Waqiqi Dance of Lisu Ethnic Minority
Waqiqi(瓦器器) is the folk dance of Lisu Ethnic Minority. It is the crystallization of Lisu culture, and one of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage in Yunnan. It offers the cultural, daiylife and production process of Lisu people.
Brief Introduction
In Lisu language, Waqiqi(瓦器器) means dancing. The Lisu Ethnic Minority’s dance Waqiqi is about the Lisu people’s production process, labor, and harvest and so on. The music is pleasant and strong, reflects the lisu people’s respect for nature, love for life, hard working, courage and their optimistic spirit.You can find Waqiqi Dance at Weixi County(维西县).
Music and Instruments
The dance music of Waqiqi is accompanied by three traditional Lisu instruments, namely, Julv(菊律), Jizi (吉资) and Qiben (起本), which are self-made by Lisu people. While playing, all kinds of instruments followed their own fixed chords to form a complete song. The combination of all kinds of instruments organically forms a piece of harmonious music.
Lisu Legend
As for Waqiqi, there is an old legend among the Lisu people. Long long ago, there was no human being in the world. A beautiful bird came and laid three golden eggs. After three years, three months and three days of incubation, two of them hatched two boys, and the other one was broken. After the careful feeding of bird, the boys grew up to be two strong young men. In order to survive, the older brother went upstream to the source of the Dajiang River(大江), and later married a bird girl. They formed the Nianzanshi Village(念咱氏村落)，which means birds village. And the younger brother went down the stream and reached the end of the river, and later married a fish girl, they formed the Wazanshi Village (哇咱氏村落), which means the fish village. Twenty-four dances of Waqiqi represent the content of this legend. Each dance has a certain meaning.
Chinese Version: http://www.xgll.com.cn/wh/2015-05/22/content_176441.htm
Translated by Emily-Wang/王海玲
