Bronze Drum Culture

2015-09-10 19:09:08 Author：culture Source：National culture Browse number：0 Comment 0 A

Emerged over 2700 years ago, bronze drums prevailed among Zhuang, Miao and Dong people. Over 2000 years ago, Zhuang people have started to cast and use bronze drums. Used as music instruments, they also symbolize power and wealth. Wenshan Zhuang Autonomous Prefecture,Yuannan is renowned for the biggest collection of bronze drums. With complete types, ancient history and peerless know-how, they draw international attention.

Decorated with relief motifs or plain patterns, secular or mythical characters, each piece of bronze drum is a priceless artwork.Bronze Drum has penetrated into Zhuang people’s daily life and has become a culture symbol. Singing, dancing, drinking and rituality associated with Bronze Drum are both eye-opening and bewildering. In Nahong Village, Wenshan, Yunnan, the millenniu-old tradition of drinking Bronze Drum Wine still thrives. Guangxi Museum of Nationalities which boasts over 2000 bronze drums and a rich collection of artifacts of 12 tribes native to Guangxi, worthy of a stopover.

Zhuang Martial Art

Zhuang people worship martial art since ancient time. The weapons and set of movements of Zhuang Martial Art are depicted by the over 2000-year-old Huashan Fresco in Ningming County, which is 160km from Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi. When turns 14-year-old, a Zhuang boy will pick up martial art under a tutor. By now, 35 set of movements remain intact today (such as Tiger Punching Boxing) and 14 weapons are used. Zhuang Martial Art bears great similarity to Thai Boxing(Muay Thai) in many ways.

Interesting Customs

Knocking-out Teeth: this custom is more ancient than Confucius era. In ancient times, Zhuang people knocked out their teeth to declare enter into adulthood and ready for sex. In cotemporary era, Zhuang people are happy to plant several golden teeth into their mouths, so when they smile, beware do not get blinded.

Tattoo: the earliest record of Zhuang people wearing tattoo dates back to Song Dynasty (960-1279), but according to legend, this tradition is far more ancient. To avoid falling prey to crocodiles, Zhuang fishermen invented eye-dazzling crocodile tattoos and applied them all over the body. It really works. The other function of tattoos is to differentiate one tribe from the other. With the disintegration of tribe society, tattoos’ aesthetic value surfaced and was give more importance gradually. Zhuang people were armed with tattoos from head to toe; tattoos on the foreheads are the most important, while those between thighs and the abdomen are the least significant. Popular patterns including crocodiles, tigers, snakes, moths, butterflies, birds, dragonflies, flowers and grasses. Black or grayish black dominate the palette.

On A： Zhuang People Introduction

Next article： Hani Nationality Festivals

Already existing0Comment Review all comments>>