Traditional Sports
The Nu people live along the banks of the Nu River, surrounded by mountains and in a rugged terrain. The particular environments necessitate the slash-and-burn methods of traditional agriculture. In the mid-20th century, the Nu people produced only enough food for half a year, and many of them had to rely on hunting, gathering and fishing for four or five months to sustain themselves. This is why “crossbow-shooting” has become a necessary skill for the Nu men. Therefore, from the age of three or four, Nu boys have to practise the skill of shooting crossbows. After the founding ofNew China, the productivity ofthe Nu people developed rapidly. And the crossbow, once an essential production tool for Nu, gradually became a form ofleisure and entertainment.
The Nu River is the source of life for the Nu people, but it also brings much inconvenience to their travel. In order to cross the river, the Nu people slide to the other side of the river by zip lines made of plants from mountains in fast-flowing sections. And they use the boat shaped like a pig trough that is also referred to as a canoe to cross the river in slow-flowing sections. The valley ofthe Nu River is a low-lying area with high humidity and lush mountain vegetation. When inhabitants go down the mountain, they use boards to slide down on the relatively flat hillside in order to save time and energy. This method is called grass sliding.
About all, the special geographical environment is one of the formative elements of the Nu traditional sporting culture. As history has developed, these survival skills have evolved into challenging sports that reflect the spirit ofthe Nu. Nowadays, during festivals,young people compete in the zip line, chasing back and forth, with great excitement. And in addition to the above traditional sports, some ofthe recreational folk games have gradually blended with sports to form unique Nu sports.
(1) Crossbow-Shooting
Crossbow-shooting is mostly held at festivals and large gatherings, without a limited number ofparticipants. In the early days, crossbow-shooting was a game in which anyone would fix a Baba, a piece of meat or a bamboo arrow as a target in a place and the others would stand ten to twenty meters away and shoot at the target with their crossbows. And the rule is that if the shooter hit the “target”, the “target” would belong to the shooter.Conversely, if he misses the shot, the arrow belongs to the person who set the target.Nowadays, the Nu people have developed it into a formal athletic program and the target is a standard wooden target with rings marked on it. There are two types of shooting, standing and kneeling, and participants can be either male or female. The difference is that the standard for men is higher than that of the female team. The Nu crossbow-shooting ranks among the best in China.
(2) Zip Line
The legend has it that the Nu ancestors wandered along the riverbank in order to cross the river. One day, they saw spiders weave webs between the trees and crawl back and forth,so they were inspired to twist bamboo strips into ropes, attach the ropes to arrows and shoot them hard to the other side, then fix the ropes across the river. Thus the zip line is invented.
There are two types of zip line: smooth slide and steep slide. Smooth slide fits the two banks with no inclination, and can make a round trip. Steep slide require two ropes, and the two banks are not at the same height. The zip line is fast and energy-saving. However,in rainy weather the ropes are too slippery and you have to be careful or you can easily get hurt when you cross the river.
When sliding across the river, the sliding board should be buckled on the rope. They put more than 3 meters long linen belt through the hole in sliding board to tie the hip, waist around, and the last lap of belt is put around the neck. Then they hold the sliding board with hands, while stomping hard the pillar that fixes the rope, and sliding down, so they canfly across the river in a flash. When they slide to the middle of the river, with the rope tilt upward, the board stops slowly. They press on the feet, with the hand climbing. Until they reach the ground, the belt can be untied.
Crossing the zip line requires courage, skill and strength. Masters can fly across the river like birds, and can also rotate, let go their hold, even can carry large animals such as pigs,sheep and cows across the river.
(3) Grass Sliding
The steep and grassy slopes of the Nu River Gorge make a great place for youngsters to play. The grass sliding is that youngsters place a wooden board on the slope, with one or more people sitting on it, using inertia to slide down the slope. This is a favourite game of the Nu teenagers.
(4) Boats Shaped Like Pig Trough Racing
The boats shaped like pig trough, one kind of canoe, are made ofthick trees, the trunks of which are chiselled into troughs. They can be used in the slow-moving parts of the Nu River. It is said that the invention of the boats shaped like pig trough was inspired by the sight of a bird standing on a branch or plank to cross the river. At first, people crossed the river by holding a log and dipping their bodies in the water. But later, it was thought that by hollowing out the trunk of the tree and sitting in the trunk, so the danger could be reduced.During the “Fairy Festival” ofthe Nu ethnic group, people often race their boats across the river to celebrate the festival.
(5) Nu Ball
There are two types of the Nu ball: one is made from hemp ropes with rags or grass wrapped into a round ball 10cm in diameter; the other is made from the outer cuticle of bamboo stems. Although they are not as good as leather balls, both types ofball are flexible enough to be tapped. There are also two ways to play the ball: one is to bind the thin bamboo strips into a circle and fix it to a wall or tree as basketry. In the game, both teams shoot baskets, and the winner is the team who gets the most goals. Another method is to draw a line in the middle ofthe flat and divide it into two halves, with 3-5 people standing on each side. The players will be eliminated if they fail to hit the opposing player with the ball or lose the ball in their own boundary and the team with the last man left wins. The ball can be kicked or thrown by hand.
(6) Vaulting the Bamboo
Vaulting the bamboo is a way of practising high jump for the Nu ethnic group, and is done in the Spring Festival and on usual public occasions. A bamboo pole, about 5 meters long, arches by inserting both ends into the ground; the closer the two ends are, the higher the back of the bow is. The young men and women shout loudly as they vault over the bowed bamboo pole one by one.
(7) Wrestling
Wrestling is a popular folk sport for young Nu people, the conditions are that both participants are ofappropriate age, male to male, female to female, and also male to female,but with proportionate physiques. There are two kinds ofwrestling: one is for both sides to get close together and use one hand to hold each other’s waist, and the other hand to drag opponent’s neck. When they start, they have to wrestle each other hard until one side falls to the ground and can’t turn over; the other is for both sides to be a certain distance apart and manoeuvre for a first rush, then they can drag opponent’s waist, neck or pull hands, but holding legs and pulling feet are forbidden. The winner is the one who knock the opponent to the ground and makes him unable to turn over.
(8) Muzhu Chess
Two rows of small round pits, five on each side, are dug in the ground, hence it is called Muzhu chess whose chessboard is shaped as a sow’s breast. The pits are placed at equal distances from each other, with the pits on each side aligned, then five small stones are placed in each pit and two players take turns rolling the dice. At the beginning of the game, two players take all five stones from their respective pit in their hands (taking the other player’s stones is forbidden). Two players take turns rolling the dice, whoever has the bigger number of points gets to put one stone in the pit, one stone in each pit only, until the stones in their hand are finished, then grab all the stones in one pit and continue to put. Ifthere is an empty pit, the players collect the stones from the pit next to the empty pit, then grab the stones from the pit next to it and keep going. Ifthere are already two empty pits, the other player is disqualified from moving the stones once, until both players have taken all the stones in the pit according to the rules, and whoever has taken more stones from the empty pit is the winner.
(9) Keeping Stones
Keeping stones a traditional sport that is widely spread among the teenagers of the Nu ethnic group. One person as a guardian does a push-up to keep a few stones underneath him, and others try to grab the stones from the guardian but no touch by the guardian’s feet.The person who is touched has to replace the guardian, and ifthe stones are all grabbed, the guardian is punished by performing a show and then starting again.