Qiang Yangpi Drum Dance
01 · Historical Records
According to documentary records, the Qiang sheep-skin drum dance was originally a religious dance performed by the Qiang shibi ritual specialists when they conducted rites, and later gradually evolved into a folk dance.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In the Qiang language the sheep-skin drum dance is called "Mo'enna Sa" or "Buzila"; it is circulated mainly in Longxi, Yanmen, Mianchi and other places of Wenchuan County in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, with the Batuo village of Ar Village in Longxi Township being the most typical case. The sheep-skin drum dance is an indispensable part of Qiang social practice, ritual life and festival activity; it is mysterious and carries a strong colour of primitive religious sacrifice. Its movements are both vigorous and forceful and humble and deferential, expressing the dancer's reverent awe toward heaven, earth and all things. They are at once transmitters of Qiang history and culture, playing a crucial role in cultural transmission, and also the singers and dancers of the Qiang people. Whenever the "mountain sacrifice" of the spring ploughing season and the "Qiang New Year" on the first day of the tenth lunar month are held, the Qiang sheep-skin drum dance team beats the drums and dances under the lead of a shibi, in order to offer sacrifice to all things. Particularly remarkable is that the stepping-and-leaping step, the tiptoe leap step and the shangyang-leg jumping step in the sheep-skin drum dance closely resemble the "Yu step" recorded in Ge Hong's Baopuzi of the Jin dynasty. With "unity of heaven and humanity" as its core idea, the sheep-skin drum dance helps promote harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature, and even today it continues to educate the people in Qiang social life.
The shibi and the goat-skin drum
Originally a ritual dance of the shibi priests, the goat-skin drum being one of their main implements.
Mountain sacrifice and Qiang New Year
At the spring mountain sacrifice and the Qiang New Year, the drum teams dance under the lead shibi to honour all beings.
Stamping, tip-toe and one-legged turning steps
Three distinctive steps closely resembling the Yu Step recorded in Ge Hong's Baopuzi.
Zhu Jinlong of Baduo village
Zhu Jinlong, born in Wenchuan in 1951, grew up in a drum-dance lineage and embodies its rugged, steady character.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Qiang sheep-skin drum dance is most typical in the Batuo village of Ar Village, Longxi Township, Wenchuan County; the Qiang villages of Yanmen, Miansi and nearby places each have their own transmission. The Wenchuan County Cultural Center is the protecting unit for this item. The sheep-skin drum has a sheepskin face and is comparatively small, so that it can be held in one hand; together with the bronze bell it is the shibi's principal ritual implement. Zhu Jinlong of Longxi Township comes from a line of hereditary inheritors and is one of the more influential shibi lead dancers locally, with a clearly marked rhythmic sense and forceful movements.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The shibi, also called "xu" and respectfully addressed as "Abba Xu", are the bearers of the highest Qiang culture. At present, under the impact of modern culture, the ancient sheep-skin drum dance faces the danger of gradually disappearing and is in urgent need of protection. Zhu Jinlong (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Qiang ethnicity, born in June 1951, native of Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province. He grew up in a Qiang family devoted to the transmission of the sheep-skin drum dance, and learned and inherited the ethnic culture together with the older generation. As one of the locally influential "shibi" lead dancers of the Qiang sheep-skin drum dance, he performs with a clearly marked rhythmic sense, forceful movements and spirited, uplifting emotion; his dance may look simple, yet it demands great technical skill, fully expressing the rugged and steady character of the Qiang sheep-skin drum dance. Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Qiang Sheep-Skin Drum Dance. He actively carries out transmission activities in ordinary times and cultivates successors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhu Jinlong 03-0939
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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