Yue Matong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1980 he took Gong Bao of his own village as his teacher and studied Manau song and dance, afterwards accompanying his master to many Manau gatherings. After his master passed away in 1989 he began to serve as the Naoshuang of the Manau gathering of ten thousand people (Naoshuang is a transliteration of a Jingpo term). Within the regional tradition and school record of Jingpo Munaozongge in Longchuan, Yunnan: Longchuan is the place where the Munao Zongge is preserved most completely. The making of the pillar screens, the leading routes and charts of the naoshuang (dance leaders), and the order of the rituals all follow the old rules; anyone near the dance ground can tell at a glance which team has come from the local area. It is also held in the surrounding areas of Yingjiang, Mangshi, and Ruili, while the Jingpo along the Bhamo and Myitkyina line of Kachin State, Myanmar, observe the same calendar, with the routes and drumbeats largely matching. The Munao Festival has statutory dates in this prefecture — established in 1983 after deliberation by the Standing Committee of the Dehong Prefecture People's Congress — on the 15th and 16th of the first lunar month, and all counties follow suit. According to the legend that the Munao dance originated from bird dances, a wooden rhinoceros hornbill and a peacock are carved and set at the two ends of the pillar screen. Above it hangs a horizontal plaque painted with the Himalayas, the place of origin in Jingpo legend. In 1983, after deliberation and approval by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, the Munao Zongge was established as a statutory ethnic festival of Dehong Prefecture, held on the 15th and 16th days of the first lunar month each year.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

He mastered the traditional rules and ceremonial procedures of the Manau. The term designates the leader who heads the communal dance during Manau Zongge activities; following the traditional route he led the dance and the procession, performing with a steady rhythm that gave expression to the historical and cultural traditions of the Jingpo people. Within the documented technical tradition of Jingpo Munaozongge in Longchuan, Yunnan: The Munao Zongge, also called "Zongge," meaning "gathering in joy to sing and dance," is transmitted in the Jingpo-inhabited areas of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and is the grandest and most solemn traditional festival of the Jingpo people. The Munao Zongge dates back to the era of primitive society. The principal activity of the Munao Zongge is the Munao group dance; before the formal activities begin, four wooden pillars are erected in the center of the dance ground to worship the sun and mark the route of the dance. Knives and spears are placed beside the pillars, symbolizing the people's strength and fortitude. Tall poles of fresh green bamboo are set up in front of the pillars, signifying that life stays evergreen. With the development of the times, the Munao Festival has become a folk festival of song, dance, and entertainment with which the Jingpo people celebrate the harvest. The most representative form of expression in the Munao Festival is the Munao Zongge. It includes more than a dozen types, such as the Su Munao (inviting wealth and celebrating the harvest), the Badang Munao (celebrating victory), the Ding-shuan Munao (celebrating the completion of a new house), and the Jieru Munao (swearing in troops before an expedition). Although the dance movements that accompany the Munao Zongge are few, the rhythm of stuttering steps and swaying shoulders is vivid and unique, and is a representative movement of Jingpo dance. When a Munao Zongge is held, more than ten thousand people from within a radius of a hundred li take part, dancing together in the same ground; the atmosphere is grand and fervent, full of ethnic appeal and cohesion, and the event is an important channel for strengthening ethnic relations and enhancing ethnic unity. The Jingpo are a people living across national borders: nearly one million Jingpo live in northern Myanmar and northern India, and the Munao Zongge is held both in China and abroad. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Raising the ritual posts": Four wooden posts are raised in the centre of the dance ground, carved with hornbills and peacocks, with swords, spears and living bamboo set beside them. "Su Mu Nao for wealth and harvest": The most frequently performed form, danced for prosperity and a good harvest with the leader following the traditional route. "Badang Munao for victory": Danced to celebrate victory, with quicker steps and heavier drumming than the harvest form. "Dingshuan Munao for a new house": Danced at the completion of a new house, with offerings laid before the posts at the end.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, of Jingpo ethnicity, born in September 1941, died in December 2012, a native of Longchuan County, Yunnan Province. He was a national representative bearer of Jingpo Manau Zongge, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He often led three disciples to Manau festivals in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County of Lincang City, in Mangshi, Yingjiang County and Ruili City of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, and in Panwa of Kachin State in Myanmar, carrying out transmission activities for the Naoshuang tradition.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Yue Matong · National Representative Bearer Archive