Ansai waist drums have a long history, this is the ancient military to increase morale and pass the intelligence used, here is used to express the victory of the cheers and the joy of the harvest. Quite dense drumming sound, strong pace, changing formations, strong shouts, as much as possible to show the man's masculine beauty, in the international community is extremely prestigious.
Ansai Waist Drums are a collective performance form, the drummer (called "satchel drums" or "kick drums") is less than dozens of people, more than a hundred people. The team includes pulling flowers female corner, umbrella head, savage mother-in-law, savage Han and other roles, and "running donkey', "water boat", such as a variety of small field program composed of a vast folk dance team. In the performance emphasizes the overall effect, requires the action of the neat unity and formation changes in normality, mainly through the drummers bold and rugged dance posture and powerful drumming skills, fully demonstrated in the man born on the Loess Plateau men's masculine beauty.
Ansai waist drum has a complete performance program and activity customs. In the past, more in the festivals and temple performances, the annual Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, is the focus of the activity time. Before the start of the event, the president of the temple (elected by the village) to organize sacrificial activities, known as "visit the temple": dance team under the umbrella of the head of the leadership, beat up the drums and gongs, blowing the oboe, and sometimes carry a whole pig whole sheep and other offerings to the temple to burn incense to the gods, and pray to the gods blessed with good weather and prosperity of the country and people's peace. And in the temple square kicking and punching for a while, intended to entertain the gods. "Visit the temple" end, the first eight or nine after the first month, the drum team will begin the door to the New Year activities, commonly known as "along the door. There is a local proverb: "Drums and gongs and suona straight sound miles, under the butt stick pry miles!" The masses could not sit still. At this time, the waist drum team according to the village in order to walk around the house, in the main house in the courtyard, kiln performance for a while, the umbrella head according to the situation of each family, touching the scene to sing a few sections of auspicious rice-planting songs, in order to express the intention of the New Year's greetings. The main family believes that the waist drum team into the yard into the house beating, jumping and singing, can eliminate disasters and disasters, peace in all seasons. This may be the ancient "townspeople Nuo" customary legacy. Sometimes two teams of waist drums on the way to meet, generally by the umbrella head of each other singing rice-planting songs, *** congratulations on the New Year, let the road and line, but sometimes there will be a mutual failure to give way to the situation, at this moment we have to compete in the art of competition, and compete for a high and low. The two teams of gongs and drums, suona sound, waist drum sound, like spring thunder rolling. Drummers enjoy hitting, jumping, such as crazy like crazy, playing to the climax, the drums rest, by both sides of the umbrella head out of the song, which is also an aspect of the competition skills. Until there is a team of the first corner of the mess, the action is not unanimous, drums, formation are unified not a piece or the song on the answer, even if it is lost, and then took the initiative to make way for the winner to go first.
"Along the door" after the end of the neighboring villages between the waist drum team have to pay homage to each other, visit each other, the exchange of performances, which is the same as the Shaanbei rice-planting, known as "take color door". The first month of the fifteenth, the village drum team gathered in the square, began to compete with each other than each other activities. Drummers from all walks of life show their skills and compare each other's strengths and weaknesses, becoming the culmination of the year's waist drumming performances. This is not only active rural Spring Festival recreational activities, but also through each other to observe and learn from each other, promote the popularization and improvement of the waist drum. That night will also be held "turn the lamp" (also known as "turn nine songs"), almost everyone is competing for the tour, the whole family with the turn. At that time, drums and music, lights flashing, waist drum team in front of the guide, followed by the crowd, showing a lively and extraordinary scene.
The activities of the drum team often continue until the 17th and 18th of the first month, and end only after the sacrifice of the land god. After that, the townspeople went to prepare for the spring plowing.
The performance of the drums can be broadly categorized into "road drums" and "field drums".
"Road drums" is the waist drum team in the marching dance while walking a form of performance, before the two umbrella head of the team, followed by the satchel drums and flowers composed of the dance team B - umbrella head of a satchel drums followed by the head of the drums, called the "head of the road drums," he is bound to be a skilled drummer. He must be a skillful drummer, and he commands the whole team's movements and rhythms. The back of the team, is dressed up as a barbarian woman, barbarian clowns, some dressed up as the Monkey King, Pigsy and other characters in the Tang Monk scriptures, twisting at will, teasing and making fun to add to the joyful atmosphere of the festival. "Road drum" due to the performance in the march, the general action is simple, small amplitude, more to do "cross step", "walk step", "horse step wrapped around the waist The movements are mostly "Cross Steps", "Walking Steps" and "Horse Steps around the Waist". Commonly used formations are "single street", "double street", "single dragon tail", "double dragon tail" and so on.