Sawuerdeng
01 · Historical Records
The name Sawurden is formed from two parts: “sawur” refers to the way a horse's head bobs up and down as it gallops, and “deng” is taken from the “deng-deng” sound produced by the tobshuur. Bohu County lies on the shore of Lake Bosten and is one of the areas where Xinjiang's Mongols are concentrated; this dance has been handed down through generations at local weddings, festivals and family gatherings. Sawurden around Bohu has no fixed occasion and time: it can be danced at the great and small Mongol festivals, at weddings, at family gatherings and at neighbourhood gatherings, and the participants are unrestricted in sex or age, so it is extremely common in daily life in the pastoral areas.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Sawurden is a traditional dance of the Mongols of Xinjiang, and is widely transmitted in the Mongol-inhabited areas of the various localities. “Sawur” refers to the movement of a horse's head bobbing up and down ceaselessly as it runs, and “deng” is the sound of the “deng-deng” music played on the tobshuur. Sawurden is divided into barehand dance, dance with props, dance with song and antiphonal singing-and-dancing. The dance movements of Sawurden are extremely rich. Some depict production customs and daily-life customs, such as milking, churning milk, catching horses with a lasso, offering tea, toasting, fulling felt, sowing and reaping; others depict women's life, such as looking in a mirror, painting the eyebrows and braiding the hair, and still others simulate the images of animals such as eagles, goats, field mice and horses. In dancing, the movements of the lower limbs are comparatively simple, while the arm movements are rich and varied. The two hands generally make reversing circling motions, the wrists are lifted and pressed, the upper body leans forward and backward, the shoulders can be moved and shaken, and the steps are mostly large strides in a half-squat or dragging, scraping steps. The Sawurden dance embodies the harmonious coexistence of the people of Xinjiang's Mongols with nature and their tenacious pursuit of a happy life.
Bare-handed, with props and in antiphony
It takes bare-handed, prop-holding, sung-and-danced and antiphonal forms, drawing on work, daily life, women's pursuits and animal mimicry.
The tobchur and its deng-deng
Half the dance's name comes from the tobchur's deng-deng; footwork stays simple while the arms turn, lift and press in reverse pairs and the torso rocks.
Milking, lassoing and felt-making
Episodes on the work of the steppe take in milking, churning, lassoing horses, offering tea and wine, rolling felt, sowing and reaping.
Naideman's lineage
Born in Bohu in 1954, Naideman learned from her mother Subusong and uncle Jambu from the age of nine, mastering many ways of dancing and teaching many pupils.
Gatherings by Bosten lake
With no fixed occasion or hour, it is danced at festivals, weddings, family and neighbourhood gatherings by young and old alike.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Sawurden is transmitted in the Mongol-inhabited areas of Bohu, Hejing, Hoshu, Yanqi and other counties of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, and in the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture and the Ili, Tacheng and Altay areas; localities differ slightly in their melodies and in the combination of movement sequences. Around Bohu the most common forms are barehand dance, dance with props, dance with song and antiphonal singing-and-dancing. Its prop-bearing strand commonly brings everyday objects into the dance, simulating pastoral labour such as milking, churning milk, catching horses with a lasso and fulling felt; women's solo dances often take looking in a mirror, painting the eyebrows and braiding the hair as their subjects, and sections imitating eagles, goats, field mice and horses are also very common.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mongolian Sawuerdeng · Sawuerdeng.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Naidiman (associated inheritor, as recorded in the official file): Female, Mongol ethnicity, born in August 1954, native of Bohu County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. At nine she began to learn the basic movements of the Sawurden dance from her mother Subusong and her uncle Jiangbu, and mastered many ways and styles of dancing Sawurden. Her dance postures are graceful and her changes of movement are rich. The movements of her hands are delicate and extended, and extremely expressive. To advance the transmission and development of the Sawurden dance among the people, she has taken in many apprentices. Representative inheritor of the Sawurden dance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national batch. She has taken part in many arts performances and won awards.
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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