Jingpo Munaozongge
01 · Historical Records
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 · Core Techniques & Process
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.
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.
Jieru Munao for the war rally
A rallying form danced before departure, in two lines with weapons, now mostly known only from oral accounts.
Stamp-step and shoulder-swing
The characteristic rhythm of Jino dance: stamping the feet and swinging the shoulders in a two-to-one pattern.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
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.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Longchuan County is currently the area in China with the largest Jingpo population, the most complete and standardized transmission of the Munao Zongge, and the strongest Jingpo representativeness. The Munao Zongge integrates Jingpo culture as a whole, touches every aspect of social production and life, and concentrates the display of Jingpo traditional culture; it is of important value to the study of Jingpo history and culture. Yue Matong (as recorded in the official archives of associated inheritors): He mastered the traditional rules and ritual procedures of the Munao. As a naoshuang — the term refers to the leader who guides the crowd in dance during Munao Zongge activities — he led the dance along traditional routes, his performance rhythm steady, demonstrating the historical and cultural traditions of the Jingpo people. Male, Jingpo ethnicity, born in September 1941 and deceased in December 2012, from Longchuan County, Yunnan Province. Representative inheritor of the Jingpo Munao Zongge, a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. He often led three apprentices to take part in Munao ceremonies in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County, Lincang City; in Mangshi, Yingjiang County, and Ruili City of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture; and in Bhamo, Kachin State, Myanmar, carrying out naoshuang transmission activities. Zhao Baozhong (as recorded in the official archives of associated inheritors): Male, Jingpo ethnicity, born in May 1959, from Longchuan County, Yunnan Province. He loved Jingpo traditional culture from childhood. He began studying the Munao Zongge in 1983 and received personal instruction from the senior naoshuang Yue Matong and Yue Weidong; he mastered the naoshuang charts proficiently and could lead teams and dances independently. He has traveled to Myitkyina, Bhamo, and other places in Myanmar to take part in Munao Zongge festivals and served as naoshuang at the Chinese-side special Munao Zongge events. In recent years, he has served as the naoshuang of the Munao Zongge Festival of the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture and often teaches the public the basic knowledge of the Munao Zongge, playing a central role in its transmission. Representative inheritor of the Jingpo Munao Zongge, a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yue Matong 03-1465
- Zhao Baozhong 05-2973
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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