Traditional Sports
The Zhuang people ofYunnan mainly live in river valleys, so some of their traditional sports are associated with water. Because of their relatively favourable living environment compared to other ethnic minorities, most ofthe traditional sports are both competitive and recreational, which derived from everyday pastimes. The main traditional sports activities include throwing embroidered ball, driving a “horse” into the town, grabbing Huapao and dragon boat racing.
(1) Dragon Boat Racing
The Zhuang dragon boat race in Boai Township, Fuening County, dated back to the Ming Dynasty. According to folklore, since the opening-up of Boai, the business boom led to the establishment ofthe Chamber ofCommerce, which sponsored the annual Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month). This event was introduced by the Chamber of Commerce from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and co-financed by the Chamber and organized in liaison with local officials and squires. There is a minimum of four and a maximum ofeight dragon boat teams, each with approximately 30 people. The 5-km course starts at the Leek Village and ends at the Dragon King Temple. The participants wear white clothes with red trim, blue leggings and white headbands; a large leather drum with red edges is placed in the middle of each boat, and the drummer bares his right shoulder and holds drumsticks in both hands. There are also gongs and suona players. A commander stands at the stern of the boat. At the start of the racing, hundreds ofpaddles row together,with the sound of suona and the shouting from the audience onshore, making the whole Boai gorge lively. After the racing, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce takes participants to the Dragon King Temple to pay their homage to the “Dragon King”.
(2) Driving a “Horse” into the Town
This competitive game is popular among the Zhuang in Xichou County. “Horse” and“town” are metaphorical expressions of“an iron tube” and “a 50cm-diametered circle drawn on the ground”. When the game starts, one, or 2 at most, players drive an iron tube forward by striking the tube with a wooden stick. The striking sound will enhance the competitive ambience, while one opponent player stands at the center ofthe circle where a hole is digged for holding the “horse”. The mission ofthe town defender is to stop the “horse” from invading the “town” and occupying the hole. It is a offence-and-offence competition.
(3) Throwing Embroidered Ball
Throwing embroidered ball is most commonly practised among the Zhuang people at the traditional Singing Assembly on lunar March 3rd. On this day, singing huts are set up and outside the huts, young men and women stand on either side to throw an embroidered ball.
The Embroidered ball is round in shape and made of cloth with flowers and birds in pattern. It is filled with kapok, beans or rice and is decorated with coloured strips on the corners for being held in hand. The method ofthrowing the ball varies from place to place.Some erect a wooden pole over 10 meters high on a lawn or open space and nail a square board of about 1 meter at the top, with a 60-centimeters round hole chiseled in the middle ofthe board. Some ofthe holes are made in the shape ofa trumpet, with a larger hole facing the woman and a smaller one facing the man. The holes are surrounded by silk cloth or paper of different colors to be more attractive and beautiful. The winner ofthe competition is the person who can throw the ball through the hole. Some do not put up a wooden pole,but require the ball to be thrown over the top of the singing hut and into the opponent’sfield. Anyone who throws the ball under the top ofthe shed, out ofbounds or fails to catch the ball thrown by the opponent is considered the loser. No matter which method is used,men and women are separated and stand on each side in roughly equal numbers.
(4) Grabbing Huapao
The Zhuang also have a very impressive traditional sporting event — the grabbing Huapao. The “Huapao” is a 5cm diameter iron hoop, or a teacup-sized hoop made of thin bamboo or rattan strips, wrapped with red cloth or threads. When the competition begins, the Huapao is placed on the mouth ofa gun barrel filled with gunpowder. When the barrel is fired,the Huapao soar into the sky, then the players rush to grab the Huapao that fall down. The player who grabs the Huapao has to try to break through the opponent’s defence and throw the Huapao into the basket to score a point. The winner is the one who scores the most points.It is also known as the “Rugby ofthe East” because ofits similarity to rugby. In recent years,the sport has been modernized to be a modern competitive sport. It is quite greatly improved in terms of venues, equipment and rules, and has become an official event at the National Minority Games. It has laid the foundation for China’s traditional ethnic sports to go global.
【注释】
[1]FromPage 36, TheHistory ofHui CultureurittenbyNaWenhui, MaXingdong.
[2]Kublai Khan, also known as the Emperor Shizu ofYuan, was the fifth khagan-emperor ofthe Mongol Empire, reigning from 1260 to 1294. He also founded the Yuan dynasty in China as a conquest dynasty in 1271, andruledas the firstYuan emperoruntilhis deathin 1294.
[3]Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari was Yunnan’s first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-ledYuan dynasty ofChina. His political activities played a vital role in the development ofproductivity inthe earlyYuanDynasty. He made greatcontributions to the social, economic and culturalprogress of Yunnan especially during his six-yearterm ofoffice.
[4]Pingchengzhangshi, aname ofan officialpost, means the highestgovernor ofaprovince during theYuan Dynasty.
