Bell dance, turtle dance - Unique cultural beauty of the Dao people

Bell dance and turtle dance are unique epic dances, closely associated with the spiritual life of the Dao people. The content shows the harsh survival from the time of the village's founding and the desire for a peaceful life of the Dao people. Therefore, the dance has been preserved and passed down through thousands of generations, still retaining its unique ancient cultural features. Ms. Nham Thi Nguyen, Head of the Bell Dance and Turtle Dance Club of Cong Hoa hamlet, Dong Dat commune (Phu Luong), shared with us.

Members of the Club for Preserving the Cultural Identity of the Dao ethnic group's bell dance and turtle dance in Dong Dat commune (Phu Luong) perform bell dance and turtle dance.

The lively and energetic sound of the bells rang, making people eager to go to the yard of the Cong Hoa hamlet's cultural house, where members of the hamlet's Bell Dance and Turtle Dance Clubs were practicing. Ms. Ban Thi Cau, 80 years old, the oldest member, said: Participating in practicing the melodies and dances of my ethnic group, I feel healthier. Moreover, I am proud to be able to practice with my fellow villagers, participate in performances, and introduce the cultural beauty of my ethnic group to a large number of people and tourists.

To help us better understand the bell dance and turtle dance, Mr. Ban Huu Chuong, Head of the Elderly Association, said: The bell sounds are present in most traditional rituals of the Dao people. Each dance has its own rhythm and melody and has different meanings. For example, in the Cap sac ceremony, it has a solemn and sacred meaning but brings an exciting atmosphere; in the ordination ceremony, it has the meaning of driving away evil spirits, sending the dead to the underworld, praying for peace for the living; in the early spring festival to hope for a year of favorable weather and bountiful crops; at the end of the year to thank ancestors.

Although it was a performance, the yard of the Cong Hoa hamlet’s cultural house was quite crowded. Everyone was excited to see their own “family members” practicing and performing. Each group of people: sang vi, danced bells and practiced turtle dance. According to the elders of Cong Hoa hamlet, turtle dance has existed since ancient times.

The story goes that when the evil beasts came to destroy the village, the turtles appeared to help the Dao people defeat the evil beasts and restore peace to the village. Therefore, the Dao people always remember the turtles' merits and consider them precious animals to be offerings to the gods. The turtle dance was created to have a high sense of community and at the same time serve the religious needs of the Dao people.

The sound of the cymbals, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and hurried, makes the turtle dance even more exciting: The performance seems to be telling the story of people hunting turtles together to make offerings to the gods, such as: chasing turtles, luring turtles into the pond, flipping turtles, stepping on turtle shells, piercing turtles, butchering turtles, chopping turtles, offering turtles...

Along with the dance movements, there are also songs praying for good things to come to the villagers. One difference from many other art forms is that the dancers perform each movement to the background music they perform. Although there are quite a lot of participants, the music and the dance movements are in perfect harmony.

Bell dance and turtle dance are unique cultural and artistic features in the spiritual life of the Dao people. In order to preserve and widely disseminate the dance among the Dao people; and at the same time effectively promote the cultural value of this unique and strange art form, since the end of 2023, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with the People's Committee of Phu Luong district to mobilize the Dao people in Cong Hoa hamlet to establish the Bell Dance and Turtle Dance Club. At the same time, specialized staff from the Department of Culture were sent to directly instruct artisans and core members of the movement on movement skills, building and organizing the maintenance of the club's activities. Up to now, the club has had 60 members participating in training. Along with that, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism presented the club with 30 traditional costumes and some performance props, with a total value of nearly 100 million VND.

Mr. Ban Huu Chuong confided: We Dao people have gone through many changes, but the bell dance and turtle dance have never been lost. Now that the State has supported costumes and props, it means giving more opportunities for the Dao people of Cong Hoa hamlet to be aware of preserving, transmitting and effectively promoting the good traditional cultural features of the nation.

Ms. Nham Thi Nguyen proudly said: Fully equipped with costumes and props, people are more excited when participating in practice, ready to "bring specialties" of bell dance and turtle dance to participate in festivals at all levels.

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