Artistic Characteristics of Shamanic Dance

 

Artistic Characteristics of Shamanic Dance

 

Young people often like to talk about style, which is influenced by Chinese Confucian scholars and Western gentlemen. In fact, the image that can truly show the beauty of youth is not style, but character. The rugged and unrestrained Jurchens are the energetic northern people. Stones show strength through silence, and dance shows brilliance through jumping. meeting

Burmese musician Dorje told Yadan, Dawa and Xiangqima about the artistic characteristics of shamanic dance.

Duoji first talked about the shaman costumes in shaman dance.

There are many particularities in the shaman's clothing, which preserve traces of the original culture of the era. With the changes of the times and economic development, shamans continue to make new interpretations of them, for example: Daur shaman Huangge, she The 360 shells on the sacred clothing are interpreted as the 360 days of the year; the French skirt with 24 belts around the waist represents the 24 solar terms: This statement reflects that the Daur people have entered a life dominated by the farming economy, but There are still remnants of livestock husbandry and hunting. Another example is Niula, the Ewenki shaman. She interpreted the 12 pairs of small iron pieces sewn on the sacred clothes as the 12 pairs of human ribs. With them, they can cure people's diseases and eliminate disasters. In the 1930s, she went to the Soviet Union and brought back 12 pairs of shining steel plates to replace the original iron plates, thinking that this could enhance her magic power. The various statements mentioned above reflect different concepts of the times.

Duoji also talked about the dance language of shaman dance:

Shaman dance uses the cooperation of the head, upper limbs, waist, hands and legs to complete a dance shape that is both rhythmic and meaningful, creating a dance form that is closely related to the life and primitive beliefs of the hunting nomads. As for the participants of shaman dance, there are generally several situations. One is the dance completed by the shaman alone, the other is the dance completed by the officiating shaman and his assistant, and the third is the dance performed by the shaman under the guidance of the tribe. It was done collectively by many members. The form of shamanic dance seems to vary depending on the participants.

The dance language of shamans is rich and colorful. Not only do the dance languages ​​of different dancers have their own characteristics, but also the dance languages ​​of shamans in the entire process of witchcraft activities are also varied, but whether it is a pair, three people or more In dance, there must be a shaman who is mainly responsible for worshiping gods. His dance movements occupy a central position in the picture and are more distinctive.

Specifically, the dance performed by the shaman alone is more serious in style; the dance performed by the two persons has clear priorities, neat and varied movements; and the dance performed by the group is more utilitarian and is generally directly related to hunting and nomadic activities. , racial reproduction and other scenes, the dance movements have an obvious color of entertaining the gods. From the analysis of the rock paintings seen, shamanic dances are basically held in tribal public spaces, hunting and nomadic sites. These spaces determine that shamanic dances can not only be collectively participated by tribal members, but also directly function as gods to influence various people. The role of an active object.

Duoji also talked about the basic movements of shaman dance.

The basic movements of shaman dance are: kneeling down, worshiping the drum, beating the drum and rinsing the waist, walking and shaking the bell, playing the drum from the side, holding the drum with legs, pulling the drum flatly, beating the drum and beating the waist, beating the drum together, beating the drum, squatting the drum, and fighting. Drum, cross hammer, neck holding hammer, back hammer, top hammer, counter hammer, inverted hammer clamp, short bowing device, hammer winding, hammer pulling combination, different steps to shake the bell, shake the bell to change positions, lunge to shake the bell, wrap around Head support, squatting and flashing support, dancing with burning incense, double turning sticks, flipping sticks, worshiping the elders, dancing with forks, standing with forks and swinging waist bells, flying with wings, flying with both arms, hugging wings, shaking wings, combing wings , call the eagle, etc.

In shamanic sacrificial dance, when the dancer adopts a dance posture with the upper body straight and the legs spread apart, the arms are raised in a ring (the arms can also be extended flatly, or the hands on the hips), so that the dancer has a head-to-head posture. The feeling of blue sky, stepping on the earth, and connecting the world. The head dance movements include raising the head, lowering the head, raising the head, turning the head left and right, shaking the head, etc. The movements are violent, varied and wide. The movements of the head and eyes mostly express the shaman's mental state when he connects heaven and earth. Waist dance movements include flexion and extension, swinging, twisting, peristalsis and other changes. The arm dance movements include closing the arms sideways, stretching them flat, raising the arms outwards, closing the arms in front of the chest, placing the hands on the waist, raising the arms in a ring, one hand on the waist and the other drooping or twisting. Gesture dance movements include flat palms, knife palms, palm presses, finger snaps, finger retracts, finger spreads, finger grips, finger spreads, wrist turns, etc., with strong rhythm and dynamics. Leg dance movements include shaking knees, stepping, big tuck-in steps, buckling knees, bending into curves, long strides, lunges, etc. Through the close cooperation of the head, body, waist, upper limbs, hands and legs, the dancers perform the beautiful and endlessly changing ethnic minority sacrificial dances.

