Dai Xiangjiao Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
There are many folk legends about the origin of the elephant-foot drum, such as that a husband and wife made it by imitating the sound of mangoes falling into water, or that people made it from dragon skin to celebrate their victory after killing the evil dragon that had brought the floods. The earliest record, however, is found in the Ming-dynasty Baiyi Zhuan: 'the large and small long-skin drums are struck with the hand'. The performance of the Dai elephant-foot drum dance can be divided into two types. The first is dancing to the beating of the drum, called 'xieguang' in Dai, which includes solo dance, duet, antiphonal dance and group dance; the second is dancing in response to the drum, called 'gaguang', in which the 'three bends' derive from the motion of early humans picking fruit from trees and later became a dance form peculiar to the Dai and to many peoples of South Asia and Southeast Asia.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The elephant-foot drum dance is the most widely popular, highest in performance level and most representative traditional ethnic dance of the Dai people. It has many performance forms such as solo dance, antiphonal dance and group dance, and can be performed or enjoyed recreationally on many occasions. Its purpose is to sacrifice to the spirits, ward off disaster and evil, and celebrate a good harvest. The elephant-foot drum dance is passed down not only among the Dai, De'ang, Jingpo, Achang and other ethnic minorities within China but has also spread to many countries in Southeast Asia. The elephant-foot drum is the emblematic percussion instrument of the Dai people. In the elephant-foot drum dance the dancer's arms must make the movements of turning the wrist backwards and scooping it forwards in a circle; this is a visual reflection of the Dai ancestors taking seed from a carrying basket on their backs and scattering it, showing that Dai society had already entered the era of agriculture. In performing the Dai elephant-foot drum dance the dancer carries the drum on the left shoulder with the drumhead forward and the tail pointing down, striking mainly with the right hand and supporting with the left; the fist, palm and fingers are generally used to beat the drumhead, and sometimes the elbow, knee, heel and toes are used as well — when the hand strikes the drum the knee bends, and when the elbow is raised the dancer stands up. The steps include a half-step squat to the front, a half-step squat to the back, a full squat on a stepping motion, a half squat in a figure-eight step, as well as movements such as swinging the leg, raising the leg, kicking the foot and jumping with a drawn-in leg. According to whether the drum is long, medium or small in shape there are three ways of dancing: the long elephant-foot drum dance, the medium elephant-foot drum dance and the small elephant-foot drum dance. The Dai elephant-foot drum dance is a men's dance that can be both performed recreationally and publicly staged, and has a distinctive artistic style. Because the long body of the drum restricts the movement of the body, the dance movements focus mainly on the lower half of the body, such as lifting and squatting walking steps, brushing the leg and the wide figure-eight step, sometimes accompanied by slight swaying movements of the body. The Dai elephant-foot drum dance is the means by which the Dai express a joyful mood, and so it has become a dance full of masculine vigour that is a welcome sight to the general populace.
Lang Si and drum making
Lang Si learned to dance from Bi Xiang and drum making from Lang Paga, producing durable drums with a deep tone.
Xieguang and Gaguang
Two performance types: dancing while drumming, and dancing after the drum, whose three-bend pose recalls fruit picking.
Three drum lengths, three styles
The longer the drum, the more the movement is confined to the lower body, with lifting steps, leg sweeps and wide stances.
Striking by fist, palm, finger, elbow and knee
The drum hangs from the left shoulder and is struck mainly by the right hand — fist, palm, finger, and at times elbow, knee, heel or toe.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The elephant-foot drum dance is passed down in the Dai villages of Mangshi; Lang Yanruan and Xian Erbao of Guangxiang Village both came out of Lang Si's line.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Dai Xiangjiao Drum Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Dai elephant-foot drum dance has the functions of delighting the spirit and the senses, strengthening body and mind and making friends through dance; much of the information carried in the dance can help people understand the changes in the history and culture of the Dai people, and it has a high academic research value. At present, in the situation where foreign culture forcibly intrudes, the traditional culture of the Dai and other ethnic minorities is subject to enormous impact, only a handful of folk artists master the performance skills of the elephant-foot drum dance, some highly difficult drum-beating techniques have already been lost, and urgent protection measures and timely rescue are needed from the relevant parties. Lang Si (recorded in the official archive of associated inheritors): male, Dai, born in September 1955, native of Mangshi, Yunnan Province. Obsessed with the elephant-foot drum from childhood, he apprenticed himself to the old artist Bi Xiang of his village at an early age to study the elephant-foot drum dance. At the age of 28 he followed the well-known elephant-foot drum maker Lang Paga to learn the technique of making elephant-foot drums. Through humble and assiduous study he became a master of elephant-foot drum making, and the drums he made were beautiful and durable, with a deep and lingering sound. He masters not only the skills of making, tuning and repairing elephant-foot drums but has reached a state of perfection in the art of the elephant-foot drum dance, which is uniquely his own and deeply loved by the local Dai people. Representative inheritor of the Dai elephant-foot drum dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national batch. Lang Yanruan and Xian Erbao of Guangxiang Village are both his favourite disciples.
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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