舞麻龙 “hemp Dragon Dance”, Sichuan Province, China
Dance of the Hemp Dragon
Ancient Chinese hemp harvest festival’s created a magical day of celebration. This celebration would birth a magical creature… The Hemp Dragon…
For the Qiang people living in the Sichuan Province of China, hemp has always been a way of life. Farming hemp goes back thousands of years in this secluded community through many prohibitions, wars and changing of traditions of the outside world…
The Qiang use hemp for everything from the shoes on their feet to the cloths on their back. Feeding the excess to livestock and even in their buildings construction…
But echoing in the valleys come fall, the emergence of a mythical beast is witnessed… Year after year, The Hemp Dragon is born…
Beginning of a harvest festival, the Qiang people living in the Sichuan Province of China
In the small Villages all over the Sichuan Province, the hemp harvest would bring a annual harvest festival. Gathering together around a bonfire, the village would await the beating of the drum…
As the rhythmic thump of the drum beats the women begin to dance…
“With a string of copper rings around their waists, the woman performers hold a festooned stick inlayed with iron buckles and copper rings and bound with colorful balls and belts; “
The women’s ringing from the bells and metal around their waist’s as they dance create a zen like rhythmic song echoing through out the valleys with the rhythmic thud of the drum…
Just as the ringing bells reach a fevered pitch with the drums, the men appear for a solo dance as the women watch the beast arrive…
With the men a magical beast would appear… The Hemp Dragon…
Hemp Dragon Dance, Qiang people, Sichuan Province, China (notice the “Beard” of Hemp)
The Hemp Dragons head would swoosh with the beat of the drum at the end of a long pole. Trailing behind the dragons head like a tail of a comet would be a “beard” or body of the dragon made up of Hemp strains about 7 meters long.
As the beat of the drum pulses, the Hemp Dragon would dance and move, with a pause as the beat hits…
After the men’s appearance with the Hemp Dragon, the women join back in the dance…
“The festooned stick, the hemp dragon and the balls dance together. Pops from the whipping of the dragon’s body, the ring from their waists, sound of the iron buckles, singing, sound of the drum and shouting mix together and form a unique style.”
舞麻龙 “hemp Dragon Dance”, Sichuan Province, China (notice the “Beard” of Hemp)
After the initial opening dance of the Hemp Dragon, games and dances with the crowd would take place. The games were centered around the Hemp Dragon such as stick playing, meeting of dragon and phoenix, conjurator making fun of the hemp dragon and my favorite the ‘hemp dragon chasing the colorful cloud’ just to name a few…
Hemp Dragon Dance, Qiang people, Sichuan Province, China (notice the “Beard” of Hemp)
Sitting around that grand harvest Bonfire celebrating another years worth of woes and tales, go ahead, break out that Hemp Dragon and chase the colorful cloud for another year of the Hemp Dragon…
舞麻龙 “hemp Dragon Dance”