Gelaomaolong Festival
01 · Historical Records
Scholars trace the Hairy Dragon back to the ancient Gelao worship of the Bamboo King and of procreation. The key to this inference lies not in its great antiquity but in the source of its materials: the long body built of bamboo strips and its raised-head posture fall exactly between bamboo and dragon, so that the object of sacrifice and the material of its making are fused into one. The dragon occupies a central rather than a peripheral place in Gelao belief: the occasions for honoring the dragon, the implements used, and the recited texts all have fixed forms, and the recitations are reserved for the rites of consecration, inviting water and burning the dragon, as well as for the performances of opening the wealth door and worshipping the god of wealth. A division of labor running from frameworking to performance to recitation has already made the Hairy Dragon a craft trade in its own right.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
'Gelao Hairy Dragon' is a form of folk veneration handed down for generations among the Gelao people of Shiqian. It is mainly found in the Gelao villages of Yanming and Longfeng in Longjing, Tangshan and other townships of Shiqian County, Guizhou Province, and its influence extends to the Dong, Miao and Tujia peoples throughout the county. The Gelao Hairy Dragon is most active during the Lantern Festival. Some scholars infer that the Hairy Dragon originated in the ancient Gelao worship of the 'Bamboo King' and of procreation. Dragon worship is the core of the Gelao Hairy Dragon. Its basic elements include: (1) 'dragon' belief, comprising traditional stories, dragon-worshipping rites, the occasions and implements for honoring the dragon, and the recitations addressed to the dragon god; (2) subsidiary totemic beliefs, including worship of the 'Bamboo King,' worship of Panhu, popular Buddhist and Daoist worship, and primitive worship; (3) frameworking craft, including the selection of materials (bamboo strips and colored paper) and the workmanship; (4) performance techniques, including 'Two Dragons Fighting for the Treasure,' 'Lazy Dragon Turning Over,' 'Single Dragon Toying with the Pearl,' 'Swan Holding an Egg,' 'Hanging Upside Down from the Golden Hook,' 'Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon' and 'Screw Top'; and (5) recitation, including the chants used in the rites of consecration, inviting water and burning the dragon, as well as the sung passages in the performances of opening the wealth door and worshipping the god of wealth.
The dragon comes out at Lantern Night
The hairy dragon is an affair of the Lantern festival: each village builds its lamp-dragon and dances it into the night to drums and torches.
Building the dragon from bamboo and paper
Bamboo splints form the frame and coloured paper the skin; the lightness of the build decides whether the dragon can rise and fall in the dance.
Seven named feats
Two dragons seizing the treasure, the lazy dragon turning over, the single dragon at play with the pearl and other feats each demand their own technique.
Chants for the dragon's consecration
The chants belong to the consecration, the drawing of water and the burning of the dragon, and to the door-opening rites of wealth, pairing words with gestures.
Dragon villages in Longjing and Tangshan
The form is kept in the Gelao villages of Longjing and Tangshan and radiates to the Dong, Miao and Tujia villages across the county.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Hairy Dragons of Shiqian have their main transmission sites in the Gelao villages of Yanming and Longfeng in Longjing, Tangshan and other townships. Around the Lantern Festival each village makes and parades its own dragon, and during the festival the villages visit one another, showing off their frameworking craft and performance techniques. Outside the festival season the craft's boundaries are not closed: the same artisans who frame the dragons are hired by the neighboring Dong, Miao and Tujia peoples to make and perform them. The Hairy Dragon of Shiqian is thus both a festival object of the Gelao themselves and a shared local craft of the multi-ethnic area of eastern Guizhou. The names of the performance techniques serve as the measure of a village's skill: whoever can coil the dragon body steadily and flip it nimbly earns a name under the lanterns that night. Frameworking and performance are never two separate things here, for only a light frame can be danced up and down.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The 'Gelao Hairy Dragon' has rich cultural value, displaying a distinctive ethnic and regional character and diverse social functions. It is a precious resource for studying the cultural traditions of the ancient Gelao people.
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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