Shannan Changguozhuo Dance
01 · Historical Records
The Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance is a waist-drum dance that originated in the Dabu area (present-day Jiaqia). This indicates that the Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance has a history of at least 1,300 years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Legend has it that in the middle of the eighth century CE, when the thirty-seventh Tibetan king Trisong Detsen built Samye Monastery, the first monastery in Tibet, on the north bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River with the assistance of Buddhist masters such as Padmasambhava, the walls that the workmen had painstakingly built during the day were destroyed by demons in the night. In order to beguile spirits and demons, Padmasambhava invited the seven Zhuoba brothers (the performers who dance the zhuo dance) from the Dabu area to dance the zhuo dance and subdue the demons. From then on the zhuo dance flourished in Shannan. Most villages in Shannan have zhuo dance teams, and this dance form later gradually spread to other regions. The waist drums used in the zhuo dance have two straps tied to the drum rim; one is fastened around the performer's waist and the other around the root of the thigh, fixing the round drum upright at the left side of the waist. In performance the traditional formation is basically a circle, and the performers are divided into two categories: lead dancers (are) and group dancers (Zhuoba). The number of lead dancers in a performing troupe varies from two to six. They carry no waist drum; their main task is to signal the order in which movements change and to control the speed of the rhythm. Their movements are strongly rhythmic, and their postures are basically the same as those of the group dancers but less demanding. Lead dancers are always persons who know all the movements and the order of the zhuo dance and have long performing experience. The group dancers dance to the rhythm of the drumbeat while beating the drums, and their dance movements swing their long braided hair into shapes such as "∞" and "○". Their movements are bold and uninhibited, vigorous and martial, strongly rhythmic and endlessly varied. The zhuo dance consists of eighteen sections in all: 1. Three-Step Drumbeat; 2. Parrot; 3. Pacifying the Land; 4. Driving Piles on the Rock of Padmasambhava; 5. Lion Leaping; 6. Tiger and Lion in Conflict; 7. Interlocking Loops; 8. Sandalwood Fairy; 9. Foundation Stone of the Samye Wall; 10. Three Strikes Lying Down; 11. Beating the Drum; 12. Crow Walking in the Vajra Steps; 13. The King Takes His Seat; 14. Gate of Wealth; 15. Ministers and Subjects; 16. Worship and Offerings; 17. Elephant Lying on Its Side; 18. Nine-Step Drumbeat. The zhuo dance integrates movement, rhythm, technique and beat into a single whole, in which every aspect is coordinated with and highly unified with the others. Because the difficulty reveals the skill, its appeal is endless.
The eighteen sections
Eighteen sections from the three-step drumbeat through the parrot and the lion's leap to the crow's vajra step, the king's enthronement, the gate of wealth and the nine-step drumbeat.
Two straps and the drum at the left hip
Two straps on the drum's frame, one round the waist and one round the thigh, hold the round drum upright at the left hip.
The are and the zhuoba
Dancers divide into leaders and drummers; two to six leaders carry no drum and cue the order of movements and the tempo.
Braids whipped into figures of eight
The drumming dancers lash their long braids into figures of eight and circles, forceful and varied in rhythm.
Padmasambhava and the taming of demons
When demons undid each day's masonry at Samye, Padmasambhava summoned seven zhuoba dancers from Dabu to subdue them, and the dance spread through Shannan.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance has its core place of transmission in Gonggar County, and it is also distributed in counties along the Yarlung Tsangpo River such as Zhanang, Qiongjie and Sangri. Most villages in Shannan have zhuo dance teams, and the form later gradually spread to other regions. The size of a zhuo dance team depends on the population of the village; lead dancers are persons who know the order of all the sections and have long performing experience, and the group drummers are mainly young and middle-aged men.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Zhuo Dance · Zhuo Dance · Zhuo Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years the preservation of the Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance in the community has given cause for concern, and vigorous effective protection is needed so that it is not lost. Suolang (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in 1974, a native of Gonggar, Tibet. Suolang began learning the zhuo dance from a teacher at the age of seventeen, and has fully mastered the various dance movements and ritual procedures of the Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance. He has repeatedly led villagers in performing the zhuo dance at large-scale events held in the autonomous region, and has been highly praised. Representative inheritor of the Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second national-level batch. Bianbatsering (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in 1963, a native of Gonggar, Tibet. As captain of a zhuo dance team, he has led villagers many times in performing at large-scale events held in the autonomous region, and is deeply loved by the people. Representative inheritor of the Shannan Sangguo Zhuo dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the second national-level batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Suolang 02-0398
- Bianbaciren 02-0399
- Nima 05-2242
- Awangdunzhu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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