Dai folk dance peacock dance

Peacock dance is a representative folk dance of the Dai nationality. Many Dai villages have people who are good at dancing peacock dance. Peacock dance with different styles has been formed due to the meticulous creation of folk artists and handed down from generation to generation. Peacock dance's content mostly shows peacocks flying down the mountain, walking in the forest, drinking in the spring, chasing and playing, dragging their wings, drying their wings, spreading their wings, shaking their wings, brightening their wings, drinking water, kicking branches, resting branches, opening their screens and flying. Emotion is implicit, dance vocabulary is rich, and dance sculpture is full. Dance movements are mostly in a semi-squat posture, and every joint of the body and arms is curved, forming a unique three-way dance style, with more hand shapes and hand movements. The same dance and footwork, different hand shapes or hand movements have different aesthetic feeling and artistic conception. Peacock dance has strict procedures and requirements, standardized position map and footwork, and each movement is equipped with corresponding drum language. In addition to imitating the movements of peacock life, it also shows fairy tales. Peacock dance, Dehong Prefecture, shows that a peacock was robbed by a demon or a king in the forest, and the other one flew to look for it. Peacock dance in Xishuangbanna is mostly based on the story of the reunion of the prince and the peacock princess in the folklore "Screaming Trees Tun and Nanmu Nuona". Jin Lu, monkeys, elephants and hunters also appeared in the dance, showing fairy tales.

Due to climate and natural conditions, there are many peacocks in Dai areas. Dai people have the habit of keeping peacocks for a long time. Dai people think that peacocks are beautiful, kind and smart, which is a symbol of good luck, and they have reverence for them. Dai people often regard peacocks as a symbol of national spirit, and express their wishes and ideals by dancing peacock dance, and sing praises to a better life.

Why do Dai people like to dance peacock dance?

The rich and beautiful Dai nationality township is known as the "hometown of peacocks". In the past, beautiful and handsome peacocks were often seen dancing in sparsely populated dense forests whenever the dawn was dim or the sun was setting. Therefore, peacock is a symbol of auspiciousness, happiness, beauty and kindness in the minds of Dai people. On festivals, the Dai people get together to watch peacock dance and show the peacock's living habits. These dances are performed by folk artists according to folk stories, myths and legends and Buddhist stories.

The dance shows that the devil wants to take over the peacock as his wife. The peacock with a human face bird struggled to shake its beautiful feathers, emitting dazzling light, blinding the devil, and finally the peacock won. It is said that "Dai" means peace, and the Dai people are a peace-loving people. Peacock is the worship of Dai people. In a song, it sings: "Peacock loves peace, and her heart is as bright as the moon ..." In peacock dance, it also reflects the desire and aesthetic psychology of the Dai people. Peacock dance used to be a dancer with a peacock shelf and a heavy mask, so it is difficult to fully show the dynamics and skills of the human body.

The origin of peacock dance

There are many different versions of the beautiful legend about peacock dance among the Dai people more than 1000 years ago.

According to legend, peacocks have no gorgeous feathers and beautiful round eyes on their tail feathers, but they are loved by people because they are docile and docile. At the religious festival celebration of Hinayana, the Buddha said that he came to earth for the benefit of all beings and was surrounded by believers. On the distant Tianzhu Mountain, there lived a male peacock. After learning that the Buddha had come down to earth, he hurried to the temple, but he was very anxious because the crowd was too crowded to get close. Realizing the piety of the peacock, the Buddha threw a beam of Buddha light to shine on the peacock. Because the peacock is circling, this beam of Buddha light only shines on the peacock's tail. In an instant, the tail of the male peacock becomes colorful and covered with beautiful round eye patterns. Since then, whenever the "Dangpara" Festival comes, male peacocks will come from Tianzhu Mountain to present a peacock dance to the Buddha with their beautiful feathers and graceful dancing, and also show people the extraordinary splendor of the Buddha's gift. After that, in order to pray for good luck and Buddha, people will dance the peacock dance at festivals and celebrations to express their good wishes. This is why the Dai religious festivals must have traditional peacock dance performances.