Ancient Tujia Ritual Art in Zhangjiajie: Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance
This is an ancient sacrificial dance of the Tujia people. Legend says the Eight Treasures were the chiefs of eight ancient Tujia tribes, known as the "Eight Department Great Kings" or "Eight Department Great Gods." Later, after the eight chiefs died in battle, descendants made eight bronze bells in their memory and wore eight-panel skirts like those worn by the Eight Department Kings, riding the treasured horse that symbolized their ancestors.
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Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance
This is an ancient sacrificial dance of the Tujia people. Legend has it that the Eight Treasures were the chiefs of eight ancient Tujia ancestral tribes, known as the "Eight Great Kings" or "Eight Great Deities." Later, the eight chiefs died one after another in battle. To commemorate them, later generations carefully made eight bronze bells and, following the eight-panel skirts worn by the Eight Great Kings when they were alive, riding the precious horses that symbolized those ridden by their ancestors, shaking bronze bells in their hands and dancing gracefully while singing ancient songs to worship ancestors and pray for blessings, as a way of remembrance. Because the eight bronze bells represented the eight chiefs, this dance was named the "Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance." Originally, participation in the "Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance" was limited to the Tujia people themselves. An old saying went, "Brass does not touch iron; the Tujia do not touch guests (Kejia, referring to outsiders)." But later, because Tujia, Miao, and Han shared national calamities and resisted foreign invaders together, forging a life-and-death friendship, the Tujia ritual master gave one bronze bell to the Miao ritual master and another to the Han old priest. Therefore, today's eight-treasure bronze bells actually number only six.
In addition, the Tujia Eight-Treasure Bell Dance was compiled based on the movements in the ritual activities of Tujia old priests and named after its dance prop, the "Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell." The eight-treasure bronze bell uses a piece of hard miscellaneous wood one chi long and two centimeters in diameter as the bell handle, with a horse-head shape carved at the top and a three-cun-long semicircular fork cut at the bottom as horse legs. Four egg-sized bronze bells are tied to each end (eight bronze bells in total). At the horse-head end, strips of five-colored cloth (or hemp thread) five cun long and one cun wide are tied as the horse's mane. During performance, the performer holds the bell handle and shakes the bronze bells according to the plot of the program, producing a jingling sound that is pleasant to the ear. The number of performers in the bronze bell dance is generally eight, and sometimes ten to twenty, but all wear phoenix crown hats and eight-panel skirts around the waist (skirts made of eight panels of red, yellow, and blue cloth, like today's pleated skirts), performing on a flat ground (or courtyard). The programs include the following items.
(1) Leading the Horse
The performers raise the bronze bells and shake them rapidly, stepping backward into the arena and promptly forming a circle, then making the movement of leading a horse. That is, the left foot stands still while the right foot steps forward, and the bronze bells are shaken forward twice; the right foot is drawn back half a step, and the bronze bells are swung backward twice; both hands hold the bronze bells high, shaking and waving them, while both feet move forward in quick steps until the bronze bells of those in the circle are about to touch, at which point each person bends slightly, shakes the bronze bells, and quickly steps back to the original position, restoring the circle.
(2) Feeding the Horse
The people in the circle remain in place, with the right foot stepping forward together, knees slightly bent, the left leg extended diagonally straight, the right hand shaking the bronze bells three times, and the left hand feeding the bronze bells once (making a feeding motion). After doing this three times in succession, the right foot is drawn back to the original position.
(3) Mounting the Horse
First, make the movement of mounting the saddle. The people in the circle bend at the waist, with the right foot stepping diagonally forward to the right, both hands tightly shaking the bronze bells, swinging them from the lower left up over the head and back. Immediately afterward, the performers all turn to the right, forming a circle facing one another's backs, shaking the bronze bells rhythmically with the right hand, lifting the left foot (with bent knee) and stamping once, extending the right foot flat to the right in a horse-straddling posture, stamping the left foot again, and after the right foot returns to position, both feet spread to the left and right, bending slightly at the waist, half-squatting, with both hands extended forward tightly shaking the bronze bells. When it indicates that they have mounted the horse, they all imitate a horse's neigh once and then return to position.
(4) Horse Jumping
The performers face one another's backs in a circle, half-squatting in a riding posture, both hands extended forward, shaking the bronze bells rhythmically in time with horse steps and hopping forward. With each hop forward, the hands shake the bronze bells once. The speed of the hopping and bell-shaking accelerates step by step, reaching the climax of a galloping horse before concluding.
