Bronze Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
Judging by the funeral customs of the White-Trouser Yao and by local investigation, Nandan Qinzegela originated in the bronze drum sacrificial activity within funerals, one of the three main components of a White-Trouser Yao funeral. The family of the deceased beats the bronze drum and strikes the skin drum, on the one hand to see the deceased off on the last journey, and on the other to summon the clanspeople together with the sound of the drums. The skin drum player is at the same time the lead dancer; in beating the drum he imitates the movements of a monkey climbing branches, plucking fruit and throwing objects, hence the additional name "beating the old monkey". Later it gradually broke out of the funeral rite and became a traditional dance combining sacrifice with entertainment.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The bronze drum dance (Nandan Qinzegela) is a traditional dance dearly loved by the Yao people; it is the crystallisation of culture accumulated over a long process of social development and contains many layers of content, such as the history, culture, folk customs and religious beliefs of the White-Trouser Yao. The White-Trouser Yao are a branch of the Yao and belong to the village-dwelling peoples. Because the men all wear white trousers reaching just past the knee, they are called the "White-Trouser Yao". This heritage item is transmitted mainly in Lihu Yao Township and Bayu Yao Township of Nandan County, partly in Chehe Town, Chengguan Town and Mangchang Town, and a small amount in Yaoshan Township of Libo County and Celing Township of Hechi City. "Qinzegela" is a transliteration from the White-Trouser Yao language and means "beating the old monkey". Because it is accompanied by the bronze drum it is also generally called the "bronze drum dance". Nandan Qinzegela derives from the funeral customs of the White-Trouser Yao; it is the bronze drum sacrificial activity that forms one of the three main components of the funeral rites. Under the direction of one skin drum, many bronze drums are struck rhythmically, each bronze drum being played by two people: one beats the drum, the other holds a wind barrel (a wooden bucket) and, following the rhythm, blows air into and draws air out of the drum body, so that drum and barrel resonate, bronze drum sound and wooden drum sound accompanying one another. The skin drum needs only one player, and the skin drum player is the main dancer, dancing as he beats: with the drumstick he strikes the skin drum from top to bottom, now on the drumhead, now on the drum body, now on the ground, imitating the living habits of a monkey, the form of a monkey, the dance of a monkey. The crowd gathers round and dances in accompaniment; the movements are simple and archaic, rough and quick, vigorous and powerful. The basic movements of Nandan Qinzegela include double striking, single striking, circling the drum with double striking, and the monkey playing with the drum, in fourteen steps and seventy beats. The Jihou style and the Badi style are relatively common; the drumbeats of the Jihou style are steady and slow, while the Badi style is rhythm-driven. Nandan Qinzegela is a collective dance whose movements are easy to learn and easy to remember. Dozens of people take part; the close coordination among the skin drum, the bronze drum and the wind barrel demands teamwork, in the quick and slow passages, the transitions and the syncopations.
Fourteen steps, seventy beats
Movements such as double-strike, single-strike, circling double-strike and monkey-playing-with-drum run through fourteen steps and seventy beats.
The skin-drummer as monkey
One player beats and dances at once, striking face, body and ground in turn to imitate a monkey's ways while the crowd dances around him.
Wind-tub resonance
Each bronze drum takes two people, one striking while the other slides a wooden wind-tub in and out of the cavity to produce resonance.
Jihou and Badi styles
Styles include Huaili, Yaoli, Badi and Jihou, the Jihou beat being calm and slow and the Badi one strongly rhythmic.
Li Fangcai's monkey dance
The fifth-batch inheritor Li Fangcai, born in 1964, is both drummer and lead dancer, miming a monkey climbing, picking and throwing at home and abroad.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
It is divided into the Huaili style, the Yaoli style, the Badi style and the Jihou style.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Bronze Drum Dance · Bronze Drum Dance · Bronze Drum Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The drum formation of Nandan Qinzegela is magnificent in scale and its drumming is overwhelmingly powerful, fully displaying the spiritual outlook of the White-Trouser Yao, who are diligent and brave, rough and simple, and who live in harmony with one another and with nature; at the same time it provides important reference for research into the social development history, the religious beliefs, culture and art of the Yao people. Li Fangcai (official file of the associated inheritor): Male, of the Yao ethnicity, born in June 1964, native of Nandan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He combines in himself the skin drum player and the lead dancer, and is the soul of the whole dance; dancing as he beats, he can imitate with vivid fidelity the movements of a monkey climbing branches, plucking fruit and throwing objects. His dancing is light and quick, blending strength and softness with just measure, rough and archaic; he both preserves the traditional movements and adds personal touches, bringing the monkey's liveliness vividly to the fore. He has many times gone abroad and at home to give performances, publicity and competitions as skin drum director for Qinzegela (a transliteration from Yao, meaning "beating the old monkey"). He has many disciples, of whom several have already mastered the essential skills of Nandan Qinzegela and serve as directors. Representative inheritor of the bronze drum dance (Nandan Qinzegela) 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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