Zhuo Dance
01 · Historical Records
This heritage project has a long history. It is recorded that the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance was already performed at the completion ceremony of Samye Monastery in the eighth century. In the 1980s the local government collected and sorted out materials on the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance, and afterwards organized a general survey of the dance, gathering and supplementing textual, photographic and audio-visual materials for the project.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance is passed down in Jiuhe Village, Xiushui Township, Qiongjie County, Shannan, Tibet Autonomous Region. It is an uninhibited traditional dance performed at important celebrations and major folk events to raise morale, enliven the atmosphere, direct and coordinate the participants, and accompany the dancing and singing. Performers of the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance fall into two categories, are (lead dancers) and Zhuoba (drummers); there are normally eight are and a number of Zhuoba. The are carry no waist drum. The Zhuoba beat the drums and dance to the rhythm of the drumbeat, while swinging their long braids so that, in time with the drumbeat and the dance movements, the braids are whirled into shapes such as "∞" and "○". In the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance, the Guo Xie and Xieqin danced by the Zhuoba and the are are performed in alternation. The dancers of the Guo Xie move clockwise in their steps, while in the Xieqin they step on the spot. The performance of the Guo Xie and the Xieqin is structurally divided into a four-part combination: the first part is the singing of slow songs, the second is the recitation of "songga" (that is, spoken lines), the third is a fast-tempo song-and-dance, and the fourth ends the zhuo dance within the recitation of "songga". The Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance has twelve dance sections in all. The are do not deliver the spoken lines on their own; what they chiefly sing and recite is the lyrics of the Guo Xie and Xieqin that they dance to. Of these lyrics, only the first and the last are basically fixed, while the lyrics and melodies of the ten Guo Xie and Xieqin are led freely and impromptu by the xieben (song master). The are wear masks made from a whole white sheepskin over a white shirt; they wear a fine-check long-sleeved Tibetan gown with a checked handkerchief hanging in front of the chest, the left sleeve of the gown worn and the right not, with a knife and a bowl case at the back, and on their backs a long coloured silk, a scripture box and a string of bells. The rhythm of the Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance is bright and clear and its movements vigorous and uninhibited; it both brings physical and mental pleasure to the performers and immerses the audience, enriching the spiritual and cultural life of the local people. The many dancers coordinate closely with one another in rehearsal and performance, which strengthens exchange and interaction among the people and increases the cohesion and sense of belonging of the community.
The are's sheepskin mask and dress
The leader's mask is a whole white sheepskin; beneath a white shirt and checked robe he wears the sleeve on the left only, with a knife, bowl-case, long silk, amulet box and bells behind.
Interlacing guoxie and xieqin
The drummers' and leaders' guoxie and xieqin alternate, the former moving clockwise, the latter marking time in place.
The four-part structure
Each cycle runs in four parts: a slow song, the spoken songjia, fast song-and-dance, and a closing songjia.
Twelve sections and the song master
Twelve sections in all; apart from the fixed first and last, the ten middle lyrics and tunes are led freely by the song master.
Nima and the Jiuhe troupe
Nima, born in 1945 in Qonggyai, led his troupe to the Lhasa Shoton festival in 1987, to CCTV's dance contest in Beijing in 2009, and to Taiwan the same year.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Jiuhe zhuo dance is passed down in Jiuhe Village, Xiushui Township, Qiongjie County, Shannan City, Tibet Autonomous Region, and for a long time has been transmitted within this single village from master to apprentice. The village zhuo dance team organizes rehearsals according to the seasonal calendar and in slack farming periods; besides performing at local celebrations and folk events, it has also travelled to Lhasa to take part in the zhuo dance performances of the Shoton Festival, and has given touring performances in Beijing, Taiwan and other places.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shannan Changguozhuo Dance · Zhuo Dance · Zhuo Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance has developed to the present day through master-apprentice transmission. This heritage project displays the spiritual character of the Tibetan people and carries collective memory and emotion; it is precious material for research into Tibetan society, religious belief, culture and art. Nima (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in May 1945, a native of Qiongjie County, Tibet Autonomous Region. He understands the historical origins and artistic characteristics of the Jiuhe zhuo dance, and is an outstanding zhuo dance performer and instructor. He makes use of traditional festivals and slack farming periods to organize zhuo dance troupe members to go deep into the villages and perform the zhuo dance for the masses, enriching and enlivening the arts stage at the grassroots level. In 1987 he led a troupe to Lhasa to take part in zhuo dance performances at the Shoton Festival. In February 2009 he led the zhuo dance troupe to Beijing to take part in a CCTV television dance competition, and in November of the same year went to the Taiwan region to take part in a cross-strait intangible cultural heritage performance tour. Representative inheritor of the zhuo dance (Qiongjie Jiuhe zhuo dance), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch. He conscientiously fulfils his duties as an inheritor and has trained many young performers.
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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