Bai People’s Song and Dance

The earliest songs and dances of Dali area could trace back to an ancient performance –Ta Ge (also named DaGe, means singing while dancing) in Shang Dynasty and the Warring States Period. Having seen the Tong Gu (bronze drum) performance personally, even the famous poet Bai Juyi wrote to vividly described the dance. In the year 238 A.D, Tang Dynasty had donated two pieces of northwest music to Nanzhao—“Chiu Tsu Music” and “Hu’s music”, as well as music workers, which had greatly promoted the development of local culture and arts. Meanwhile, the neighbour Piao country’s (today’s Burma) music had also brought into Nanzhao. This shows that in history, there was mutual cultural complementary and integrity between Nanzhao and central plains areas. This long standing history of art brings Erhai area a good fame of “land of song and dance”.

Bai people’s folk dance (including folk-custom activities) are usually performed in the following three special occasions:
First, in traditional festivals. These festivals include both Han nationality’s festivals and lcoal people’s particular festivals, such as Local God Worship Festival, March Street Fair, Torch Festival, February Worship Fair, Song Festival on Shibao Moutain, etc, more than 20 in total. Folk dances like “White Crane Dance”, “Deer&Crane Celebrating Spring Together”, “Phoenix Chasing Kylin”, “Play with Cow”, “Play with Horse”, “Sword Playing”, etc, and folk-custom activities will be performed during these festivals.

Second, in farming, planting or harvesting seasons. For instance, Tianjiale Festival is also called “Seedling Planting Competition”, “Sa zhi” in Bai people’s language. This festival is popular among villages in Dali, Eryuan, Jianchuan, Yunlong, and Binchuan counties that grow paddy.

Third, in worship ceremonies and religious rituals. Bai people believe in sorcerer, local god, Taoism and Buddhism, therefor, there always be many wroship ceremonies and religious rituals.

 Among Bai people’s folk dances, the one of biggest scale is the worhsip activity of local god. The worship of local god is Bai people’s traditional ideology, and this worship activity still exist until now in Bai people’s villages. In this process, dances like “Stepping on Horse”, which is to pray for good weather, and “Play with Cow”, praying for good harvest, may also be involved. Singing and dancing, accompanied by suona horn and gong, they could always enjoy a jolly time.

 Bai people’s melody in Dali area is not only a farming song when farmer growing seedlings in spring, but also a fishing song when fisher fishing, at the same time a folk song singing in moutains when woodman or herdsman working. It is mainly appears in farming affairs and folk-custom activities, such as Song Festival in Shibao Moutain, “Seawater Playing Festival” in Dali, “Seedling Planting Festival”, “Tianjiale Festival” in Eryuan, and “First Moon in Spring”, and so on.

Musics like “Dage tune”,  “Bawangbian tune”, “Dragon Playing”, “Lion Playing”, “Raosanling”, etc. are all cheerful and ardent musics.