Eagle and Pooch Dance

32.Eagle and Pooch Dance

Nominating Unit: Lianjiang Municipality, City of Zhanjiang

The Eagle and Pooch Dance is practiced mostly in Xinhua Township and Hedi Township at Lianjiang Municipality and in places such as Huanglue and Kengwei of Suixi County. An interesting local legend says that in the high mountains and deep forests where birds and beasts abound, there lived queer animals such as “eagle” and “pooch”. They often play with each other and also fight each other. As it was believed that these two animals could drive away evil spirits, they created this Eagle and Pooch Dance by mimicking their play and fight so as to express their best wishes for blessings and good luck. It was said that there had already been Eagle and Pooch Dances along beach dikes in Xinhua County even during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty which has a history of over 150 years.

The Eagle and Pooch Dance consists of four characters such as the eagle, the pooch, the big-headed Buddha, and the monkey. One person plays the role of the eagle, two persons play the role of the pooch, and still the other two persons play the role of the big-headed Buddha and the monkey respectively. The eagle prop model is featured by a pointed mouth, wide wings, and sharp claws to highlight the prowess of an eagle. Its power, agility and valor are indicated by its wing spreading, nest perching, diving and water tapping movements. The pooch prop model is featured by the head of a dragon, the horns of a kylin, the body of a leopard, and the tail of a phoenix, all adding to its strong and mighty appearance. It also uses fast head shaking, tail swinging, water spewing, and leg shelving to indicate its speed and ferocity. During the performance, the eagle is in the front, and the pooch is at the back. They fight each other in perfect teamwork with the accompaniment of the music from drums and gongs. There are routines such as wakening eagle and pooch dance, four combats, washing face and mouth, crossing bridges, picking up ground green, picking up sky green and so on. Among them, the most difficult and the most exciting part is picking up sky green, which is also the climax of the dance. At this moment, the eagle dancer, with the help of qigong, will put the end of a pillar against his belly, and four men will lift the pillar up so he would “fl y” up to the tip of the 4-meter high pillar and rotate freely in the air. At the same time, he would show off such difficult and dangerous movements as “spreading wings and touching the sky”, “immortal opening an umbrella”, “waterfalls and floating springs” etc.(https://www.daowen.com)

The Eagle and Pooch Dance is dramatic and climaxical. The personified Eagle and Pooch are the main characters. At the very beginning, the suspicions they harbor towards each other result in fighting with each other. After their misunderstanding is eliminated, they become friends as ever. The big-headed Buddha and the monkey play minor roles. At the beginning they sow discord between the Eagle and the Pooch, but later on they triy to make peace between them. It is rather dramatic.

Zhuyuan Village of Xinhua Township, which is famous for stunning performances with high difficulties, is the most prominent representative for Eagle and Pooch Dance in Lianjiang Municipality. With its development, the number of eagles has reached 3, and the number of pooches has reached 2, with the number of the 4-meter high pillars reaching 3, making the performance more colorful. In 1997, this village was honored with the name of “Homeland for Ethnic and Folk Art in Guangdong Province”by the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province.

As the local economy is under-developed, and there is a temporary shortage of personnels, Eagle and Pooch Dance Art is facing the danger of becoming extinct. Protective measures are urgently needed.