On the Lunar New Year or typical local holidays, the Tay and Nung in Lang Son often hold a unique dance with the mascot called “lion cat” in the folkway.
Every year, on the 1st and 2nd of the Lunar New Year and some special occasions such as the field-down festival, Mid-Autumn Festival , Spring Festival, new house entrance ceremony …, people of Tay and Nung ethnic groups in Lang Son jubilantly held the lion dance festival.
This activity is mainly performed in the districts of Cao Loc, Loc Binh, Van Lang, Van Quan, Binh Gia and Trang Dinh. Over the years, lion dance has become a unique folk activity handed down in the lives of the people here, contributing to preserving traditional cultural values, connecting the community.
In the Nung language, lion cats are “unicorns”, ie unicorns – one of the Four Spirit: long, unicorn (unicorn), quy, phoenix (phoenix). Local people often call the legendary animal with the rustic name of the lion cat.
Photographer Nguyen Son Tung (Lang Son) who attended the lion dance festival on Tet holiday many times in Lang Son said that this dance was originally only in the Nung people (including Nung Phan Slinh and Nung Chao). Later, the Tay and Nung people mixed together, undergoing cultural exchange and this ritual was absorbed.
Lion dance has the basic movement of down ton, walking the street, saluting and worshiping temples, altars. Cat lion dancers are healthy, supple young men, controlling the stylized lion’s head in the shape of a cat face with multicolored decorations.According to the perception of the people here, the stronger the martial arts, the more fierce the cat’s face will dispel many bad things. That is also the reason artisans often spend a lot of time and enthusiasm to create impressive looking cat lion heads.Mr. Son Tung revealed, to complete a cat lion head usually takes more than a week. Wet soil (the white clay in the middle of the river) is taken to grind, soaked in water until smooth and smooth.Next, the craftsman will mold the lion’s head according to the original and create some beautiful shapes. After the soil dries, stick paper, paint, paint on the lion’s head. Finally, attach colorful fabrics, cotton, feathers to the head and tail with red strips.Cat lion dance has many different performances such as street dance, congratulation, worshiping song, good luck song, … combining art of stacking, acrobatics through ring of fire, lion promotion …Depending on the space, location and requirements, lion dance has many rituals, dances and shows accordingly.
Each dance comes with a different music. The lion dancer only needs to listen to percussion music to know how to perform the corresponding song.
Each lion cat dance team has about 8-16 people. In addition to the lion’s head dancer, there are members wearing masks of orangutans (panther), monkey face (fluttering), holding weapons such as trident, short dagger (pàn tao), and swords.
Not only young men but also many children are also very excited to participate in the show, showing flexible and professional moves.
The cat lion dance not only expresses the martial spirit of the upland people but also a symbol of luck and happiness in life. Many families here also invite performing teams to the dance house to pray for luck and peace.Lion dance is said to be not difficult, but requires agility, strength enough to perform acrobatic moves, high jump or plant banana trees.Members perform a martial arts dance with a red cord, using the dance to approach the lion and then tie the rope to the mascot’s mouth.The gesture of tying a red string “ka hooong” to the mouth of a lion cat represents the “pay” to the mascot.If performing in the house to celebrate the new year, the lion will be given lucky money, wine and a piece of cloth “ka hooong” by the host.
In Hai Yen commune, Cao Loc district, lion dance has been included in the content of extracurricular activities at the communal junior high school. In Van Lang and Binh Gia districts, this kind of performance transmission has attracted many young people to participate in the practice.
With traditional cultural values, lion dance of the Tay and Nung people in Lang Son has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a type of national intangible cultural heritage in 2017.