In shaman dance, the expression of the head is relatively clear. The mental state of the shaman when he communicates with God can be expressed through headdress, mask, head movements and eyes. The headdress is mainly feathers, antlers and the like. Things in primitive society have some mysterious colors that connect the gods, rather than being simple decorations; masks play an important role in shaman activities, and are generally divided into animal masks, god masks and totem masks. Through these masks, you can Influence the gods represented by the masks, and using masks during the dance process can not only make the entire dance activity mysterious, but also increase the expressiveness of the dance; there are many head movements in shamanic dance, including shaking the head, raising the head, and raising the head. , head left and right, bowed head, etc., people can feel the rhythm of its movement.

The waist movements of shaman dancers also have many changes. Some straighten the upper body, and some form beautiful body curves by raising the head, raising the chest, tightening the abdomen, bending the waist, body hips, bending the legs, etc., which may give people a strong and powerful body. The feeling may make people sigh charmingly.

The gestures of shamanic dance change slightly, and all parts of the arms, palms, wrists, and fingers are fully utilized. In terms of arm movements, they may have their hands on their waists, or their arms may be raised outward, or they may be stretched flat, or they may be brought together in front of the chest. Either the arms are raised in a ring, or one hand is on the waist and the other is drooping. The postures are endlessly changing, either solemn or solemn, or twists and turns, and the fingers also have different changes such as springing, retracting, spreading, holding, opening, and turning the wrist, which is full of rhythm. , with strong dynamic feeling.

The legs of the shaman dancers are either bent in or out, doing a horse stance, straddling the legs or bending into curved rings. The shapes are changeable. These changes reflect that people can stand, jump, bounce and lift their legs through their legs. , knee bends, hooks, kicks, etc. to show different dynamics.

As a famous musician, when Dorje talks about shamanic dance, the related music also becomes a part of his story.

Dorje said:

Although there are differences in the shamanic dance music of various ethnic groups, without exception it is composed of two parts: shamanic singing and percussion accompaniment. The latter can be divided into two types: dance accompaniment and singing accompaniment.

The drum plays an important role in shamanic dance. It is the main magical instrument and the main accompaniment instrument when dancing to the gods. The shaman believes that the drum is a mount that can be used to fly up to the sky and travel between humans and gods. Therefore, the shaman's "Song of Inviting Gods" contains the words "The mount is given to you, please quickly ride on it and fly to it." Shamans believe that the sound of drums has a mysterious function. Through the sound of drums, they can communicate with people and gods and bring various spirits to heal diseases. The rhythm of the drum beats when the shaman dances to the gods is very rich. For example, the drumbeats of the Mongolian shamans in the Horqin Grassland include 2/4, 3/4, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8 and other beats. In the same tune, "2/4 and 3/4, 2/4 and 3/8, 2/4 and 5/8, 3/8 and 4/8, etc., can be used interchangeably.

Dorje added:

The sacred songs of shaman dance are mostly passed down orally. The lyrics not only reflect their national psychology, but also describe the image of shaman dance.

For example, the lyrics of "Invite the Shaobu (bird) spirit" by the Mongolian shaman (Bo'e) on the Horqin grassland: "Honger Shaobu Zhuogai? The beautiful and clever bird god, whoosh, /, give the mount of love to You, please quickly ride up and fly, whoosh. / I met you in the dream, and you possessed my body and mind in the dream, whoosh. / I watched you flying around in confusion, and finally merged into mine. Soul, wheeze."

In these lyrics, the shaman enters the trance state of being possessed by a sacred bird, and uses dance to simulate the expression and movements of the sacred bird.

At this time, the members of the Mongolian dance team danced the shaman dance "Dancing God Song", while Duoji sang "Dancing God Song" excitedly:

 

The sun sets over the western mountains and the sky becomes dark,

Every door is bolted.

 

A gentleman traveling on the road runs to the inn,

Birds fly to the mountains and tigers return to the mountains.

 

The birds have a place to live,

The tiger returns to the mountains and is safe.

 

The seven-star glazed tiles above the head,

The feet are made of eight-sided purple gold bricks.

 

The feet are on the earth, the head is on the sky,

Take long steps and walk the chain.

 

Stand firmly against the camp board with both feet,

Place an incense table to invite the gods.

 

First invite the Fox Fairy to be your commander-in-chief

Later, Huang Li was asked to be the vanguard.

 

Invite a long python to be the station god,

Please come to Diao Xian to lead the King of Sorrow.

 

Picking up Wenwang drum with his left hand,

Pick up the whip with your right hand.

 

King Wen beat the drum with willow plugs,

It is tied to Qianlong and Kaiyuan.

 

Stepping and dancing with hands to catch the whip,

Three horizontally, four vertically, and seven virtuous roots.