A Study on the Cultural Formsbehind Remeicuo of the Naxi

【Abstract】Naxi communities， the ethnic minority group of Yunnan province， is mainly distributed along the banks of two rivers and among the two mountain regions. Besides， it also can be found in Yanyuan and MuliinSichuan province.The ethnic groupcall themselves “Naxi”， “Na” means “honorable” and “Xi” refers to“nation” or “people”. Remeicuo， traditionlly performed at funerals， is a style of dance of the Naxi. In this article， the author will analyze Remicuofrom the cultural forms hidden behind it to the dance itself.

【Key words】Cultural； Formsbehind Remeicuo； Naxi

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】李進(jìn)（1980.9- ），男，漢族，山西太原人，中央民族大學(xué)舞蹈學(xué)院，碩士，講師，擔(dān)任編舞技法 劇目排練課程。

I. The Classic Culture behind Remeicuo

In the spiritual culture of the Naxi， the primitive religion embraces that everything has spirit. They believe that the attributes and characteristics of anything can be described with the aid of the perceptual primitive thinking. Besides the characteristics of things that can be seen by eyes and be touched by hands， the “spirit”， which is invisible and intangible， also plays a role in it. Just because all kinds of animals and plants are under the control of this “spirit”， so they can possessthe unique characteristics of their species.At the same time， the Naxi also believe that if the species have been eaten by the people， then the “spirit” that controls the species will be transformed into the people who ate them.Thisprocess is called as “Zhu” by the Naxi. Remeicuo is the very procuct of hunting andnomadic period in the context of this personified “spirit” theory. Along with the changes of the type of economy and culture， as well as the changes in functionalattributes and aesthetic subjects， Remeicuo has been able to be developed and preserved for thousands of years， and has gradually become a dance of self-entertainment.

II. The Culture of Social Relation behind Remeicuo

At the very beginning， Remeicuo was a style of dance performed around the fire at funerals. Under the thought of “spirit-transformation”， which believes that the body should be eaten after people died， so the wisdom of the dead can be transferred to their children. However， if the body not beeaten， then the soul will not reach one of their clan totems—snake’s habitatafter thebody decomposed.From the personified nature worship—everything has spirit， to the selective totem worship， theNaxi ancestors chose snake， frog， bear and monkey as their clan totems and related people tothe speciesby bloodideally. However， in this process， there also generated some opposites to the holythings— some unique demons.Remeidemon is produced in thisvery process.The Naxi ancestors regarded Remeidemon as a negative femaledemonwho can fly. She wouldeat the soul of the dead and tears of the dying people. If the soul of the deceased was taken away by her， then he/she would not be able to reincarnate. So the Naxi ancestors created a dancetoscare away Remeidemon and protect the body， that is Remeicuo.

III. The Psychological Culture behind Remeicuo

First， the author will talk about the lyrics of Remeicuo. A male will firstly recite the whole line aloud， then the others begin to sing. The lyrics are beautiful， moving and implicit， expressing people’s respect to the deceased and their viewpoints on the cycles of life and death. Through the study of the lyrics， we can find a trace of the matriarchal society， which is significant for the study of Dongba culture. Besides， in terms of the artistic value， the lyrics are used as a type of language arts to express the Naxi ancestors’ attitude to life. It belongs to the “exclamation” in terms of the expression level.

Second， theauthorwill discuss the tune of Remeicuo.The music scores of Remeicuomostly use Yu mode with a two-beat rhythm， and every beginning of the sentence is accompanied with the ornamented pre-appoggiatura. The mode-structure ofthe tune is a single passage composed of a long sentence andtwo short sentencesas a supplement. And for the male voice part， every sentenceis accompanied with glissando. The songs are enthusiastic， rhythmic and powerful， whichhasstraightforwardly expressedthetruefeelings of the singers. There is no complicated artistry in it， only a certain change of melody due to the changes of lyrics， rhymeand the emotions of the singers while singingthe repeated tunes. The male voice sounded resonant and rough， while the female voice is full of its unique ethnic features and charm. It is loudand plenty of vibrato， producing continuous echoes.

IV. Conclusion

Remeicuo is a style of dance that integrates song， dance and music， using language， song and body language as a medium to display thesentimentoflife， history and culture of the Naxi in all dimensions and at all levels. Therefore， we should emphasize the awareness of protection， let this primitive dance which has thousandsofyearsofhistorybe handed down throughhistory.