Panzhensong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Influenced by his father, he loved the Huangni drum dance from childhood. In his teens he studied under the drum master of his own village, and at the age of thirty he studied under the ritual master Pan Rixin, learning the religious rituals of the Ao Yao and the Huangni drum dance. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yao Zhang Drum Dance in Jinxiuyaozuzizhi, Guangxi: The yellow mud drum dance is distributed mainly in the Ao Yao settlements of Liuxiang Township and Luoxiang Township in Jinxi Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi; it is a Yao long drum dance with strong regional character. The Yao branches of the Jinxi Dayaoshan mountains each live in separate villages; the yellow mud drum dance belongs exclusively to the Ao Yao and forms the core element of local rites such as the sacrifice to Panwang, deity processions and the ordination rite. The Cultural Center of Jinxi Yao Autonomous County is the protecting unit for this item. In the past one mother drum was matched with two male drums; later this developed into one mother drum matched with several male drums. Before the yellow mud drum dance is danced, the drumheads must be coated with yellow mud slurry to tune them. Drums are divided into male and mother types, and an old artist of the village plays the mother drum and holds the tempo of the whole performance; the drum scores and the dance steps are transmitted orally from generation to generation by the master priests. After the autumn harvest the villages invite a master priest to choose an auspicious day for the sacrifice to Panwang, and the dancers, holding male and mother drums in mutual response, dance.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Yao ethnicity, born in September 1944, a native of Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. At the age of forty-four he formally became a ritual master through the ordination rite, and began to preside over religious ceremonies such as sacrifices to Pan Wang, processions of the deities, ordination and vegetarian rites, dancing the Huangni drum dance in the ceremony of Dancing for Pan Wang. He is familiar with the various religious rituals, knows the method of making drums, is thoroughly versed in the drum scores and dance steps, and understands their cultural meanings. He has repeatedly led the local Huangni drum dance team in competitions and performances at home and abroad, and has done his utmost to train successors. Within the documented technical tradition of Yao Zhang Drum Dance in Jinxiuyaozuzizhi, Guangxi: Dancing the yellow mud drum dance is an important part of the Ao Yao sacrifice to Panwang. The sacrificial rite is usually held after the autumn harvest, generally by one village or jointly by several villages, and sometimes by a single household. Yellow mud drums are divided into male drums and mother drums; the male drum has a long, slender waist and the mother drum has a thick, short one. When the yellow mud drum is beaten, yellow mud slurry is applied to the drumhead to tune it, and the drum takes its name from this. Those who dance the yellow mud drum dance are all men, performing respectively with the male drum and the mother drum. In the dance the mother drum is the axis and the male drums circle around it. Within the dance the beats of the mother drum are the most important, for they govern the rhythm of the whole dance. The male drums are beaten in response to the beats of the mother drum. Therefore the player of the mother drum is usually an old artist of the village. In the course of dancing the yellow mud drum dance, singing of Panwang songs is also incorporated: a song master leads young women in festive dress who, accompanied by several women blowing wooden leaves, sing while walking slowly around the dancing line. The songs recount the origin of the ancestors and scenes of labour life. The yellow mud drum dance has now gradually developed into a staged artistic performance. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Male and female drums": The female drum sets the rhythm at the centre while the longer male drums circle around it in response. "Tuning with yellow clay": Yellow clay paste is smeared on the drumheads to tune them, which gives the drums their name. "The Pan Wang song procession": A song master leads girls in festival dress, accompanied by women playing leaf whistles, singing around the dancers. "The post-harvest Pan Wang rite": The dance belongs to the Ao Yao Pan Wang rites, held after the harvest by one village, several villages, or a single household.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Yao Zhang Drum Dance (Huangni Drum Dance), a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has trained seven disciples, one of whom is a representative bearer of a representative item of intangible cultural heritage at the autonomous-region level.

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. Panzhensong · National Representative Bearer Archive