Pok Fu Lam Village Fire Dragon Dance
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The Fire Dragon Dance in
Background
The Fire Dragon Dance in Pok Fu Lam is similar to
The Fire Dragon
Pok Fu Lam fire dragons are incense-lit, straw-filled dragons.[3] The Fire Dragon are over ten meters long and made of bamboo sticks, metal wire and straw (pearl grass) imported from China,.[4] The dragon is supported by bamboo poles which become handles for the dancers. Villagers adhere burning incense sticks to the skeletons and the burning incense sticks constitute the body of the Fire Dragon.[5] Several large balls or pomelos pierced with wooden sticks are used for dragonballs.[4] In tradition's centennial anniversary in year 2010, leader of Pok Fu Lam village fire dragon dance team, Mr. Ng Kwong-nam, made an attempt for Guinness World Records. He made a dragon which was officially measured to be over 73 meters long.[3] It used 40 000 incense sticks and had 36 segments, two people for each segment.[6]
Activities
The fire dragon dance starts at 6:30 p.m. on the mid-autumn Festival. At the entrance of Pokfulam village, there will be an altar, and incense will be burned at the altar to worship the fire dragon. Then, the villager will paint the eyes of the dragon, which is called "waak lung dim zing" in Chinese. At 7 o'clock p.m., the fire dragon dance starts. The fire dragon will first dance around the Pokfulam road. It will then go to the Lin Ning Spirit and Xi Guo Da Wang Temple to pray, and enter the village after the pray. In fact, the fire dragon will pass through main streets: Wai Tsai, Lung Zi Duk and Coi jyun to visit each family in the village and bless the villagers. Afterwards, the fire dragon will return to the entrance of the village and other people can incense at the fire dragon and pray for bless there. The fire dragon will then be moved to the Waterfall Bay beach through Pokfulam road, Wah Fu Road and Waterfall Bay Road. spinning on the bus stop at the Pokfulam road twice and swaying at the Wah Fu Road in front of the Wah Lok House twice again. Finally, when it is arrived to the Waterfall Bay beach, the villagers will wear life jackets and bring back the dragon to the sea, which means "cong lung kwai hoi" in Chinese. The whole event will end at 11:30 p.m.[7]
Location
Layout and History of Pok Fu Lam Village
Pok Fu Lam village is located on Hong Kong Island on Pok Fu Lam Road. The village is characterized by its narrow lanes and twisting alleys that form a complex network of paths through a collection of traditional one-storey buildings that feature walls of hay and stone and pitched roof tiles, some of which have been there since 1886, the establishment date for the original dairy farm company. The village houses around two thousand villagers today. The village is also home to some religious structures such as the Li Ling Pagoda and the Bogong Shrine.[8]
Values
The tradition of fire dragon dance began in Pokfulam village about 200 years ago, it witnessed the changes of both the village and Hong Kong, thus the historical culture of the dance to villagers and Hong Kong people is significant and momentous.
To the villagers
Pokfulam's fire dragon dance is not as
To Hong Kong
Pokfulam's fire dragon dance is a
References
- ^ "薄扶林村舞火龍2015". 14 September 2015.
- ^ "中秋舞火龍的6個小秘密 - 香港經濟日報 - TOPick - 文章 - City". topick.hket.com.
- ^ a b "Pok Fu Lam's fire dragon dance to rival Tai Hang's". South China Morning Post.
- ^ a b "Customs and Traditions". www.travelsouth.hk.
- ^ "Exhibition: Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong – Pokfulam's Fire Dragon - South China Research Center". schina.ust.hk.
- ^ "Mid Autumn festival - page 4/4". www.thaiworldview.com.
- ^ "Pokfulam Village 薄扶林村". www.facebook.com.
- ^ Pixel, +Stripped. "Pokfulam Village: On the run from the developers". StrippedPixel.com - Hong Kong & China Uncovered.
- ^ "HK Magazine Archive". South China Morning Post.
- ^ "Pokfulam Village". World Monuments Fund.