Style characteristics and culture of Dai folk dance

Style characteristics and culture of Dai folk dance

Dai folk dance is a wonderful flower in China's national dance art garden, which embodies the souls and aspirations of the Dai people. Below, I will search and sort out the style, characteristics and culture of Dai folk dance for you. Welcome to read, I hope you like it!

China is a multi-ethnic country, and each ethnic group has its own unique culture. As a special cultural phenomenon, dance has expressive force and ancient culture, is not limited by language and writing, and inherits the aesthetic psychology of the nation. Different living environments, modes of production, different social groups and customs all breed and cultivate different aesthetic psychology, and at the same time shape different unique styles of national folk dances. This paper intends to discuss the formation and development trend of Dai dance style from four aspects: regional cultural characteristics, water cultural characteristics and subtropical customs, animal dance and totem worship, and artists' influence on Dai dance style, in order to have a deep grasp of it at the cultural level.

First, the characteristics of regional culture

Dai people live in Pingba area and beside rivers, with an average elevation of 500 ~ 1000 meters, where the scenery is beautiful and the land is fertile, suitable for crop growth. According to historical records, about 2000 years ago, the ancestors of Dai people entered the farming period of "building houses and villages, settling down and planting melons", and they were one of the earliest ethnic groups that planted rice in China. Dai people have lived in a stable and well-fed environment for a long time, so people have a fresh, elegant, peaceful and kind national psychology.

More than a thousand years ago, Hinayana Buddhism was introduced and became the national belief of the Dai people, which had a far-reaching and tremendous impact on the political, economic and cultural thoughts of the Dai society. Different from Mahayana Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism only advocates "self-liberation, self-salvation, moral accumulation and afterlife, and finally achieves nirvana". Therefore, its dance style is not as broad and magnificent as Mahayana Buddhism, but gentle and beautiful, blending with beautiful mountains and rivers. For example, "wax dance" is a ritual dance performed by women. Dancers hold a candle in each hand and dance with drums, cymbals and other musical instruments. The main action is to circle your hands inward or outward, or squat or kneel, forming various "three bends" dances, which are very feminine. Sometimes it flows slowly, and the candlelight flickers with the change of dance, creating a dignified, elegant, quiet, peaceful, pious and mysterious atmosphere. In Buddhism, cigarettes and candles symbolize light, so dancing means praying and wishing. I hope that through this dance ceremony, I can seek the blessing of the Buddha, let myself transcend and sublimate in the light. Another example is peacock dance, which is widely circulated. It is also adapted from the story of peacock Wang Ming in Buddhist scriptures. Dancers wear white clothes, garlands, lotus flowers and golden peacocks. These white clothes, lotus flowers and golden peacocks are auspicious things blessed by the Buddha and also a portrayal of national aesthetic psychology. Another example is the lion dance and elephant dance, all of which originated from Buddhist scriptures and formed fixed performances. This phenomenon of "Buddha dancing" is also a major feature of Dai dance style.

Second, the characteristics of water culture and subtropical customs

(A) the causes of subtropical Dai folk dance customs

Dai people mostly live in the valley Pingba area surrounded by mountains, where the land is fertile, the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the seasons are evergreen. For example, Dai villages in Dehong and Xishuangbanna are surrounded by rivers, and there are towering coconut trees and banana forests everywhere. People live in the bamboo house in Ganlan, surrounded by bamboo streams, quiet and quiet, which is an idyllic scenery in the south of the Yangtze River. Influenced and nourished by this unique natural environment, the Dai people are gentle and kind, and folk dances are full of subtropical customs.

1, quiet and soothing rhythm

The peaceful and soothing rhythm of Dai folk dance comes from their working and living environment and traditional aesthetic taste. Dai people live in the subtropical zone with hot climate. People naturally like shade and water, like the bright moon and stars, and the pace of work and life should not be too intense. After work, they came back clean, and everyone danced freely to the slow-paced drums. The Dai people, who are famous for their cleanliness, love of beauty and good at singing and dancing, have therefore turned the purity of water and the softness of water waves into their peaceful and soothing dance rhythm. In addition, people live in the subtropical zone and get along with animals, so the artistic sublimation of these rare birds and animals is naturally integrated into dance, making it a dynamic cultural factor.

