Nuo dance (Qimen Nuo dance)

Name of Chinese national intangible cultural heritage: Nuo dance (Qimen Nuo dance)

Applicant: Qimen County, Anhui Province

Project No.: 110

Project No.: Ⅲ - 7

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Anhui Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Qimen County, Anhui Province

Protection unit: Cultural Radio and television station of Luxi Township, Qimen County

Introduction to Nuo dance (Qimen Nuo dance)

Applicant: Qimen County, Anhui Province

Nuo dance is a primitive dance with the nature of sacrificial rites in traditional society, which has a long history. It is said that there were the titles of "Da Nuo" and "Xiang Ren Nuo" in the Zhou Dynasty, which gradually became an important part of the national orthodox ritual system after the Han Dynasty. Nuo dance aims at driving away pestilence and praying for peace, which has strong participation of the masses. During the performance, the dancers wore masks, shouting and chasing, which attracted many followers, and the scene was very lively. Nuo dance is widely spread all over the country, especially in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui of the Yangtze River Basin and Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Hebei of the Yellow River Basin. Among the minorities in Southwest China, there are many kinds of exorcism instruments and Exorcism dances with various forms and complicated functions.

The Nuo dance, which is popular in Qimen County, Anhui Province, originated from the primitive witchcraft dance, is a kind of exorcism and pestilence ceremony held in December in ancient China. In the process of Nuo ceremony, people put on masks to dress up as Nuo gods and dance ferociously and fanatically to expel evil spirits. In Huizhou, there were the names of "Fangxiang dance" and "Twelve Gods dance" in Han Dynasty. Since then, the connotation of Nuo has become increasingly rich, including eliminating evil and supporting the right, praying for peace, offering sacrifices to ancestors, praying for harvest and so on, as well as the content of labor life and folklore.

Qimen Nuo dance has always existed in history, especially in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Qimen has a "Nuo servant" system for a long time. Large families keep Nuo opera troupes. Nuo opera and Nuo dance are performed at temple fairs, sacrifices, kitchen deliveries, autumn festivals and spring celebrations. During the performance, the dancers wear wooden masks, boa robes and weapons such as Ganqi. Accompanied by strong music and drums, they perform exorcism rituals and myths and legends. The Nuo ceremony in Luxi village of Qimen maintains the original style of ancient Nuo sacrifice. Nuo ceremony goes along the village and dances while walking. On the second day of the first month of each year, the ceremony of inviting gods first begins, and then the performance of Nuo dance begins. The programs include "pioneer opens the way", "land kills the general", "Liu Hai plays the Golden Toad" and so on. From the third day to the sixth day of junior high school, they perform at the home where they wish for peace in the village. Each family rewards God with rice on wooden plates. After the performance, the dancers pour the rice into the cloth bag and take it away. All the performances are accompanied by gongs and drums instead of singing and dialogue. Jiangxia and zhangdun villages in Xiwu township of Yi county and xishanxia villages in Bishan Township welcome Nuo God on the third day of the first month of each year, praying to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters, which is also a form of Nuo.

Qimen Nuo dance is the image embodiment of traditional Nuo culture, from which the religious consciousness, folk custom consciousness and aesthetic consciousness of ancient ancestors can be observed, which provides a reference for the study of folk customs and cultural features in different historical stages of our country. Qimen Nuo dance is a precious national cultural heritage. At present, it is facing various practical problems and difficulties, such as aging personnel, lack of inheritors, lack of funds and so on.