Sama Dance
01 · Historical Records
The origins of the Sama dance are connected with the Arabic meaning of the word "sama" (the firmament, the river of heaven, the high sky). Around Kashgar it gradually evolved from collective chanting in religious rites into a folk dance in the public square, and to this day it retains the plain and solemn legacy of religious dance. Whenever the traditional Muslim festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha arrive, people gather in the square in front of the mosque for a grand celebration; when the drums and music enter the Sama rhythm they stream in, forming circle after circle, several rings deep and of varying sizes, with hundreds or even thousands of people dancing at once. Since the twentieth century the Sama dance has been brought onto the stage through the tidying-up work of professional dancers, producing works such as "Kashgar Sama Dance" and "Id Kah Sama Dance".
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Sama dance is a folk dance form of the Uyghur people with a style of its own. The word "sama" is Arabic, meaning "the firmament", "the river of heaven", "the high sky". This dance is mainly transmitted in the counties and cities centred on Kashgar such as Shufu, Shule, Jiashi and Yengisar, and it is most typical of the large-scale Sama dance events held in the square in front of the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar. The Sama dance is a square collective dance in which Uyghur men take part; the participants are young and old alike, there is no limit to their number, and several hundred or even thousands can dance at once to the sound of the drums. Whenever the traditional Muslim festivals of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha come around, people gather in the square in front of the mosque for a grand and solemn celebration, singing and dancing to their hearts' content. When the drums and music enter the Sama rhythm, people stream in, forming circle after circle, several rings deep and of differing sizes. Accompanied by the nagira (iron drum), the dungbaku (bass iron drum) and the sunai (oboe), the dancers step firmly, bend forward and back, swing and turn leisurely, sometimes moving inward and outward, sometimes advancing slowly in a counter-clockwise direction. Those singing and dancing have concentrated expressions and steady steps, and there is something of the plain, solemn legacy of religious dance about them. As time goes on, more and more people stream in to dance, gradually forming dozens or hundreds of circles that press against one another and cover the whole square; the crowd pulses to a single rhythm, and seen from a distance it looks like surging waves. The accompanying music of the Sama dance has a powerful rhythm that moves the heart, with marked character and great vitality.
The square before the Id Kah mosque
The square outside Kashgar's Id Kah mosque is the classic site, where hundreds or even a thousand dancers circle together at Eid.
Naghra, dumbak and surnay
The dance is accompanied by iron kettledrums, a bass drum and a shawm; only when the music shifts into the Sama rhythm do people enter the circle.
Steady stepping and slow turning
The basic movement is a firm step with swaying body and slow turning, now advancing and retreating, now moving anticlockwise with intent, steady steps.
Ablimit Tohti and his works
Ablimit Tohti, born in 1937 in Kashgar, created works such as the Kashgar Sama and the Id Kah Sama and is a fifth-batch national inheritor.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Sama dance is mainly transmitted in the counties and cities centred on Kashgar such as Shufu, Shule, Jiashi and Yengisar; the large-scale Sama dance events held in the square in front of the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar are the most typical, and the Kashgar Cultural Centre undertakes protection of the project. Accompanied by the nagira (iron drum), the dungbaku (bass iron drum) and the sunai (oboe), the dancers step firmly, bend forward and back, swing and turn leisurely, sometimes moving inward and outward, sometimes advancing slowly in a counter-clockwise direction; as more people stream in, dozens or hundreds of circles press against one another and fill the square, and the crowd pulses to a single rhythm. Kashgar's folk Sama dancers have long performed in festival squares and trained apprentices, and Ablimit Tohti is a representative figure among them.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Ablimit Tohti (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Uyghur ethnicity, born in January 1937, from Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A folk Sama dancer whose performance movements are steady and powerful and whose emotion is spirited and rising, he is fully able to display the unique charm of the Kashgar Sama dance. Many of the dance works he has created and performed are deeply loved by the people. His representative works include the dances "Kashgar Sama Dance", "Id Kah Sama Dance", "Amnisa and Panjiga" and "The Happy Young Man". Representative inheritor of the Sama dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Abulimiti Tuohuti 05-2294
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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