"Playing with joy" is to go out of Nuo and dance Nuo dance. There are currently 36 Nuo noodles in Liukeng, also known as "theatrical surfaces", which are very lively to dance. In 1957, he also participated in theatrical performances in Fuzhou, and he also claimed to be one of the factions in Le'an.
The origin of Liukeng Nuo dance is difficult to determine, but the word of mouth of the villagers links it with Dong Dunyi, the ancestor of the Song Dynasty. The story is divided into two parts, the first is that Dong Dunyi went to the Khitan to negotiate peace under the imperial order. On the way, he met a woman and told him the situation and customs of the Khitan country in detail, so that when Dong Dunyi came to the enemy country, he could answer all kinds of questions like a lot. As a result, the Khitan lord was amazed and agreed to negotiate peace. Dong lived in Khitan for twelve years before returning to the Central Plains. The way I met the woman back then, I came to the door to thank him. Unexpectedly, the woman was deceased, and Dunyi sighed, so he invited an artist to carve the face of the woman according to the image he recalled. In addition, the local Nuo dancing ceremony was also brought back to the capital.
How did Nuo dance come to Liukeng? This is the second half of the story. It is said that after Dong Dunyi returned to the court, he was slandered by a traitor and he was dismissed from office and returned home. Then he asked Dong Bi, a storyteller, to pick up a Nuo mask. The former was "Wu Nuo" and the latter was "Wen Nuo". After entering the Ganjiang River, I took a boat, and I was encountering wind and waves. Strange to say, this Nuo noodles actually went up against the water, and flickered all the way to Nanfeng. The village elders said that the famous Nanfeng Nuo dance was passed down from Liukeng in this way, and the half-dan "Wu Nuo" remained in Liukeng.
The "god" of word-of-mouth lies in the fact that villagers have to find a source for many of their own life phenomena and customs, seek a kind of historical rationality, and at the same time establish a status for the Nuo in Liukeng. However, according to the classification of some cultural workers, the Nuo dance in Liukeng is closer to the "Wen Nuo" category.
1. The distribution and "theatrical scene" of the Nuo Temple
In Liukeng, there used to be a saying of "eight rooms and eight Nuo classes". Many houses have their own temples, some of which are dedicated to Nuo gods. Some Nuo gods are placed in the enemy buildings around the village and managed by each room. Word of mouth can tell clearly, the house and the temple roughly have the following correspondence:
Wenhuang's public house - Prince's Temple
Bridge West Room (including Yin Gong and Yin Hua) - Sanyi Temple
Jingshan Public House - Temple of Five Kings
Yinming's public house - Gongchen Gate
Yinlong's public house - Qimingmen
Yin Ang, Yin Xuan, Yin Da, Tan Ran four rooms - Liren Gate
Shuanggui Gongfang - Guanmen Pavilion (common name, also known as "mainstay")
Pure Public Housing - Zhenjiangmen
The "nuo god" that the village names refer to refers to the Nuo mask. Where there are Nuo masks, there is a "Nuo Shenhui" organization, which is actually a foundation set up for Nuo activities, with special income from land rent. Judging from the existing inscriptions, this kind of foundation organization in Yinming's public house is called "Scholar's Heart Association". In the year of the Revolution of 1911, the walls of Gongchen Gate collapsed due to floods, and the Nuo statue was also eaten by worms. Later, a group of people from the "Scholar's Heart Association" came forward, "accumulating funds for reconstruction, benevolent and benevolent, and take full responsibility for it, and it was completed within a few months." Yinming's public house book records the origin of the house's sacrifice to Nuo:
The ancients are old and old, and the people in my hometown worship this god, and they also practice the ancient way. My ancestors built the north wall of the temple, and built the enemy tower on the arch of the gate, where Yan Chu and Emperor Guan were worshipped, and the Nuo gods were placed next to them.
The existing inscriptions of the Republic of China in Gongchenmen are also known as:
To the north of the village is the public branch of Yinming Fang, whose descendants, Fanyan, have lived there for more than ten generations. In the vacant place at the entrance of the village, there are enemy towers, and there are more than a hundred statues of emperors, generals, and Nuo gods in the Han Dynasty.
It can be seen that the Nuo masks are usually hung in the temple (or "door"), and together with other gods, they enjoy incense worship. The villagers recalled that in the past, the Nuo masks in the temples (gates) were all of the same format, each with more than 30 masks. Now there is only one complete set in the whole village, which is placed on the upstairs of the village committee. There are 36 sets in total. The names are as follows:
Zhong Kui, Tian Guan, Ling Guan, Yuan Huang, Marshal Ma, Marshal Zhu, Marshal Wen, Nezha, King Kong, Kuixing, Duke Zhao (God of Wealth), Little Gui, Zhenwu, Sanguan, Hehe (two immortals), Duke Zhou, Peach Blossom Girl , Scholar, Seven Fairies, Land, Big Monk, Little Monk, Paobao, Liu Bei, Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Kong Ming, Zhao Yun, Cai Yang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Monk.
