Tajik Eagle dance

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Tajik Eagle dance

Applicant: Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Item No.: 144

Project No.: Ⅲ - 41

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional dance

Region: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Type: new item

Applicant: Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Protected by: cultural center of Tajik Autonomous County, Tashkurgan, Xinjiang

Introduction to Tajik Eagle dance

Applicant: Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

The Tajik nationality is one of the ancient ethnic groups in China. It mainly lives in the Tajik Autonomous County of Tashkurgan in Xinjiang. The rest are distributed in Shache, Yecheng, Zepu and other counties to the east of the county. The indomitable will and the dauntless national spirit gradually form the special aesthetic pursuit of Tajik people. They regarded the eagle as a strong man and a hero. Folk songs and legends about the eagle were widely spread among the people, and even the origin of dance was linked with the habits and dynamics of the eagle, thus forming the "Eagle dance".

The formation of Tajik dance characteristics can not be separated from the accompaniment instruments and their unique performance methods. Hawk flute, hand drum, rabap (rewap), branzikum, Tajik style aiczech are all widely used folk instruments. Among them, the eagle flute is the most typical musical instrument of the Tajik nationality, and its playing techniques are complicated, but its tone is unique and beautiful; the tambourine is the main accompaniment instrument of the Tajik dance, and two women beat a tambourine to play a variety of drums, which is rare in other nationalities. Drumming has a fixed routine and name, such as "alukatoman", each set can play a complex and changeable artistic effect. During the grand horse racing and sheep catching activities, many hawk flutes played "sheep catching melody", and many women played many sided hand drums at the same time, playing "walawarahek", which excited both riders and horses.

The main forms of Eagle dance are "qiapusuzi", "mailis", "lapuyi" and so on. "Qiapsuzi" in Tajik language means "fast and skilled". It not only refers to the rhythm, but also refers to the improvisation and competitive dance form, representing the unique style of Tajik dance. Its performance is mainly duel dance with two people, lively in form, dancers can move forward and backward freely, two or three groups can dance together, or men and women can dance together. During the performance, one man invited another man to dance together. The two people slowly spread their arms along the edge of the venue, hovering like eagles. Then the rhythm turned fast, and the two people chased each other and frolicked. Suddenly, their shoulders and backs were close to each other, they looked at each other, walked quickly, and suddenly jumped up separately, like eagles rising and falcons falling, twisting from low to high, and finally the dance ended in the competitive rotation. These dynamic performances are obviously the remains and sublimation of the western region music and dance "Hu Xuan dance" and "Hu Teng dance". "Mailis", which means "specific beat", is a kind of self entertainment dance mainly accompanied by folk music or folk songs. It is also commonly used to perform traditional story folk songs. It is characterized by continuous rotation in situ, which is especially popular among women. "Rapuyi" is a specific form of dance in which there is only one jevafu accompaniment in the family. Sometimes it is carried out outdoors. Its accompaniment mostly uses the tunes of qiapusuzi. The accompanist can also dance while playing. The dance moves are free and light. The performer with high skill can put jevafu on his shoulder to play the dance, which may be a legacy of the music and dance customs in the western regions.

Eagle dance is a traditional form of Chinese folk dance with high artistic value. With the acceleration of the modernization process, these precious folk arts are losing their survival soil and facing difficulties, which need to be protected and rescued.