Hemp Dragon Dance

[MightyMightyMezz]

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Hemp dragon dance is popular among the Qiang people in the area of Longxi, Jizhou, Sichuan Province, which is a sport in ancestor worship. The Qiang people have made some improvement to this activity in recent years. Sets of movements, such as stick playing, meeting of dragon and phoenix, conjurator making fun of the hemp dragon, conjurator dance, hemp dragon chasing the colorful cloud, etc. are remained.

 

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 stick of the man performers has a hemp dragon head at one end and seven-meter long hemp beard as the dragon's body. When the gong and drum are stricken, the hemp dragon begins to dance with its head lowering down or rising high from time to time. The festooned stick, the hemp dragon and the balls dance together. Poops (sic!) 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.