite with her. Dongbi followed Thirteenth Sister's instructions and braved hardships, came to Nanshan, found the piano tree, and made a long drum. Sure enough, she jumped up at the appointed time, and finally flew into the sky to reunite with Thirteenth Sister. In order to commemorate this loving couple, people would dance long drum dances every time Pangu Wangpo’s birthday was played in the singing hall. This custom has been passed down to this day.
Every year during the Spring Festival, the Paiyao compatriots not only dance the long drum to celebrate the festival, but also form a flower drum team to go to the nearby Han and Zhuang areas to congratulate their brothers of all ethnic groups. Everywhere he went, he was warmly welcomed. The Han and Zhuang brothers took out rice cakes and cakes, cooked glutinous rice balls with sweet wine, and entertained the guests. After the dance, the host has to send a "good fortune" to the Yao people to wish them good luck in the new year.
Changgu is called "Bo Gong" in Yao language and has a long history. The "Twelve Surnames of Yao People Crossing the Mountain List" issued on May 3rd in the second year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1132) contains: "In front of the Emperor's Palace, the king has a long gown with big sleeves, a long waist and a wooden drum, a spotted coat with a red collar, and he plays the pipa and sings. "According to this, the Yao people's long drum has a history of more than 800 years.
2. The style characteristics of the Yao chief drumming
1. Basic movements
During the performance, the drummer holds the waist of the long drum with his left hand and flips it up and down, and follows with his right hand. Beat and beat while dancing. . The main actions include simulating animals, sacrifices, etc. The dance is vigorous and simple in style. Some people can also dance with their hands on a long drum on an Eight Immortals table, playing and dancing at the same time. It is usually accompanied by suona and gongs and drums, and sometimes "Pan Wang Song" is also sung to add to the fun.
Changgu dance is divided into "single dance", "couple dance", "group dance" and other types. It has 72 sets of performance programs, and each set is divided into several animal details such as "raising the hall" and "moving the hall". Its movement characteristics are rough, brave, unrestrained, strong, vigorous, sturdy and free and easy. Whether it is jumping, leaping, squatting, tumbling or spinning, flipping, leaping, leaping and other movements, they all reflect the enthusiastic, unrestrained, strong and brave character of the Yao people.
Most of the drumming movements of the long drum express production and life content, such as building houses, plowing fields, imitating the movements of animals, etc. The images are vivid and full of life flavor. Drumming can be divided into literary and martial arts. The movements of Wen Da are soft and slow, while the martial arts are rough and bold. There are two people fighting, four people fighting, or a large group of people playing in a circle. The atmosphere is warm and the drums are loud.
2. Props
(1) Classification
Long drums are divided into three types: small, medium and large according to their shapes.
The small long drum is also called the short drum, about 70-90 cm long, the drum waist diameter is 4-5 cm, and the drum head diameter at both ends is 8-10 cm; the medium-long drum is also called the long waist drum or yellow mud drum, about 110 cm long -130 cm, the diameter of the drum waist is about 15-20 cm, and the diameter of the drum head at both ends is about 25-30 cm; the big long drum is also called the competition drum, about 180-200 cm in length, the diameter of the drum waist is about 20-25 cm, and the diameter of the drum head at both ends is about 25-30 cm. The diameter of the drum head is about 30-40 cm.
(2) Production
Long drums are usually made of sandwood, with cow or sheep skin covering the drum surface. It is about 1.2 meters long, small in the middle and large at both ends, one of which is slightly larger by a third. The wooden core is hollowed out, and the two horns are covered with refined yellow sheepskin. Then 6 to 8 dyed hemp ropes are used to tighten the two yellow sheepskins. They are then painted with red, yellow, white and other colors, and painted with dragon and phoenix patterns to beautify the drum body. When dancing, the dancer ties the two "drum necks" with a colorful ribbon and hangs them on the shoulders, across the waist. They use the palm of their right hand and the bamboo pieces in their left hand to beat the drum respectively. According to the beat of the music, they make "唪咪唪冢" "The sonorous sound. If 4 or more people play drums and follow the beat of the music, a rich and exciting sound of "crackling and flat" will be made. If accompanied by horns, gongs and suonas, it will be like lining up to fight in ancient times. The drums and horns are noisy to the sky, the mountains are ringing and the valleys are echoing, which is inspiring.
3. Regional differences
The Paiyao people living in the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong like to dance long dances during festivals. Guangdong Liannan Yao clan chief drum was introduced to Liannan when the Paiyao ancestors migrated to Liannan during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and prospered with the prosperity of the singing hall. When dancing, the dancers wear festive costumes, tied with red silk at the waist, white leggings on the feet, and hanging flower drums more than 1 meter long. Sometimes they fly sharply in the air, sometimes they are like tigers rushing to the ground, especially when they are performing as a duo, they look like two tigers facing each other. Fighting is like two dragons playing with a pearl, which is really interesting. The whole set of movements is vigorous, rough and free, vividly showing the hardworking and brave spirit and strong character of the Yao people. Among them, the moves such as "cockfighting", "archery" and "tiger leaping over the dragon's gate" are beautiful and unique, but they are also very difficult and require skilled performance skills.
