The Origin of Shamanic Dance

 

The Origin of Shamanic Dance

 

Is there a god in the world? This is an unnecessarily controversial topic. If you believe in God, God will have it. If you don’t believe in God, God doesn’t exist. Maybe you have chosen another belief, which is that God may or may not exist.

In fact, the source of happiness lies entirely in yourself. Some people are surrounded by happiness, but they often sigh in depression; some people are struggling in difficulties, but they are always happy. As long as a person has an optimistic mood, even if he is in a desperate situation, he can still hold the fate by the throat and dance with God. All beliefs in the world are related to myths and legends, and history is also an adaptation of myths. You cannot change God's existence, but you can be transformed by God into your thoughts and behaviors. Shamanic dance is an artistic display full of expression.

When the Burmese musician Duoji talked with friends such as Agudengba, Azhuo and Chu Sanxing about Jurchen history and culture, they talked about Jurchen music and dance. He found Dayou, his daughter Yadan, and Dawa, and told Qima stories about shaman dance and gods.

Dorje said:

Shaman dance, commonly known as "Dancing God", originated in ancient times. As early as the 2nd century BC, Sima Qian, China's greatest historian, had already introduced the mysterious world of shamans in writing. In his "Historical Records·Biographies of the Huns", he made public for the first time the scenes of the Huns, an ancient northern nation, worshiping heaven and earth, and worshiping ghosts and gods in peacetime and wartime. This is also the early prototype of shamanic dance. History books include the Wuhuan people, an ancient people in the north, worshiping the heaven, earth, sun, moon, mountains and rivers, the Khitan people in the north holding a wind burial ceremony, and the Turkic people in the north performing a ceremony to offer sacrifices to the heavens presided over by "witches". These descriptions are related to the origin of shamanic dance.

"Shaman", also known as "Shanman", is the name of the Jurchen witch who is in charge of rituals. In the early 13th century, the Jurchens introduced shamanism to the Central Plains. After more than 400 years of rule by the Mongol Empire and the Qing Dynasty, the influence of shamanism gradually expanded to all parts of the south.

In the 31st year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1692), the Russian minister Evelt Isbrandt Ides and his companion Adam Brandt visited China. In their travel notes about China, they introduced the Manchu "shaman" to foreign countries for the first time. Only then did people internationally know that there is a mysterious world dominated by "shaman" in the north of China, and they introduced that world to The original worship and belief was called "shamanism", so the word was translated as "shamanism" and became an internationally recognized term. It has been generally accepted and widely circulated. From then on, the term "shaman dance" was With real provenance.

Dorje added:

Shaman dance was already spread among the Jurchens of the early Jin Dynasty. "Shaman" is also called "Shaman", and most of its believers are women, who are a type of witch. When worshiping ancestors and gods, they wear pointed crowns, long skirts, and copper bells tied around their waists. They beat drums and squat and dance while mumbling incomprehensible words. It is also said that it can "cure diseases". The shaman dance at that time was almost the same as the shaman dance of the Manchus in the Qing Dynasty.

Before and after the Yuan Dynasty, many kinds of dances related to religion had appeared, and most of these dances were included in various shamanistic rituals. "Shaman" is also called "Hu Wu" in history books.

Among the many dance activities recorded in Mongolian historical records, most of them were conducted under the leadership and command of shamans. At that time, shamans had vast magical powers and were able to combine illusionists, dream interpreters, astral practitioners, and doctors. In the Yuan Dynasty, there were many people working in this industry, and witches were the majority among them. They use wild dancing to attract gods and demons, exorcise evil spirits, and cure diseases. The shamanic dances of the Yuan Dynasty mostly imitated animals and danced with drums. Shamans dance in imitation of animals to achieve the purpose of mutual generation and mutual restraint and subjugation of things. Drums are used as witchcraft props and instruments, and drums are beaten to attract the gods, so as to achieve their ultimate goal of communicating with the gods.

Dorje added:

Whether you believe in the existence of gods or not, with the continuous expansion of shamanism, the mysterious shaman world begins to rule many living beings. In ancient times, many ethnic groups believed in shamanism and the existence of gods. They are distributed between the white mountains and black waters, on the Mongolian Plateau, and in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. In ancient times, the Jurchen, Xiongnu, Sushen, Mohe, Xianbei, Shiwei, Khitan, Uighur, Tatar, Turk and other ethnic minorities lived here.

Today, there are descendants of ethnic groups who originally believed in shamanism, including the Manchu, Mongolian, Xibe, Oroqen, Evenki, Daur, Hezhe, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kirgiz, Tatar, Tu, Yugur, etc. nationality. Shamanism has been well inherited among the Hezhen, Oroqen, Daur, Ewenki, and Xibe ethnic groups in the Horqin Grassland of Eastern Mongolia and the Sanjiang River Basin. Their inheritance has provided rich and precious resources for the preservation of the "Shaman Dance" culture. historical data.

The development of shamanic dance reached its peak during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci, a Jurchen nobleman who founded the state, unified the various ministries and established the Later Jin regime. In 1635 AD, Huang Taiji deposed the old Jurchen name and named the clan "Manchu". He ascended the throne as emperor the following year and changed the country's name to "Great Qing". In 1644, the Qing army entered the customs, moved the capital to Beijing, and soon unified the country. It is under this historical background that shamanic dance has developed rapidly.

Due to the spread of shamanism from generation to generation, more professional "shamans" have appeared in various parts of northern China and most parts of the country. They are different from the common concept of "witches". At that time, due to frequent natural disasters, poverty and various diseases permeated people's daily lives. People at that time were unable to defeat the disease, let alone the ability to compete with nature. Therefore, "shaman" has become people's spiritual support. It was during this period that most professional "shamans" were born. They recite blessings, jump and dance to exorcise evil spirits and eliminate disasters for believers.

In the Qing Dynasty, shamans who performed shaman dance became more professional. When performing, they wear cassocks, sacred hats and turbans, with bells tied around their waists, many bronze mirrors tied around their bodies, and many ornaments added to the sacred hats. They also hold magical weapons in their hands, such as divine whips, divine drums, and divine staffs, and sometimes they even hold up knives and forks. The dance often imitates various animal postures, such as running, jumping, or lying down. When the dance reaches its climax, the dancers seem to be possessed by gods. In the end, he subdued the demons and solved the problems for the believers.

Duoji said with a smile:

Atheists who do not believe in God go to temples to burn incense and tell fortunes while shouting "Down with the demons and demons"; they deny the existence of God, but deify themselves as the great savior of the people. Only ignorant people will be confused and confused. No one can completely eliminate folk customs. When the people hate the monarch, they will believe in the existence of gods. This is why shamanic dance has been passed down for thousands of years.

At this time, the members of the Mongolian dance team sang "God is in Our Hearts" while dancing shaman dance:

 

Life is like climbing a mountain,

Life is like crossing a big river,

Life is like living on the grassland,

Life is like crossing a desert.

One deep step at a time,

A footprint is a song.

 

When I have beautiful dreams,

When I embark on the road of youth,

God told me:

Dreams are of course easy,

But to make it a reality,

Must go through hard training,

Otherwise dreams turn into sighs.

 

I keep God’s teachings in mind,

God is in our hearts,

I follow God's steps,

Keep your feet on the ground and move forward.