Migration of the Hani people to Yunnan is inspiration

(ChinaDaily)AfterasuccessfuldebutatHongheGrandTheaterinYunnanprovince,themusicdramaMuomaamei,whichdepictsthestoryoftheHaniethnicgroup'smigration,willbestagedinBeijingthisweekend.

TheethnicgroupisbelievedtohaveoriginallymigratedfromtheQinghai-TibetanPlateauafterconflictswithothertribestheresome1,300yearsago,andsettledinthemountainousareasofsouthernYunnan.TheHaniRiceTerracesareaUNESCOWorldheritagesitesince2013.

TheHongheHaniandYiautonomousprefecturethereisalsofamedforitstwomajorethnicgroups,theYiandtheHani,whosemembersareknownfortheirsongsanddances.

Muomaamei,whichismadeupofsixparts,narrateshowtheHanipeoplesufferedconflictsandrebuilttheircommunity.InHanilanguage,thetitletranslatesto"beautifulhomeland".

LedbyChinesedancersLuoWenboandLiuJiaincollaborationwithactorsfromSingingandDancingTroupeofHongheCounty,theshowisdirectedbyXuRuiandWangGe,whohavecollaboratedinpreviousdanceperformances,includingRedSorghum,whichisbasedonthenovelwiththesamenamebyauthorMoYan,whowonChina'sfirstNobelPrizeinliterature.

Thescriptwriter,ZhouChudong,whoisalsothedirectorforthe64-year-oldHonghetroupe,borrowsthestoryfromanancientpoem,titledHaniPeople'sAncestorsAcrosstheRiver.ThedanceperformancealsoincorporatesoldfolksongsoftheHanipeoplethataresungduringspecialoccasions,includingharvesttime,weddings,funeralsandtheworshipofancestorsandnature.

Thedancessuchaszongshan,whichhasperformersusingpalmleavestomimicanimalmovements,andmanggu,akindofsacrificialdancesupportedbythebeatingofdrumstofrightenwildanimals,arepartoftheshow.

AccordingtoXu,theaudiencewillseethemostprimitiveethnicdanceoftheHanipeopleaswellasamixofethnicandmoderndances.

"Foryears,wehavebasedourperformancesontheauthenticmusicanddanceofethnicgroupsofYunnan,especiallytheHanipeople.ThestoryofMuomaameiwellcombineshistorywithHanisongsanddances.It'sanepic,"Zhousays.