Dai people have retained the concepts of primitive worship and animism to varying degrees, as well as the idea of "harmony between man and nature" in farming culture, which makes them feel close to nature and harmonious between people. After the introduction of Hinayana Buddhism, the Ministry of Education advocated that "I am the only good", and the accumulation of virtue and kindness taking Buddhism as an example, combined with the original traditional concepts, formed the Dai people's peaceful and kind character and unique aesthetic psychology, which merged into a peaceful and soothing rhythm, running through dance movements and performances.

In the dynamic image of Dai folk dance, dancers mostly keep a semi-squat dance posture, clap their hands and squat down, and with a unified rhythm, their knees bend and stretch to drive their bodies to jump up and down and swing left and right; Steps such as stepping or stamping seem to focus on falling, but in fact there are heavy and light steps, and the whole foot touches the ground smoothly. In this even dance rhythm, there are graceful and gentle dances of peacocks, gentle and steady gait of elephants walking in the forest, and harmonious accompaniment of musical instruments such as elephant feet drums and cymbals, such as rivers and streams, which are pleasing to the eye and refreshing. Smooth drum rhythm, continuous music and even dance rhythm echo each other, enhancing the peaceful atmosphere and tropical customs.

2. Dance styles of "Three Bends" and "One Side"

The traditional aesthetic psychology of Dai people is also reflected in dance modeling.

The "three bends" and the bending of the arm joints in Dai dance originated from the "snake and bird totem worship" of ancient Baiyue people and their deep feelings for water. From the bird totem of the ancient Yue people to the peacock worship of the Dai people today, it is the development of national life and national psychology for thousands of years. Peacock's natural form also has the characteristics of "three bends". Dai people made peacock dance's artistic creation through careful observation of peacocks, and later incorporated religious factors. The beauty of "Yi Shun Bian" in Dai dance comes from the working life in plateau area, and the hands and feet are on the same side, forming the characteristic of "Yi Shun Bian". Although Dai people live on the flat dam between valleys, the dynamic characteristics of mountainous areas are also reflected in people's working life, especially women, whose gait and shape are "following" when carrying water, valleys and fields. As a dance style, "Yi Shun Bian" is also related to aesthetic taste. The combination of "three bends" and "one side" is a dance style with Dai characteristics.

3. Dance with subtropical customs

Dai folk dances are full of subtropical customs, such as peacock dance, Elephant Foot Drum Dance, Ga Guang, Yila River and Ga Dian.

(B) the causes of water cultural characteristics

Water is the source of life, nourishing everything, diligent in washing and beneficial to health. Love the water, a Dai, is diligent in washing, which is one of the characteristics of water culture. When people come back from work, they wash their hands before eating. On the well in the village, there are exquisite and beautiful tower-shaped buildings and manhole covers to keep the water source clean. This custom is a continuation of the ancient infant custom. Babies originated from the custom related to "March 3rd". Later, although the date may not be on this day because of regional and ethnic differences, or the content has nothing to do with water, the Songkran Festival is an annual festival to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Although its form is combined with the religious activities of the "Buddha Bathing Festival", it bathes and changes clothes, splashing water on each other. In festivals with ancient styles, the dances performed by people also have the characteristics of water culture.

Third, animal dance and totem worship.

In the subtropical jungle, there are often rare birds and animals. Such as peacocks, red deer, monkeys, elephants, fish, butterflies and other animals, are the most common good partners of Dai ancestors during the primitive hunting period. People observe their species, shapes and habits. Over time, these animals left a deep impression on their minds. When they come back from hunting and catch happily, they can't help dancing. The jumping action is naturally the animal images and their postures printed in their minds. Unconsciously reappearing the simple actions of these animals has gradually become their way of expressing satisfaction, joy and other emotions. With the expansion of their knowledge, they can imitate more complicated gestures of animals, resulting in early dances such as peacock dance, Red Deer Dance, Monkey Dance, Fish Dance and Butterfly Dance.

