Bronze Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
The bronze drum dance is one of the oldest dance forms most widely transmitted and most influential in the folk traditions of the Zhuang, Yi and Yao peoples of China; it derives from the nature worship and the ancestor worship of the ancestors of the Zhuang, Yi and other peoples of Wenshan.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In the performance of the bronze drum dance, the drummer strikes the drum rhythmically, and changes in the rhythm of the drumbeats bring about changes in the dance formations and movements. The collective dance of the bronze drum dance has a variety of formations; young men and women may form a circle, or be arranged in a semicircle, a single straight line, a column, in crosswise paired dancing, or in a square. From the second to the thirtieth day of the first lunar month, or on the second day of the second lunar month, every Yao village dances the bronze drum dance to commemorate the ancestors, celebrate the festival, and pray for health and longevity, abundant harvests of the five grains and prosperity of the six domestic animals. On the eve of the lunar new year or on the second day of the first month, the men, women, old and young of the whole village put on their festival attire, and the village elder presides over the annual "qibao" ritual. After the sacrifice to the bronze drum, the young men of the village, under the direction of the village elder, hoist the bronze drum and the wooden drum up and hang them. The chief sacrificer beats the drum for one round first, after which the others take turns striking it. At first the drumming is light and gentle, then it gradually quickens and tends towards the vigorous and stirring, and finally it rolls on like a sudden storm. The two players of the cowhide drum are the lead dancers of the bronze drum dance; they sometimes strike from the front and sometimes turn round to strike, the drumsticks constantly appearing behind the head, behind the waist and beneath the groin and striking the drumhead to form a striking rhythm. The two dance as they beat, their movements coordinated and fitting together seamlessly. The men, women, old and young on the ground then join the line of the dance one after another, first dancing the circle dance, then the welcoming-spring dance and the shoulder-pole dance; the movements are ardent and unrestrained, and the scene is extraordinarily grand. There is no limit on the number of participants in the bronze drum dance; all residents of the village may take part. After the bronze drum dance is finished each year, the bronze drum is buried underground again, and the place of burial is never made public.
The treasure-raising rite
At New Year the village elder leads the treasure-raising rite, unearthing the male and female drums, making offerings, then hanging them up to be struck.
Two skin-drum leaders
The two skin-drummers lead, striking front, then turning so the sticks flash behind head, back and hips, dancing as they beat.
Circle, spring and shoulder-pole dances
The drumming swells from soft to stormy as the whole village joins in the circle dance, then the spring dance and the shoulder-pole dance.
The drum reburied in secret
After the dance the drum is reburied each year and its hiding place kept secret; the Mubing and Changfa Yao forms go back two centuries.
Huang Mingrong and the endangered items
The fifth-batch inheritor Huang Mingrong, born in 1956, carries the whole rite from drum offering to dance sets and the nearly lost bamboo-zither, eight-immortals and longevity dances.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The dancers' emotion rises and falls with the dance, the dancing is vigorous and powerful, the bearing is rough and agile, and the dance scene is lively and moving, showing distinctive ethnic and regional features. The Yao bronze drum dance is a folk dance form created by the Yao people; the bronze drum dance transmitted among the "Mubing Yao" and "Changfa Yao" in various parts of Tianlin County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has a history of more than two hundred years and is deeply loved by the local Yao people. The people dig out the two bronze drums, one male and one female, set up an incense table, and place offerings on them for the sacrifice.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Bronze Drum Dance · Bronze Drum Dance · Bronze Drum Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Tianlin Yao bronze drum dance is of important significance in the identification of Tianlin Yao culture, and can provide reference for research in ethnology, art studies and other fields. Ban Dianyi (official file of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Yao ethnicity, born in July 1944, native of Tianlin County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Tianlin Yao bronze drum dance troupe he formed, of more than forty members, performed in Beijing, in Guangdong and in the Guinan and Guixi areas of the autonomous region. Representative inheritor of the bronze drum dance (Tianlin Yao bronze drum dance) of the fourth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items. He was engaged by the county government as a tutor for the bronze drum dance, teaching the Tianlin Yao bronze drum dance to the younger generation. Huang Mingrong (official file of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Yao ethnicity, born in November 1956, native of Tianlin County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He has fully mastered the core skills of the Tianlin Yao bronze drum dance from the drum sacrifice to the specific dance sections, and transmits movements on the verge of being lost from Yao traditional dances such as the bamboo zither dance, the Eight Immortals dance and the longevity birthday dance; these are simple and natural, the bearing light and agile and the style distinctive, and he is also skilled at playing instruments such as the Eight Immortals tune and the long and short horns. He has led villagers in studying the performance of the bronze drum dance and has made many tours for demonstration, continually expanding the social influence of the Yao bronze drum dance. Representative inheritor of the (Tianlin Yao bronze drum dance) of the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Lu Xiaozong 02-0384
- Huang Zhengwu 02-0385
- Ban Dianyi 04-1568
- Huang Mingrong 05-2236
- Li Fangcai 05-2237
- Liang Zhenggong 05-2238
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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