Funeral dance is a special custom for the Tujia Ethnic Group, but the average person
without any background knowledge will find the concept
unimaginable. Men and women, old and young, gather around the
coffin and sing, dance and enjoy themselves through the night. They
wear colorful clothes as if they were attending a happy
celebration. Relatives of the deceased will join in when the
celebrations reach their peak. Only the men dance at this stage
while women watch.
Also called sayi'erhe in the local language, funeral
dance is to be found in the middle reach areas of Qingjiang River
-- the second branch of Yangtze River -- such as Changyang and
Wufeng Tujia Autonomous Counties in Hubei Province.
The recorded history of the funeral dance can be traced back to
Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). Prof. Zhang Zhengming, who is an expert
on Chu History at the School of Historical Culture of Central China
Normal University (CCNU), said the dance is likely to have
originated from a war dance because of some of the movements
used.
Bai Xiaoping, an expert on the funeral dance, has researched the
subject for three years. She kept a close watch on the funerals and
selected nine of them to feature in her book on the subject with
photos and descriptions.
According to Bai, the funeral dance is a complex of movements,
songs and music and has its unique artistic values. The drummer is
also the singer and the songs are about love and all aspects of
life. The songs are called wujuzi because they are in a
five-sentence pattern. They are all happy songs with most being
sung by males in high-pitched voices.
Bai said the dance reflects Tujia people's philosophy of life
and death. They are open-minded, thinking death as natural as the
rotation of the four seasons and therefore deserving a happy
ending.
Bai explains that the regions where the funeral dance remains a
tradition are shrinking. In ancient times the custom was prevalent
in the Three Gorges areas and the wetland areas of Qingjiang River.
Now it's to be found only in the middle reaches of the Qingjiang
River.
But Bai said she's confident that the tradition can be kept for
future generations. The funeral dance is an activity involving many
participants and has been handed down through generations. Now many
cultural departments have recognized the importance of protecting
the funeral dance and the tradition itself.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Chen Lin, May 9, 2006)
