| caption: |
the Ouliengbu or spring festival |
| caption: |
a brilliant morning, putting on ornaments |
| text: |
The singing which accompanies this dance usually consists only of two sentences constantly repeated which often tell of the excellence of their own morung and the supremacy over any hostile village. But suddenly the chorus leader or more frequently one of the older men standing next to him start on another chant with increased expressiveness. All dancers now stay in place and lift up their daos as they turn them as high as they can. Simultaneously they start off a powerfully swelling rough chorus which mixes with the voice of the lead singer. (This phase is called Mai-wan-bu. See Notebook 12 p. 178). They stay in place for only a short while. Soon they continue to move in the circle but now bending their knees much further and almost jumping backwards from one low position into the other. Now the direction of the dance changes several times. This phase either moves on into one like the preceding one or it is followed by a calmer solemn chant which seems almost like a chorale, and which the men accompany with solemn steps. |
