Turtle Dance

37.Turtle Dance

Nominating Unit: Panyu District, City of Guangzhou

Panyu Turtle Dance is popular among Shayong Village, Shiji Township and Shawan, Dutou, Longqi, Xicun, Longjin, etc. of the coastal areas in Panyu District of City of Guangzhou. According to legend, it was originated from the ancestor of the Jiang family in Shayong, who came to Guangdong Province from Zhejiang Province with an army in the early Ming Dynasty, and when he settled down in Panyu he brought in the fi sh lantern dance, which, after a combination with the local turtle worship, developed into the turtle dance. It has a history of over 600 years.

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An imaginary legend has long existed around Shayong area from ancient times, which says that a sea turtle once rescued a young scholar who was at that time in misfortune. Later, the young scholar got the first place in an imperial examination, and finally became an immortal. To pay back the turtle’s saving his life, the young scholar returned to the sea and turned the female and male turtles into immortals as well. The turtle therefore is viewed as the guardian and a symbol of academic success by the locals. Every nine years, a grand three-day turtle parade is held. This tradition has been practiced generation after generation and has become a unique folk custom. Turtle Dance is an important program in this activity, and the story embodied in the dance is exactly the plots from the imaginary legend.

The main props used in Panyu Turtle Dance are turtles made of bamboo strips, which are about 5 feet long, wrapped with tissue paper, with color painted eyes. There are a male turtle and a female turtle. The turtle head is like a fish’s head with protruding horns. Its eyes are like those of a shrimp, with a high nose and a wide mouth. There are opercula on both sides of the head. The male turtle’s tail is like a flower, and its body is covered with golden scales, with red silk apron tied around its lower body. The female turtle’s tail is like a leaf, with silver scales all over its body, and a green silk apron tied around its lower body. During the performance, one dancer would play the scholar in the beginning, then the academic champion. One dancer would play the female turtle and one dancer the male turtle. The dancers would wear the turtle prop on their bodies, and support the turtle body with their shoulders. They would use their hands to grab and hold the knobs, and use their shoulders, backs, elbows, and hands to control turtles’ mouth movements, such as opening and closing, and turtle bodies’rising, bowing, side swinging. With the warm and exciting accompaniment of gongs and drums, many gestures and movements depicting turtles’ life styles and habits are rendered. The dancer who plays the scholar and the champion waves his long sleeves and inserts between two turtles now and then according to the rhythms of the play. The style of the dance is mainly developed around formations, and the movements alternate according to different routines. Its accompaniment is mainly played with gongs and drums and uses Guangdong Province traditional scores, such as “Yan Er Luo” played when the scholar fell into the sea and “Yan Luo Ping Sha” when the scholar got the first place in the examination. The whole performance is lively and amusing.

Panyu Turtle Dance is the product of the local people’s turtle worship and bears strong symbolic meanings. Its rendering style has strong local flavors, and is one of the representative folk dances in the Pearl River Delta region. Shayong Village has been performing this dance generation after generation. In 1997, the village was named “Homeland for Ethnic and Folk Art in Guangdong Province” by provincial Department of Culture. In 2000 it was named “Homeland for Folk Art in China” by the Ministry of Culture.

With the development of economy, young people from Shayong Village are mostly making their livings out of the village, and the transmission of turtle dance performance is in danger. Urgent and effective protective measures are called for.