[5]Muhammad was anArab religious, social, and political leader and the Prophet ofIslam. He is believed to be the final prophet dispatchedbyAllah. Chinese Muslims call him “Musheng”, namely, the saint named Muhammad.
[6]In this festival held on December 10 ofthe Islamic calendar, an animal is sacrificedritually. One third of its meat is consumed by the family offering the sacrifice, while the rest is distributed to the poor and needy.Sweets andgifts are given, and extended family are typicallyvisited andwelcomed.
[7]Caliph is the chiefMuslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor ofthe Islamic prophet Muhammad.
[8]The Banjin Festival, which falls on the 13th day ofthe 10th lunar month, is a specifically Manchu tradition. “Banjin” in the Manchu language means “birth” or“thriving”. It marks the day when the ethnic group renamed themselves “Manchu” in 1635. People perform traditional songs and dances, and prepare copious meals to celebrate this festival.
[9]The flail is a farm implement or martial arts appliance. With a row ofbattens or bamboo strips mounted on a longwoodenhandle, itcanbe usedforthreshing.
[10]The reed-pipe wind instrument dance is a traditional folk dance characterized by flexible movements of the lower limbs (including hips, knees and ankles) while the male dancer is playing the reed-pipe wind instrument. Itis popularin all the Miao areas.
[11]https://c.m.163.com/news/a/E9LOHU2L0525KQ6J.html.
[12]The Kitchen God is the master ofthe cooking utensils andtakes charge offortune ofmembers ofa family, andworshiping this god expresses people’s wishes to wardoffevil spirits andto beblessed.
[13]Lamaism, also known as Tibetan Buddhism, is a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are notBuddhist and elements ofpreexisting shamanism. It is abranch ofMahayana. And Chinese Buddhism, SouthernBuddhism andLamaism are calledthree geographical terms ofBuddhism.
[14]Naadam is an annual traditional festival held by Mongolian people in July or August. It derived from the early period ofthe Mongol Empire. It includes three games ofmen, that is, wrestling, horse racing and archery. A commodity fair will be held during the same period. Naadam was listed in the List ofIntangible Cultural Heritage ofChinain 2006.
[15]The Bon religion is the original religion ofTibetans. Itbelieves that everything has a spirit andworships the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, thunder and lightning, hail, mountains andrivers, rocks, trees,animals and othernatural objects.
[16]The Gelugpa is the newest ofthe schools ofan Buddhism. It was foundedby Je Tsongkhapa, a philosopher andreligious leader. The first monasteryhe establishedwas named Ganden, andto this daythe Ganden Tripa is the nominal head ofthe school, though its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama. The Gelugpa emerged as the pre-eminentBuddhist school since the end ofthe 16th century.
[17]The Nyingmatradition is the oldest ofthe three major schools ofTibetan Buddhism. “Nyingma” literally means “ancient”, because it is founded on the first translations ofBuddhist scriptures from Sanskrit in the eighth century. Inmoderntimes, theNyingma lineage hasbeen centered inKham.
[18]The Kagyu, also known as the “Oral Lineage” or Whispered Transmission school, was founded by Marpa Lotsawa, it has been handed down to the present day. It was the first school in history to practise the systemofreincarnation ofthe Tulku, the earliest ofwhichwas the Karmapa ofthe Kagyu school.
[19]Losar occurs near or on the same day as the Chinese New Year, but the traditions ofLosar are unique.Originally, ancient celebrations ofLosar occurred solely on the winter solstice, and were only moved to coincide withthe ChineseNewYearby aleader ofthe Gelugpa school ofBuddhism.
[20]The Guozhuang dance, meaning circle dance in Tibetan, is one ofthe three major folk dances ofthe Tibetanpeople.
[21]In Tibetan legend, King Gesar is the embodiment ofthe Son ofGod, who spenthis life fighting forpeople, rewarding thejust andpunishing the wicked, promoting Buddhism and spreading culture. He is the hero thatthe Tibetanpeople all areproud of.
[22]King Pan is the ancestor ofYao, Miao and She people. He is the same character in Han culture who createdthe world.
[23]“Jier” means “good fortune” in the Yi language and is regarded as the spiritprotecting the family members fromharm.
[24]The Torch Festival is the most importanttraditional festival oftheYipeople. Everyvillage oftheYi people holds a grand sacrificial ceremony from June 24 to 27 ofthe lunar calendar annually, offering sacrifices to nature, fire and ancestors to pray for the growth oflivestock and grain, which reflects the Yi People’s desire to respectthe laws ofnature andpursue ahappy life.
[25]The Longduan Festival is the traditional “Valentine’s Day” ofthe Zhuang people in Yunnan. It is held everyyearbetweenFebruary andMarch onthe lunar calendar.
[26]According to Zhuang legend, the March 3rd on the lunar calendaris the birth anniversary ofthe ancestor ofthe Zhuang people, Buluotuo. On this day, the Zhuang people not only hold a Singing assembly, but also payrespectto the ancestor.