Datuoluo
01 · Historical Records
They link the origin of the spinning top to the worship of human reproduction, dividing tops into several varieties such as male tops (make tops), female tops (flat-headed tops), and pointed-beak tops, with sizes chosen to suit the player. The whip handle is limited to 0.6 meters in length, and the length of the whip cord varies by gender: 6 meters for men and 5 meters for women.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Top-spinning is a mass folk sport with a long history. Based on historical records and folk legends, it has a history of at least more than 1,000 years. Over its long development, every locality has continually innovated on the basis of tradition — from the materials, styles, and types of tops to the patterns, techniques, and competition rules of top-spinning — forming distinct local characteristics. Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County, Pu'er City, is the birthplace of modern top-spinning and the place where the activity is most widespread. The Jicong Top of Shuangjiang County, by contrast, originates in the primitive beliefs of the Va people and was an indispensable entertainment rite in the sacrificial activities of Va ancestors. It is named for its resemblance to the termite mushroom (jicong), and when played the top flies through the air like a peacock, giving rise to a unique athletic technique. It has strong competitive and performative qualities with obvious recreational and fitness value, and is of positive significance for enriching the spiritual and cultural life of the people, promoting exchange between communities, and strengthening social cohesion, stability, and harmony.
Male and female tops
Linked to fertility belief, tops are classed as male, female and pointed varieties, their sizes matched to the player.
Whip dimensions
The whip handle is capped at sixty centimetres and the lash runs six metres for men and five for women, though practice varies by county.
The termite-mushroom top
A top from Shuangjiang shaped like a termite mushroom, rooted in Wa belief and essential to ancestral rites, spinning up like a peacock in flight.
Three representative localities
Jinggu as the birthplace of the modern sport, Shuangbai with its flat and capped tops, and Shuangjiang with its mushroom top make up the regional spectrum.
A rite within Wa sacrifice
The mushroom top's origin in Wa belief shows the sport serving both competition and ritual among some Yunnan peoples.
Varied materials and making
Materials, shapes, varieties, playing styles and rules have all developed on traditional foundations to form distinct local characters.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
It is widely distributed among the ethnic minority areas of Yunnan Province, and is most typical of the villages and towns of Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County in Pu'er City, Shuangbai County in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County. Top-spinning in Yunnan Province is widely distributed, involving many ethnic groups and many regions. In Shuangbai County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, tops are divided into two kinds — flat-headed tops and cap-headed tops — with no restrictions on the thickness, length, or material of the whip cord. As a simple, enjoyable, and easily popularized mass sport, top-spinning has a broad folk character; through generations of transmission and development it has formed a system with distinct local characteristics and has become an important part of folk activities. Top-spinning is widely distributed among the ethnic minority areas of Yunnan Province, and is most typical of the villages and towns of Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County in Pu'er City, Shuangbai County in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County; the Yunnan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center is the designated protection unit. Jinggu is recognized as the birthplace of modern top-spinning and the place where the activity is most widespread. In Shuangbai County, tops are divided into two kinds, flat-headed tops and cap-headed tops, with no restrictions on the thickness, length, or material of the whip cord. The Jicong Top of Shuangjiang County is named for its resemblance to the termite mushroom, and when played it flies through the air like a peacock. Locals also classify tops, in line with the worship of human reproduction, into several varieties such as male tops (make tops), female tops (flat-headed tops), and pointed-beak tops, with sizes chosen to suit the player; the whip handle is limited to 0.6 meters in length, and the length of the whip cord varies by gender: 6 meters for men and 5 meters for women.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Social collective transmission and natural transmission are the main modes of transmission for top-spinning, alongside master-apprentice and family transmission.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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