| Description |
The Lion Dancing of the Tày and Nùng people in Lang Son takes place during the Lunar New Year and some special occasions such as the rice-growing festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, groundbreaking ceremony, moving into a new house... The Lion Dancing has many meanings, not only expressing the spirit of martial arts, but also to ward off evil spirits and pray for a prosperous and happy life. The Lion Dancing in Lang Son has many different names suitable for the language and tone of each region such as: Ky Lan, Phu, Loong Phu, Phu Meo... The common name that is still used quite commonly today is the lion-cat dance. This is a unique folk art form of the Tay and Nung people (two ethnic groups accounting for over 80% of Lang Son's population) in the districts of Cao Loc, Loc Binh, Van Lang, Van Quan...
According to the concept of the Tay and Nung people, the lion-cat is a sacred animal with both the characteristics of being strong like the king of the jungle and gentle and tame like a cat. To make a cat lion prop or head, from an available mold, the craftsman needs to skillfully apply glue to 2-3 layers of paper, then press it tightly into the mold. The dough is made from cassava so it is very durable and more durable than other types of glue. The round lion head, about 50cm in radius, is made of clay and then baked. Then, it is painted and decorated colorfully with fabric with the main colors being blue, red, black, yellow, white to make it stand out and create flexibility when dancing.
Cat Lion Dance is a synthetic art form containing many elements: music, fine arts, dance... in which dance is the main one, but it is not separate from music and performance. The lion welcoming and returning ceremony takes place before and after the teams go dancing. A Lion Dance team has about 12 to 14 people, dancing lions and performing martial arts, acrobatics, high jumps... Props include: colorfully decorated lions, masks; drums, gongs or cymbals, cymbals; weapons: sticks, rulers, clubs, tridents, machetes... When dancing, the person wearing the lion head must perform "pounce" moves, undulating to the beat. The martial arts dance movements are both fast and flexible, combined with the bustling sound of drums and gongs, making the audience extremely excited and enthusiastic. Depending on the space, location, purpose, and requirements of the lion dance, there are many suitable dances such as: dance to greet the gods, worship ancestors, pray for luck, dance at the festival to go down to the fields, somersault through the ring of fire...
The rituals, performances, and props in the Lion Dance express the feelings, aspirations, and talents of the indigenous Tay and Nung people, bringing profound aesthetic and humanistic values towards community cohesion to build a good life. With those characteristics and values, the Lion Dancing of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in Lang Son province was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. |
