Have you seen the Oroqen folk culture rich in ethnic characteristics? The dance of the Oroqen people is inseparable from bears. There is a legend that they fell in love with and killed bears, and now their folk dance is also called "Bear Fighting Dance".
Next, let’s go to the Oroqen culture to see the dance of the Oroqen people!
The legend of Oroqen people and bears
There are two reasons for the formation of the bear fighting dance. First, people imitate the movements of black bears in fighting, which is rough and simple. The second reason is that the Oroqen people worshiped bears in their early days and believed that bears have a blood relationship with them. Oroqen people cannot call bears directly by their names. They call bears "Yaya", which means grandfather, or "Taitie", which means grandmother. In some areas, they also call bears "Amaha", which means uncle or uncle. In the past, there was a ban on hunting bears. In order to kill a bear in self-defense, a hunter would have to hold a complete wind burial ceremony for sacrifice.
There are still many relics of the Oroqen people's worship of bears that remain in legends and real life. For example, it is said that a hunter was captured by a female bear, lived in a cave for many years, and gave birth to a little bear. The hunter wanted to escape, but the female bear was tightly guarding her and could not escape. So the hunter came up with a plan: Whenever he went out to cut firewood, he would go back as soon as possible. After a long time, the mother bear became less careful, and the hunter took the opportunity to escape to the river, and made a homemade raft and went along the river. At dusk, the mother bear returned and saw the hunter escaping. She followed the footsteps to the river with her cubs, ran along the water, caught up with the hunter and roared non-stop. No matter how much the mother bear shouted, the hunter did not look back. The mother bear couldn't jump onto the raft, so she tore the cub in half in a rage, threw one half to the hunter, and the other half held it in her arms and cried for a long time. The cubs that are torn in half become bears if they follow their mother, and they become Oroqen people if they follow their father.
Although this is a legend, the Oroqen people in the past were convinced that they were related to bears. Therefore, during the heyday of totem worship, the Oroqen people did not hunt bears. Later, as people's religious concepts continued to develop and change, especially after raising livestock, the Oroqen people gradually relaxed their habit of prohibiting bear hunting. Therefore, whenever people dance the black bear fighting dance, they have a variety of complex thoughts and feelings. Because of this, the dance is still popular today.
The basic steps of the Bear Fighting Dance
Folk dance is one of the important carriers of inheriting the Oroqen national culture. Its important value is that it records the Oroqen people’s journey from hunting in the form of a dance. And the process of development and interpretation of the original ecology of collection. The Oroqen Bear Fighting Dance uses this dance that imitates animal forms to make up for the Oroqen people's unwritten history. The Bear Fighting Dance provides us with and confirms the precious basic production and life characteristics of the Oroqen primitive hunting era, and provides a rare resource for the study of ethnology, folklore, human history, ethnoreligious studies, humanities and arts and other social disciplines. precious information on folk performance art.
The basic steps of the bear fighting dance include dragging steps, fighting steps, etc. It is usually a two-person dance, simulating the image of a black bear. The bear fighting dance is often connected with songs, and the dancers generally do not need accompaniment, but sing and dance at the same time. Dance music often uses the words "Ehulande", "Ehudehu", "Jiebianjiehui" and other words as lining words, and also uses "Zheheizhe", "Jiaheijia", "Dahudahu" Lining words like this serve as rhythmic call signs for accompaniment.
The bear dance can also be performed by three people, regardless of gender, age and social status. At the beginning of the dance, three people stand in a perfect shape. Among them, the two people on the left and right stand facing each other, with their upper bodies slightly tilted forward, and their knees slightly bent forward. They place their hands on their knees, and their feet are jumping continuously. At the same time, their shoulders and heads are swaying left and right. , making a rough sound of "ho ho ho" from his mouth. A third person from the side also joined in with the same movements and persuaded the two dancers who were attacking each other's shoulders with their chins. They were in a high mood and their movements were brave and powerful.
The black bear fighting dance originated earlier and is widely spread. People can dance this dance in Xin'e Village in Xunke County, Shibazhan in Huma County or in various hunter villages within the Oroqen Autonomous Banner. Bear fighting dance is a folk performance form that integrates sports, dance, aesthetics and children's fun. The movements are graceful and steady, and it has high artistic value.