This set of Nuo noodles was re-engraved after the "Cultural Revolution" and is about the size of a human face. The wooden wall is thick, and the two ears are tied with ropes. During the performance, it is worn on the face, and the face and face are all covered, so it is impossible to sing aloud, and there is no drama at all. Nuo face is colored, and some are like ordinary people's skin color, such as scholars, peach blossom girls, monks, "land" and so on. Some have indigo faces and red eyebrows, such as several "marshals". "Guan Gong" has a red face and silkworm eyes, and "Monkey King" is a monkey, with a strong dramatic color. These all show some kind of transplantation or simplification of traditional drama.
2. Nuo dance exercises and martial arts functions
If you have a mask, you have to "play" alone. There are more than 30 Nuo noodles, and at least 30 people are required to perform. The villagers called the Nuo dancers "nuo classes", which consisted of men from each room. The activities of going out of the Nuo are carried out completely in separate rooms. Some rooms have few people, so they can't make up a team, and people from other rooms are often invited to help.
The traditional Liukeng Nuo dance practice also has the function of practicing martial arts. The reason and the practice situation are recorded in the previous quotation of Yin Ming Fang:
The origin is that my family lives in Taniguchi, which is actually the route of the Fujian-Guangshan pirates. When disturbed, he suffered repeated harm. My predecessors tried to cultivate military equipment, and used drama and dance as training, in order to calm the atmosphere inside, and also to defend against insults outside. However, although the matter is close to drama and Zhou Li is not abolished, it seems that he has not dared to criticize it. Killing two birds with one stone, the ancients did it, why am I alone? Because of the record.
Every winter month, the children practice boxing and stick group cards. At the beginning of the new year, the stage will be staged to perform, dressed up as an ancient legend, and will be taught the art of warfare.
Associating Nuo dance training with the "disturbance" of the ancestors' resistance to the "Fujian-Guangshan pirates" seems to imply that the origin of this custom will not be earlier than the middle of the Ming Dynasty, because the Liukeng people remember the most memorable time of the "Fujian-Guangshan pirates". The harassment means that the ancestral hall was burned down in the 40th year of Jiajing (1561). From then to the tenth year of Wanli (1852), Liukeng people took a series of measures to strengthen their ability to defend themselves. Perhaps "using drama and dance as training" is one of the preparation measures for military training and foreign aggression. Therefore, this record will link the children's practice of boxing and stick group cards in the winter slack season with the rehearsal of Nuo dance in the Spring Festival, which still needs to be "instructed and performed in battle formations". 's intention. This record is worthy of attention, but the words are not very thorough. In fact, as a powerful clan, whether it is protecting what it should have or expanding its power outward, "toughness" is one of its indispensable qualities. It is very natural to advocate the children of the clan to practice boxing and martial arts. In addition, it should be noted that the important source of income of Liukeng people comes from emission, selling wood, and there are many emission workers. They are usually farmers, but once they travel far, they live a life of floating on the water. Not only have to fight with water, but also prepare to fight with people along the river, in order to avoid bullying and protect their own safety. So we also learned that in the past, Liukeng produced a group of "players" with outstanding martial arts.
However, Nuo dance is a collective performance after all, and it needs to be rehearsed. "Nuo" is the dance of exorcising demons and exorcising disease, which has a kind of divinity. Usually an ordinary clansman, once wearing a Nuo face and appearing in front of everyone, there is a special solemn atmosphere, and a set of procedures, posture, and footwork are emphasized. Therefore, in the period of the Republic of China, the rules of each house started on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month every year, and the old man gave instructions one by one, and it took about a week before and after. In recent years, although Liukeng has also gone out to Nuo, but the old people who are familiar with the previous and previous shows are rare, and there is only one Nuo god class to go out.
3. Performance and artistic features of Nuo dance
In the fifth year of the Republic of China, the simple process of Yinmingfang's "exiting the Nuo" was as follows:
All the festive occasions in the house, all of them deserve to be congratulated. Lantern Festival dresses up idols and sweeps the streets. It is the night flood that sweeps the niches of the temple buildings, and in the middle of the night, the head of the house leads the crowd for four salutations, and congratulates the saints and places them on their seats. The bamboo scraps will be sent to the downstairs pond for incineration, and they will return to travel for four weeks, closing the palace as usual.
