Leaf Whistles,Rattle Dances and Love Ballads at Raosanling

STICK brandishing dancers, nocturnal love ballads in the woods and whistles made from leaves are all part of the flamboyant Raosanling Festival of Dali City, west Yunnan. On the 23rd day of the fourth lunar month each year, the Bai ethnic group mark Raosanling with three days of song and dance. The festival takes place just before locals get down to farming in the spring, and has its roots in ancient religious rites. Raosanling itself can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when the Nanzhao Kingdom was established in the area.

Located in China’s southwest, Yunnan is one of the country’s most beautiful provinces. The city of Dali was a vital part of the South Silk Road in ancient times, lying at a crossroad between east-west routes linking China’s coastal cities and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and north-south routes joining central China to Southeast Asia.

As a result, different cultures converged in the area, reflected today in Raosanling’s colorful nature. Bai traditions show the influence of Chinese, Indian, Tibetan and even Oceanic cultures.

Raosanling means “walking around the three holy centers in Dali,” and this is exactly what happens during the festival. The three centers are the Buddhist Chongsheng Temple, the Shengyuan Temple for benzhu (patron god) and the Jingui Temple of Celestial Being. In the past, rice farmers who lived in the Dali area were always suffering droughts. Thus, praying for rain and a bountiful harvest was considered an important activity when planting season came.

However, unlike other minorities, who worship only one god, the Bai have inherited the unique tradition of showing reverence to three gods simultaneously during prayer rituals. This is where the tradition of the sanling (three holy centers) comes from.

In the early hours of Raosanling’s first day, tens of thousands of people from Dali and the surrounding villages put on their finest costumes and gather to march along the foot of Cangshan Mountain. The peak is snow-capped all year round and features a lake on its summit.

The parade is led by a pair of old singers (usually a man and a woman), who must hold willow branches and a yak tail while singing traditional Bai ballads, known for their humor and wit. One is in charge of singing while the other waves a handkerchief, joking and flirting with the crowd.

The tradition of holding willow branches is rooted in the local custom of worshipping holy communal trees. In ancient times, every clan or village idolized its own holy tree in the hope of attaining peace and prosperity.

Following the parade leaders are rattle stick dancers, accompanied by flutes and trichords. The rattle stick dance is the most representative and widely known Bai dance form. The movements are diverse, powerful, and require considerable strength. Performers need to be tough enough to brandish a one-meter-long stick while dancing along to the music.

At the end of the procession come female dancers and players beating octagonal drums and blowing whistles made from tree leaves. The wonderful sounds they produce reveal the true extent of Bai musical talent.

The long line of dancers and musicians snakes first to the Chongsheng Temple to pray for blessings from Buddha. Anyone can join in the joyous parade, so the crowd has invariably swollen considerably by the time it arrives at the next destination of Shengyuan Temple. Here the highest benzhu (patron god) is enshrined. Each Bai village has its own benzhu, such as the God of Nature, village heroes and loyal women deified as guardian saints who bring the residents a good harvest and long life.

On Raosanling’s second day, locals set out for Jingui Temple near Erhai Lake. This body of water is fed by melting snow running off Cangshan Mountain. A local legend says that at one time a monster lived in the lake and regularly disrupted villagers’ lives. A hero killed the beast, and commemorative rituals to worship this legendary figure have lasted to the present. They now constitute an important part of Raosanling.

When darkness falls, an intoxicating antiphony begins to echo across the area. Young men invite their beloved ones to the woods, where they express their feelings through musical dialogues. Apart from the madrigals handed down from their elders, they also create their own love ballads. Provided the girl is touched by the songs, she will give her favored admirer an embroidered purse or belt made by herself. When the young man accepts the gift, the two are considered betrothed. The merry atmosphere lasts till early dawn.

As the sun rises on the last day of Raosanling, people move on to Majiuyi Village, where another patron god is enshrined. They offer a sacrifice and pray once again for favorable weather in the coming planting season. The excited crowds keep singing and dancing for some time, unwilling to let the festivities pass for another year.

The joyful Raosanling Festival has survived for over 1,000 years, and has become a symbol of the Bai culture. As the Chinese proverb says: “Man is conditioned by the natural environment he lives in.”

Dali’s stunning landscape has certainly nurtured the versatile Bai people. Stimulated by imposing river valleys and dense forests, the ballads and folk dances of Raosanling express the Bai’s creative talent, positive attitude toward life, and close affinity with nature.