(5) Baiting Lang
The bell-shakers form a circle and shake the bronze bells rhythmically. In the center of the circle, two other people pass a rope through the two sleeves of a child's jacket and each holds one end, pulling it taut. Following the rhythm of the bronze bells, the two hold one end of the rope and swing the child's garment forward and backward in coordination, meaning a child on a swing, commonly called "Baiting Lang." The bell-shaking speed gradually accelerates, and the swinging of Lang also swings at the same speed, but the number of bell shakes and Lang swings must be synchronized and proceed in order, without confusion.
(6) Descending into the Heavenly Pit
The bell-shaking team forms a circle and shakes the bells rhythmically. In the center of the circle, two other people face each other and jointly carry a shoulder-height stick (wooden pole) on their shoulders, with the left hand on the hip and the right hand supporting the stick. A silk handkerchief is draped over the stick. A qigong master comes in and takes one end of the silk handkerchief, while another strong man takes the other end. The qigong master, holding the silk handkerchief, slowly squats down, while the strong man grips the silk handkerchief firmly. After the qigong master lies flat on the ground, the others bring a cotton quilt and cover his abdomen, then place a wooden board on top, then place a large stone mill on the wooden board, and on the stone mill set a set of iron plow and harrow. The qigong master, lying on the ground, uses his right hand to throw bamboo divination blocks and shouts: "Cast one yin-yang pair!" He throws the bamboo blocks to the ground. If they do not form one yin-yang pair, he must continue throwing until they do. Only then are all the things placed on the qigong master's abdomen removed, and the qigong master, gripping the silk handkerchief with both hands, slowly rises and stands up. The performance ends.
The Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance is also called "Jieqian" and is most popular in the Xuan'en area. When Tujia people pray for abundant harvests and thriving livestock, they make vows and fulfill vows to ancestors and deities, inviting Tujia old priests to perform ritual dances and "Jieqian." When the Tujia old priest performs the ritual dance "Jieqian," he holds a ritual knife and a gang sword while singing divine songs and dancing. The movements are rugged and agile, and the eight bronze bells tied to the tip of the sword jingle, making it unique and beloved. The dancer holds the eight-treasure bronze bell in the left hand and the ritual knife in the right hand, singing divine songs.
The Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance has relatively few movements. The Tujia old priest holds the bronze bells and walks back and forth along a "ren"-shaped route. At the climax, he can stand on one foot and turn around, quickly and steadily, and the eight-panel skirt on his body turns with his body like a peacock spreading its tail. In some ritual dances of "Jieqian," they also walk with shaba steps, strike knives and swords, recite Tujia scriptures, and hum divine songs. After inviting the names of the master, grand master, master's uncle, and master one by one, he sits on a stool in front of the altar table, then trembles his limbs and body, casting divination blocks while improvising lyrics and humming vows according to the host's wishes. This dance also includes the movement of worshipping the four directions, that is, standing with feet in a large figure-eight step, striking the kneecap with the bronze bells, and paying homage to the four directions.
When the Tujia old priest, the Tima, dances the "Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance," although some movements carry strong religious coloring, such as kneeling, kowtowing, worshipping deities, reining in the horse to look at the deities, and treading the Eight Trigrams, the overall dance and the theme it expresses go far beyond the shamanic content of praying to deities. It is a quite complete picture of the ancient Tujia people's horse-riding, nomadic, and migratory life. The horse-head bronze bell staff held by the Tujia old priest symbolizes a spirited horse hung with bells. During the dance, the movements of shaking the bell to feed the horse, tease the horse, mount the horse, straddle the horse, gallop the horse, race the horse, and dismount are a complete set. The bell-shaking dance postures are rich and varied, including sweeping-hall bell shaking, galloping-horse bell shaking, turning-horse bell shaking, jumping-horse bell shaking, reining-horse bell shaking, left-right bell shaking, figure-eight step bell shaking, cross step bell shaking, Eight Trigrams step bell shaking, lotus-jump bell shaking, circle-turning bell shaking, kneeling bell shaking, shoulder-shaking bell shaking, double-bell striking, horizontal-step double-bell striking of shoulders and hips, four-directions bell shaking, and so on. These bell-shaking techniques are extraordinary and the movements are quite difficult, giving people a passionate, lively, and joyful enjoyment of a simple beauty.
The music of the Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell Dance has beautiful and flowing melodies and ancient lyrics. Because of its strong ethnic flavor, it is deeply loved by the Tujia people. Therefore, whenever the Tujia old priest sacrifices to deities in "Jieqian," the host family slaughters pigs and sheep, guests arrive in crowds, and neighbors gather to watch. When the singing and dancing reach a high point, the spectators sing antiphonal mountain songs with the Tujia old priest, and the responses rise one after another, turning it into a mass song-and-dance activity.
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