It can be seen that the key point of this record is the situation of "exiting the Nuo" and "receiving the Nuo" on the fifteenth (Lantern Festival) night of the first lunar month. The so-called "dressing up idols and sweeping the streets" is the performance of the ritual of "holding Ge and raising shields" in ancient society and exorcising ghosts and epidemics with Nuo. In fact, in the first month of every year, starting from the second day of the first day of the new year, the "nuo gods" in each house have to go out first, and walk through the whole village, thus announcing the beginning of the annual Nuo excursion. On the night of the Lantern Festival, the climax of going out of the Nuo is also the end, so the shrine seat of the Nuo should be cleaned that night, and the garbage accumulated in the temple (gate) for a year (may also include the lifting poles and torches abandoned after the Nuo exit, etc.) Take it outside to burn. Then, put the Nuo gods who came back from the trip back to their original places. The head of the house plays the role of master of ceremonies in the ceremony, and must kneel and worship, and finally end the year's Nuo activities by "closing the palace as usual".
It is also recalled that during the Republic of China, when the Nuo was released and received, there were not only ceremonies, but also the "God Head" who was on duty every year to invite Taoist priests. The Taoist priest holds a seal carved on thin wood, which is covered with boats and little people. The Taoist first recited the incantation, and then held a pair of "Shen Jue" which was about two inches off the ground and slid down smoothly. Generally, three "Shun Jue" were obtained, and then the boat painting could be taken off and burned. Burning boat painting is also known as "send off", which marks the end of the Nuo and send the gods to heaven. Therefore, the heads of the rooms in charge of affairs must be present. After burning, stop gongs and drums. Return to the temple and bow down. Then eat a meal of "god porridge" and leave, and the whole ceremony is over.
But what impressed the villagers most was the "playing fun" function of Nuo noodles. This point fully reflects the "entertaining nature" of Liukeng Nuo dance.
"Playing with joy", we should start with people who have festive events. Every year from the second day of the first lunar month until the 14th day of the first lunar month, those who have happy events in the first year, such as the birth of a boy (the so-called "adding a daughter"), marrying a daughter-in-law, "getting a son" (that is, marrying a daughter), etc. Send the child to the Nuo temple in the house, invite the Nuo god, and carry it home. Here, a "walking newspaper" came to the door and announced the good news loudly. If it is the joy of marriage, the "going newspaper" will send a clay doll, wishing it an early birth of a precious son. "Pick up the cub" and send a couplet of "rising day by day". For those who are in the middle and graduates, the couplet is written with a congratulatory speech such as "the champion and the first".
Then, she was welcomed into the Nuo class and gave a performance in the hall at home. During this time, Nuo noodles are offered on the incense table, incense is burned, firecrackers are set off, and offerings are made. After worshipping for more than an hour, they were carried to the stage in the village.
Nuo Nian arrived at the stage, and musicians and others also arrived one after another with their musical instruments to get ready. First, the gods burn incense, light candles, set off firecrackers, and loudly announce the names and events of festive families. Then, the Nuo dance performance began. The repertoire performed includes:
"Zhong Kui Sweeps Taiwan", "Blessed by Heavenly Officials", "Out of Generals" (Out of Huang Lingguan, Marshal Ma, Marshal Wen, Emperor Yuan, Nezha, King Kong, etc.), "Out of Zhenwu", "Out of Three Officials", "Out of the Army" Harmony", "The Duke of Zhou and the Peach Blossom Girl", "Installing incense in the Temple", "Crossing the Yuanmen", "Chopping Cai Yang", "Learning Buddhist Scriptures" and so on. Each play highlights the central position of a certain Nuo god, and many of them obviously absorb the content of the play, with strong storytelling and great attention to clothing. Wen Mang Wu Kui, cloud silk colored clothes, bright colors. The movement is smooth and steady, and the footsteps are deep and powerful. Because it only dances and does not sing, the performance is like a pantomime, full of fun.
Nuo dance is not sung, but accompanied by music. The accompaniment also differs between Wenchang and Wuchang: "Wenchang" includes erhu, flute, big suona, small suona and so on. "Wuchang" is a full set of percussion, including drums, gongs, cymbals, big gongs, bells, wooden fish and so on. There are elegant and vigorous "Wind into the Pine" and "Waves Washing the Sand", as well as "Little Pink", "Bone Scraping Order", "Underwater Fish", "Mapo" and so on. There are also lively folk minor tunes, such as "Five Geng Lovers" and so on. They all change according to the changes of the plot, scene and mood, and are tactfully eloquent and expressive. In Quanle'an County, Liukeng's "Wanxi" band is the best. According to word of mouth, this is because in the late Ming Dynasty, when Dong Yu, a clan who recruited Yizhi was appointed as the minister of punishment in Nanjing, he took the children of the clan to study in the court band, which was passed down from generation to generation.
