Tujia Waving Dance

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Tujia Waving Dance

Applicant: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province

Project No.: 120

Project No.: Ⅲ - 17

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Hunan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province

Protection unit: Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Introduction to Tujia hand waving dance

Applicant: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province

The Tujia hand waving dance in Western Hunan is a folk dance which has the most Tujia national characteristics and reflects the ancient Tujia customs. It is mainly spread in Longshan, Baojing, Yongshun and other places in Western Hunan. It is usually performed at night from the third day of the first lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The hand waving dance originated from the ancient ancestor worship ceremony of Tujia nationality. According to the remnant steles of the eight great king temples in the Qing Dynasty and the county annals, it has a history of nearly one thousand years.

Hand waving dance of Tujia Nationality in Western Hunan integrates song, dance, music and drama. It shows a wide range of historical and social life contents, such as the creation of heaven and earth, human reproduction, ethnic migration, hunting and fishing, silkworm weaving, slash and burn cultivation, ancient wars, myths and legends, food and daily life, etc. Its dance content is composed of the above-mentioned ritual procedures. Tujia's hand waving dance is generous and rough, including single swing, double swing, whirling swing, dancing while swinging and so on. The dance venue is usually on Pingba. The dance is divided into big hand waving and small hand waving. The big hand waving sacrifices the ancestors of the people, with a large scale, more than a thousand dancers and more than ten thousand viewers. The small hand waving mainly sacrifices the ancestors of their own surnames, with a small scale. Its music includes vocal accompaniment and instrumental accompaniment. Vocal music mainly includes tune song and hand waving song. Musical instruments are mainly drums and gongs. The repertoire is often changeable according to the content and action of the dance. The movement characteristics of hand waving dance are turning, bending knees, shaking and sinking. The performance style is vigorous and powerful, free and heroic.

Tujia hand waving dance is of great value to the study of Tujia history, war, religion, migration, production, life, love, folk custom and so on. The war content reflects the national spirit of Tujia ancestors who are brave and good at fighting and are not afraid of sacrifice. At the same time, the hand waving dance reappears the whole process of Tujia people's farming life, reflects the optimistic spirit of Tujia people's love for labor, fearing hardships, loving life and tenacious survival, and is an important material for understanding and studying Tujia culture.