Changgu is called "Wangdu" in Yao language. It is about 4 feet long, with two big ends and a small middle, and is trumpet-shaped. The drum body is made of sandwood. Cover both ends with cowhide or sheepskin to serve as the drumhead. When dancing, hang it horizontally around the waist, put the five fingers of your right hand together, and clap the drum with your palm. It makes a "bi" sound; holding a piece of bamboo in the left hand, it hits the drum surface to make a "winter" sound. Such rhythmic continuous beating produces the sound of "dongbidongbidongdongbi". Performers follow the dance movements, change the beat, and express different contents and emotions to achieve their artistic effects. In terms of performance form, Changgu Dance is divided into single dance, double dance and multi-person dance (with 4, 6 or 8 people), with 36 sets of performance programs and very rich content. The body of the Yao Changgu is made of wood, with both ends hollowed out and covered with sheepskin. There are two types of drums: the large long drum is more than 1 meter long, the diameter of the drum head is 0.2 meters, and the waist of the middle drum is 7 to 8 centimeters; the small long drum is about 0.8 meters long, and the diameter of the drum head is about 0.1 meters. When drumming, yellow mud is often used to paste on the drum surface to adjust the tone, so this dance is also called yellow mud drumming.
The long drum dance in Paiyao area of ??Guangdong is a male dance. The dancer hangs the long drum diagonally around his waist, holds bamboo pieces in his left hand to beat the drum, and claps with the palm of his right hand. Performance forms include duet dance and circle dance. In the duet dance, one person leads the dance, and the other person coordinates with it; in the circle dance, one person leads the dance, and everyone joins in the dance. The dance is based on the basic rhythm of shaking the drum head while beating the drum, which leads to continuous circular movement of the upper body and gentle undulating steps of half-bent knees. There are male and female drums in the Dayao Mountain area of ??Guangxi. The shape of the male drum is the same as above. The left hand holds the drum and the right hand beats it. The female drum is short, thick and round, and is hung on the waist by a leading dancer. The lead dancer is mostly an older drummer from the village. Usually a dance team consists of 1 female drum and 4 male drums, with the female drum controlling the rhythm of the entire dance. The drummer is a man, and women hold handkerchiefs while dancing and singing.
Small Changgu evolved from Big Changgu and is mainly popular in the Dayao Mountains of Guangxi and the Yao ethnic areas of Hunan. Usually 2 or 4 people hold long drums and dance against each other. On grand festivals, there are many people participating. The small long drum is light and flexible, and has many dance moves. It can be divided into three postures: "high pile", "middle pile" and "low pile" depending on the degree of knee flexion and extension and the height of the drum playing position.
Fighting styles are divided into "Wen Da" and "Martial Arts". "Wen Da" has gentle and relaxed movements, while "Martial Arts" has rough and complex movements. There is also a "high platform" where you fight on one or two tables that are set up, and the dance skills are more difficult. The methods of playing the Yao long drum vary from place to place, and there are as many as 36 sets. According to the content, they can be divided into: those for building houses, agricultural production, making long drums, ceremonial and game play, etc. Each set of movements changes from slow to fast, and gradually builds up to a climax. This kind of dance uses its own drum beat as the main accompaniment, and is also often accompanied by suona, big gong and big cymbal. When there are a large number of people, they often sing yellow mud drum songs together.
3. Current status of the inheritance of the Yao chief drum dance
The Yao chief drum dance is a festive dance. During the Yao family's traditional festivals such as "Celebrating the New Year" and "Singing Hall" on October 16th of the lunar calendar, or celebrating the harvest, congratulating newlyweds and other festive occasions, the young singers dance impromptu, respond to a hundred responses, and are majestic and real. Spectacular.
The Yao people usually play long drums on March 3rd, June 6th, August 15th and October 16th of the lunar calendar. Especially on October 16th, the "Panwang Festival" of the Yao people is the most popular. "The wish of the King of Countermeasures" is a small wish in three years and a big wish in twelve years; the small wish is to play the long drum for three days and three nights, and the big wish is to play for seven days and seven nights. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, such activities were organized by clans with the same surname. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was organized in villages, and it was not limited to the above-mentioned festivals. Long drums can be played on National Day, Spring Festival or when celebrating the harvest.
On the National Day in 1951 and 1954, Pan Tianfeng and Pan Yongming, the chief drummers of the Jianghua Yao tribe, Zhou Decheng and Zhao Gengmei went to Beijing to perform successively and were received by party and state leaders at the Great Hall of the People. In September 1982, Feng Maolin and Huang Wengui, the chief drummers of the Jianghua Yao tribe, performed at the Second National Ethnic Traditional Sports Games.
4. The inheritance significance of the Yao people's long drum dance
Most of the long drum dance reflects the production struggle and living customs of the Yao people, reflects the thoughts, feelings and ideal wishes of the Yao people, and is unique to the Yao people. style. The performance form and program fully express the Yao people's character traits and temperament. The dance movements are rough, brave, unrestrained, vigorous and free; the rhythm is bright and agile. The dance vocabulary imitates climbing mountains and falling ridges, crossing streams and valleys, felling and transporting trees, fighting dragons and tigers, etc. The images are vivid and can be understood at a glance. Yao people's dances are almost all mass and square dances, and all have certain props, such as long drums, flower drums, horns, parasols, etc., which constitute the style of this ethnic group, are popular among the masses, and are easy to spread. Therefore, on various occasions such as festivals, weddings, religions, and funerals, there is singing and dancing, and it is very lively.