Take elephant dance as an example. The Dai area has a hot climate and dense forests. It was called "Elephant Country" in ancient times, and elephants still haunt here. People have a good impression on objects, stick to each other with their palms, shake back and forth, and imitate the movements of elephant noses. As long as the Dai people dance, they use the little elephant foot drum as accompaniment, and the little elephant foot drum dances flexibly. The basic content of dance is fighting drums and competing drums. In fights and competitions, we should attack, retreat and dodge flexibly and tactfully, and finally grab the other party's Baotou or hat to win. As long as there are festivals, harvest celebrations, large-scale ceremonies or dances, elephant-foot drums will be played. As soon as Dai people hear the drums, they will come from all directions and dance with them.

In addition, the Dai people's love and reverence for peacocks has a certain national totem worship nature. This has had an important influence on the formation of Dai dance style. Dai people are a peace-loving people. It is said that "Dai" means peace, and Dai is a peaceful nation. They regard the beautiful and kind peacock as a symbol of auspiciousness, happiness, purity and peace, and place their feelings on the peacock as a symbol of their own nation. Dai people love and worship peacocks. While praising peacocks, they are also praising their own nation. Peacock dance represents the highest level of Dai dance and is an important part of Dai dance style.

Fourthly, the influence of artists and artists on Dai dance style.

When it comes to the style of Dai dance, we have to mention the famous Dai dance artist Yang li Ping. She played a very important role in the promotion and development of Dai dance.

Literature and art should keep up with the times. Today's national public opinion dance works are recreated on the basis of inheriting national traditions according to the needs of the times. Bai dancers get rid of the superficial description in Sparrow Spirit, and integrate their creative intention, implication and formal beauty. In the intriguing formal beauty, people seem to see a pure, noble and elegant spirit wandering in the forest and by the stream, so magnanimous, noble and charming. When she performed the dance "Sparrow's Genie", every skin seemed to be singing a poem and telling a beautiful story. Her hands, even the joints of each finger, can interpret extremely exquisite dance poems, giving off incredible tremors and strobes like five strings. She described the process of peacock walking, drinking water, flapping its wings and foraging with the delicate movements of her hands and arms, which made people feel a living human peacock through the movements of her hands and arms. She raised this hand shadow art to a higher aesthetic level.

Chernyshevski said: "Anything that shows life or reminds us of life is beautiful." Dai folk dance is a wonderful flower in China's national dance art garden, which embodies the souls and aspirations of the Dai people. Today's Dai folk dance has made great progress in artistic content, expression and dance style, and it is more sincere, frank, romantic, free and original. Dai dance is moving from traditional entertainment to stage art, and its aesthetic taste is more contemporary. When people participate in and watch the Dai dance, they are also pursuing the echo of their own personality and emotions, and gain the aesthetic feeling of self-entertainment and detachment.

China folk dance has been passed down for thousands of years in the process of constantly nurturing the spirit of the times, and has become more and more vital by constantly adding new aesthetic tastes and new cultural factors. On the other hand, only on the basis of in-depth understanding of our national culture can we embody the essence of our national culture with the most vivid formal beauty and aesthetics, thus making dance culture more vital. Faced with the impact of modern culture, Dai dance needs to learn from others' strengths, base itself on tradition, be determined to innovate in the rich traditional culture soil of the nation, create its own excellent dance products, be unique in the colorful dance world, and move towards the new century with a brand-new attitude.

Further reading

Dai dance is an ancient folk dance of Dai people, and it is also the favorite dance of Dai people. Popular in the whole Dai area, represented by peacock dance in Ruili County and Meng Ding in Gengma County, there are many professional artists who make a living by dancing peacock dance. They imitate peacocks: flying down the mountain, walking in the forest, drinking spring water, chasing and playing, dragging their wings, flapping their wings, spreading their wings, climbing branches, resting on branches, spreading screens, flying, and so on. Jump out of colorful dance movements and sculptural dance styles. Their dance has strict procedures and requirements, fixed footwork and state, and even every movement is accompanied by fixed drum language.

