Nima

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Under the careful instruction of his father and of veteran folk artists such as Losang, he learned to perform the Jiuhe Zhuo Dance. Within the regional tradition and school record of Zhuo Dance in Qiongjie, Tibet: The Jiuhe zhuo dance is passed down in Jiuhe Village, Xiushui Township, Qiongjie County, Shannan City, Tibet Autonomous Region, and for a long time has been transmitted within this single village from master to apprentice. The village zhuo dance team organizes rehearsals according to the seasonal calendar and in slack farming periods; besides performing at local celebrations and folk events, it has also travelled to Lhasa to take part in the zhuo dance performances of the Shoton Festival, and has given touring performances in Beijing, Taiwan and other places. This heritage project has a long history. It is recorded that the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance was already performed at the completion ceremony of Samye Monastery in the eighth century. In the 1980s the local government collected and sorted out materials on the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance, and afterwards organized a general survey of the dance, gathering and supplementing textual, photographic and audio-visual materials for the project.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Tibetan, born in May 1945, a native of Qiongjie County in the Tibet Autonomous Region. He has a thorough knowledge of the historical origins and artistic characteristics of the Jiuhe Zhuo Dance and is an outstanding Zhuo dancer and coach. During traditional festivals and the agricultural slack season he organizes members of the Zhuo dance troupe to tour the villages and perform for local people, enriching and enlivening cultural life at the grassroots. In 1987 he led the troupe to Lhasa to take part in the Zhuo dance performances of the Shoton Festival. In February 2009 he led the Zhuo dance troupe to Beijing for the CCTV Television Dance Competition, and in November of the same year to the Taiwan region for a cross-strait intangible cultural heritage exhibition. Within the documented technical tradition of Zhuo Dance in Qiongjie, Tibet: The Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance is passed down in Jiuhe Village, Xiushui Township, Qiongjie County, Shannan, Tibet Autonomous Region. It is an uninhibited traditional dance performed at important celebrations and major folk events to raise morale, enliven the atmosphere, direct and coordinate the participants, and accompany the dancing and singing. Performers of the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance fall into two categories, are (lead dancers) and Zhuoba (drummers); there are normally eight are and a number of Zhuoba. The are carry no waist drum. The Zhuoba beat the drums and dance to the rhythm of the drumbeat, while swinging their long braids so that, in time with the drumbeat and the dance movements, the braids are whirled into shapes such as "∞" and "○". In the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance, the Guo Xie and Xieqin danced by the Zhuoba and the are are performed in alternation. The dancers of the Guo Xie move clockwise in their steps, while in the Xieqin they step on the spot. The performance of the Guo Xie and the Xieqin is structurally divided into a four-part combination: the first part is the singing of slow songs, the second is the recitation of "songga" (that is, spoken lines), the third is a fast-tempo song-and-dance, and the fourth ends the zhuo dance within the recitation of "songga". The Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance has twelve dance sections in all. The are do not deliver the spoken lines on their own; what they chiefly sing and recite is the lyrics of the Guo Xie and Xieqin that they dance to. Of these lyrics, only the first and the last are basically fixed, while the lyrics and melodies of the ten Guo Xie and Xieqin are led freely and impromptu by the xieben (song master). The are wear masks made from a whole white sheepskin over a white shirt; they wear a fine-check long-sleeved Tibetan gown with a checked handkerchief hanging in front of the chest, the left sleeve of the gown worn and the right not, with a knife and a bowl case at the back, and on their backs a long coloured silk, a scripture box and a string of bells. The rhythm of the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance is bright and clear and its movements vigorous and uninhibited; it both brings physical and mental pleasure to the performers and immerses the audience, enriching the spiritual and cultural life of the local people. The many dancers coordinate closely with one another in rehearsal and performance, which strengthens exchange and interaction among the people and increases the cohesion and sense of belonging of the community. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The are's sheepskin mask and dress": The leader's mask is a whole white sheepskin; beneath a white shirt and checked robe he wears the sleeve on the left only, with a knife, bowl-case, long silk, amulet box and bells behind. "Interlacing guoxie and xieqin": The drummers' and leaders' guoxie and xieqin alternate, the former moving clockwise, the latter marking time in place. "The four-part structure": Each cycle runs in four parts: a slow song, the spoken songjia, fast song-and-dance, and a closing songjia. "Twelve sections and the song master": Twelve sections in all; apart from the fixed first and last, the ten middle lyrics and tunes are led freely by the song master.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A representative bearer of the Zhuo Dance (Qiongjie Jiuhe Zhuo Dance), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has conscientiously fulfilled the obligations of a bearer and has trained numerous young performers.

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. Nima · National Representative Bearer Archive