A fragment of the Nuo dance "Paper Money" - Exorcising evil spirits
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the rhythmic sounds of "dong qia, dong qia, dong dong qia" fill the air in Shiyou Village, Sanxi Township, Nanfeng County, Jiangxi Province, China. This marks the beginning of the Nuo dance performances. Villagers gather early in front of the Nuo deity temple, setting up stages, arranging tables and chairs, watching the Nuo dance, drinking Nuo wine, chatting, and celebrating the New Year.
The Nuo dance in Shiyou Village, Sanxi, has a history of over 3,000 years. It still retains its ancient and vigorous original style, praised by domestic and international experts as the "World's Premier Nuo Dance." In 2006, it was listed in the first batch of China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
From the first to the sixteenth day of the first lunar month each year, the village's Nuo troupe performs the Nuo dance from house to house, celebrating the New Year and praying for blessings. "A hundred Nuo dances celebrating the New Spring" has not only become a fixed way for villagers to celebrate the New Year but also attracts nearby villagers and tourists from afar. Dr. Zhuang Xuechan from the French School of Oriental Studies is a regular visitor to Shiyou Village. As an expert in Eastern folk culture, he has been coming to Shiyou Village to watch the Nuo dance for 16 consecutive years. "Every time I watch the Nuo dance, I feel shocked, and each time the feeling is different," Dr. Zhuang says in halting Chinese.
Wu Jiuzai, a villager who has worked outside for many years, returned home with his family for the New Year celebration. He happily says, "The changes in my hometown are tremendous. Not only has the Nuo dance been promoted and developed, but the village has also built new archways, cobblestone paths, renovated the Nuo deity temple, and constructed replicas of Ming and Qing dynasty buildings. The folk custom ancient Nuo culture village is taking shape."
Shiyou Village is located in the western part of Nanfeng County and the northern part of Sanxi Township, 10 kilometers from the county town. In the village, there is a famous Nuo deity temple, where the half-month-long Nuo dance performances begin every lunar New Year. The Shiyou Nuo dance is a living fossil of ancient religious culture and a prominent representative of Nanfeng Nuo dance. Its performance is ancient and primitive, with a strong original flavor.
Unlike most rural villages, the Nuo dance troupe in Shiyou Village belongs to the Wu family clan as their "family property." Since the Ming Dynasty, when the Nuo dance was introduced to Shiyou Village, their performances have been exclusively for the Wu surname in the village. The Wu family clan manages the Nuo dance troupe extremely strictly, never allowing them to perform for outsiders. It is precisely because of this unique management system in Shiyou Village that the impact of other cultures on it has been almost zero. To this day, villagers still maintain their worship of the Nuo deity, which directly ensures the continuation of the "Nuo dance" custom.
The Shiyou Nuo dance can be generally divided into four parts: "Qi Nuo" (Starting the Nuo), "Tiao Nuo" (Dancing the Nuo), "Sou Nuo" (Searching the Nuo), and "Yuan Nuo" (Completing the Nuo). The "Da Bo" (Elder Uncle) leads seven disciples in lighting candles and burning incense inside the Nuo deity temple, performing a brief and solemn "Qi Nuo" ceremony, and only after paying homage to the deities do they begin the performance. "Tiao Nuo" is the longest part of the entire process with the most activities, symbolizing prayers for good weather, absence of disasters, bountiful harvests, and peace in the coming year. "Sou Nuo" is the climax of the Nuo dance performance, with a powerful and mysterious scene where "Kai Shan" (Mountain Opener), "Zhong Kui" (Demon Queller), and "Xiao Gui" (Little Ghosts) visit each household in the village to "exorcise evil spirits and epidemics." The final part, "Yuan Nuo," is led by the "Da Bo," who kneels before the stage for a long time with great piety, thanking the Nuo deity and praying for favorable weather and peace for the country and people in the new year.
Source: China Ethnic News, January 31, 2012 [Editor: Si Wei]