The last show is called "Grab Rohan". At this time, all the actors took off their masks and went on stage to perform together, punching, kicking, tumbling, jumping over the table, doing whatever they wanted and doing their best. But still there is only action, no drama. It can be imagined that at this time on and off the stage, full of passion, cheers and cheers, pushing the performance to a climax. During the period of the Republic of China, it took four or five hours before and after the performance of the entire Taiwanese opera, so it was usually performed one in the morning and one in the afternoon. After the performance, the festive home invites guests to dinner, usually five to six tables to entertain the crowd. If the Youxi family is really poor and cannot afford a feast, they will pack a red envelope and send it to the temple (or "door"), which is called "hi money". It doesn't matter how much money you have, let's talk about it. Therefore, inviting people to "play with joy", eat, etc., is also known as "returning a wish".
During the Republic of China, there were three fixed stages in Liukeng: one in front of Yangshan Temple, one in front of Taizi Temple, and one in front of Wuwang Temple. If there are many people who have a happy event in a certain year and the stage is not enough, it is necessary to set up a temporary stage in advance. From this, it can also be inferred that the venue and number of "playing fun" should have been arranged in advance.
Originally, the various kinds of terrifying and ferocious Nuo noodles were used by Liukeng people to express joy and to seek protection.
4. "Xingjing" and "Swallowing the Head"
In normal years, when you go out of the Nuo and wander around, you will celebrate with "playing joy". In the year of big epidemic disaster, the ceremony of "searching Nuo" will be held. In Liukeng, "Sou Nuo" is called "Xingjing", and there is still word of mouth to prove it.
The old man in Liukeng only remembers seeing "Xingjing" in the 34th year of the Republic of China. That year, the natural disaster was severe, and the five grains were not dengfeng. What is even more frightening is that the epidemic is spreading, and many young and middle-aged people have been killed. Because of the panic among people, it is rumored that the plague is coming, and only the gods can exorcise the demons. Therefore, the elders of each room first planned and invited Taoist priests to set up a dojo for disasters. On the specified night, hundreds of villagers were dispatched and divided into two groups: most of the people, put fuelwood on the split bamboo, light it, insert it all over the streets and alleys, and then start cleaning. In addition, more than a dozen young and middle-aged people were selected, wearing armor, holding various weapons, wearing hideous masks, like gods, walking through the streets. Beside them, there are cheerleaders in uniform, carrying iron forks, bamboo shales and other equipment, as well as lanterns and straw torches, sweeping the streets and alleys, entering the house. At the same time, gongs and drums were blared, firecrackers broke out, and all the staff shouted and shouted loudly to exorcise ghosts. In an instant, the whole village was as bright as day, and the clamor was one after another, and it carried a primitive shrillness that made people shudder. Another example is the battlefield, which has a very strong momentum. As a result, for three consecutive nights like this, "Xingjing" was considered to be over, and it cost tens of thousands of dollars. When the old people recounted the incident, they left a puzzled ending: after the "Xingjing", the epidemic has really been eliminated, and people and animals have turned the corner. The old people speculated that maybe so many people were dispatched, after all, it was a thorough cleaning several times. In addition, there are torches everywhere, which may have an effect on disinfecting the air and killing harmful germs. Perhaps, the psychological effect should also be considered. Since it has been "jing" and people and gods are angry, how can the demon epidemic not be driven away? Therefore, the self-confidence of disease resistance is naturally enhanced. When the spirit is invigorated, the body's disease resistance ability is also stimulated and mobilized.
The exorcism of demons by Nuo noodles can also be linked to the "swallowing heads" that spread over Liukeng houses - the town house beast headgear on the villagers' houses, a kind of sacred object used to ward off evil spirits.
In many areas in the south of the Yangtze River, the head of the warding off evil beast above the gate of rural houses is called "Tunkou" or "Tiankou". Liukeng villagers call it "Tunkou", and in genealogy, some also call it "Tunbu Makou", the original meaning is unknown. According to the traditional feng shui theory, residential houses can be divided into two categories: lucky houses and haunted houses.

All try to measure feng shui well, choose a good foundation, in order to seek good luck and avoid evil. However, if you are restricted by various conditions and cannot choose at will, you must use the power of the patron saint to hang a "swallowing head" at the door to exorcise evil and stop evil, and turn evil into good fortune. However, in the streets and alleys of Liukeng Village, there are houses with and without this sacred object, and there is really no difference or difference. According to reports, the "swallowing the head" object was seen everywhere in the village in the old days, and it was only during the "Cultural Revolution" that most of it was destroyed. It can be seen that "swallowing the head" later is not a last resort, but a very popular mascot.