Brief introduction of Dai nationality

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Dai people mainly live in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous County and Menglian Dai and Lahu Wa Autonomous County, and are scattered in more than 30 counties such as Lincang, Lancang, Xinping, Yuanjiang, Jinping, Huaping, Dayao and Luquan.

Geographical features

Dai area is called "plant kingdom" and "animal kingdom" because of its beautiful mountains and rivers, rich resources and dense forests. Valley area is fertile, convenient for irrigation, hot climate and abundant rainfall, which is suitable for crop planting and cash crop planting. For a long time, Xishuangbanna has enjoyed the reputation of "granary in southern Yunnan"; Dehong area "mangshi millet, mixed rice" is famous in the whole province; Most Dai areas are grain production bases and cash crop production areas in our province.

A long history

As early as the first century BC, there were records of Dai people in China history books. The Han Dynasty called the Dai people "Ailao", while the Sui and Tang Dynasties called them "Ailao", "Wu Man" and "Bai Man". Song Yan called the Dai people "golden teeth" and "white clothes"; In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, "golden teeth" continued to be used, while "white clothes" were written as "white clothes" or "Boyi". Since the Qing dynasty, it has been called "putting clothes on".

Lang.

Dai language belongs to the East Asian language family and has its own characters. In the past, Dai language had different forms, all of which evolved from Sanskrit letters. [ 1]

Religious belief

Due to the imbalance of social development, Dai people have different religious beliefs in different places. In Xishuangbanna, Dehong and other places where Dai people live in compact communities, they believe in both primitive religions and Southern Buddhism. Most Dai people scattered around the country believe in primitive religions, and some believe in Guandi and Guanyin.

Although the national festivals of the Dai people vary from place to place, they are all closely related to religious beliefs. In Xishuangbanna, Dehong and other Dai inhabited areas, the main festivals are the Dai calendar New Year, the Festival of Harvest, the Festival of Opening and the Dance. The New Year in Dai calendar is commonly called "Water Splashing Festival", and in Dai language, it is called "Sanggan Bimai" and "Suohe Sanggan Festival", which is held in June of Dai calendar (April of Gregorian calendar) and lasts for 3 to 5 days. Activities include picking flowers, building sand, bathing Buddha, splashing water, rowing dragon boats, and raising height. Song and dance activities are more important activities in the Dai New Year. The closing and opening festivals are called "Howasa" and "owasa" in Dai language, which are derived from the Buddhist term "Sasana", meaning "fasting". The Dai calendar is from September to December (July to September in Gregorian calendar), which is the rainy season. People should concentrate on going to Buddhist temples to worship Buddha and listen to scriptures and stop other activities. Young men and women can't fall in love and get married, which is called closing day. When the rainy season ends and the harvest season comes, the Open Door Festival will be celebrated. At that time, young men and women will put on new clothes, join groups, beat gongs and drums, go from village to village, and finally go to Buddhist temples to hold Buddha statues. In the past, there was a dance on the eighth day of February in the Gregorian calendar: the men in the village prepared rich food and offered sacrifices to the Buddha in the Buddhist temple. Then, in the Buddhist temple, four people danced with cymbals, gongs and elephant drums respectively, and then drank it off after the dance. This kind of jumping activity is rare now. In the past, a grand Buddha worship activity was held during the dance, which was also called "big dance". There are chanting during the day and singing and dancing performances at night, but they are not held now.

Dai people in multi-ethnic areas believe in primitive religions, and some of them spend the Spring Festival with other ethnic groups and engage in activities such as catching flowers. In some places, there are activities to worship dragon trees and ancestors, and only a few places have sacrificial dances.

Dance characteristics

Most Dai people live in neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Dai people are good at absorbing all aspects of cultural essence and can blend into their ancient culture. After long-term development, various types and forms of Dai dance characteristics have been formed.

When Dai dances, one hand: the thumb is thrown back and placed on the front of the thigh.

One hand next to you: wrist folded back, hands slightly bent, thumb recoil, arm slightly bent, on both sides of thigh.

Last hand: put your hands behind your hips, not together, slightly apart, not too far away from your body, a little bent, your thumb pointing backwards and your arms slightly bent.

One hand on each side: a book with two hands on it, similar to one hand.

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