History of Nuo
In the West, people dress up at the end of October in masks and costumes to exorcise evil spirits haunting the towns. It’s called Halloween. It was originally a Celtic ritual to drive away the devil. Later, these activities developed into masquerades and festivals. China has its own version of this kind of ritual. It’s called “Nuo”.
“Nuo,” also called the “Nuo sacrifice” or “Nuo ceremony,” was originally a type of sacrificial and magical ritual held to expel evil spirits and pestilence. Its name is derived from one of such rituals, where people shouted “nuo, nuo” to drive away the devil.
Nuo has a long history. It started twenty thousand years ago. Nuo originally meant a patterned step to drive away evil during the last month of the Chinese lunar year. Later, Nuo evolved into a dance. The purpose of Nuo was to drive away devils, disease and evil influences, and to petition for blessings from the gods. At this time, Nuo was a sacrificial activity.
It was probably during the Song Dynasty that Nuo became a drama. Nuo Drama is the most direct and important expressive media of Nuo culture. It covers primitive religion, folklore and art, and integrates literature, music, dance, drama, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, and paper-cut. Nuo Drama has great artistic value and is called the living fossil of drama.
Nuo Drama Mask
Mask is the soul of Nuo Drama. Furthermore, folklore holds that they contain spirits. A mask also has religious implications; as the symbol and medium of a spirit, masks are governed by strict rules. People believe that after performance of a certain ceremony upon its completion, a mask becomes a living god. Women are not allowed to touch a mask, much less put one on.
Each Nuo mask has a fixed name, represents a certain role and has legendary stories to tell about its origins. In Guizhou, a province with the largest number of Nuo drama repertoires, at least 24 masks are required to perform an entire Nuo drama piece.
The masks can appear valiant and martial, stern and tough, or gentle and kind, and they come in various styles to represent different figures. For instance, since the responsibility of valiant gods is to emit awe and dispel ghosts and devils, their masks usually have horns and buckteeth, with a very ferocious countenance.
In ancient times, people used gold, jade, bronze, wood making the masks. Well, nowadays, wood is often used, especially poplar and willow. Poplar is light and not easy to split. Well the willow has its magic usage, which can get rid off the evil spirits.
It contains three working procedures to make a mask. First step, drying the log in the sun for 3 to 5 days, then cutting into 40cm length sects, peeling the bark and drying for another 3 to 5 days. Saw off the wood sect from the center into two separate semicircles. Boil the wood in the hot water in case of splitting and moth-eating. Second step, carving the wood. Every figure has different hat, face and pattern to express its own character. Most of the masks have two movable ear wings. Third step, polishing the mask, then coloring it, finally painting varnish for protecting the colors. But there is another type of mask without any painted colors, just remain the original wood brown color. It makes the mask looking more straightforward and attractive.
Guizhou Nuo Drama
Nuo Drama was at one time very popular in every part of China, but with social development faded out in most parts, remaining popular only in southwest China, such as Guizhou, in eastern Yunnan, southern Sichuan and Chongqing, in southwest Hubei and western Hunan and in northern Guangxi. Nuo Dramas vary considerably in different areas.
Guizhou is the center of Nuo Drama in southwestern China, while Dejiang in northeast and Anshun in southwest Guizhou province are centers for Nuo Drama.
In Anshun, Nuo Drama is the primary entertainment activity. Nuo Drama here is a branch of the ancient Military Nuo. Musical instruments include one gong and one drum. The drummer is very important during a performance. A patch of land serves as a stage. As a result, Nuo Drama is also called Dixi (ground drama).
The only two occasions for the performance of Nuo Drama are at Chinese New Year and at the middle of the 7th moon when rice tassels. The religious meaning is obvious. People hope the drama can drive away bad luck and bring good harvest. Year after year, numerous locals are attracted to this performance. Sometimes a drama can last a dozen days.
The number of masks used in one drama ranges from several dozen to two hundred. There are five kinds of masks used in Nuo Drama, namely: civilian general, military general, old general, young general and woman general with other minor roles like soldiers and Taoist monks. Generally speaking, the good are stately and dignified while the bad are ferocious. Mask carving abides by a set of strict rules. For example, eyebrows should be like a line for woman, an arrow for young generals and like fiery flames for military generals. The changes of facial expressions and decorations show the character of the figures in a Nuo Drama. They may be brave, ferocious, powerful, composed, arrogant, sly, tender, or amiable. Decorations include butterflies, grass, flowers, and ivies familiar to the locals.
As is true in most other areas, Nuo Drama in Tunbu is the privilege of men. The moment a dancer puts on his mask, he will not speak or act casually since putting on a mask means the spirit is on him already.
This is the oldest dramatic from in China, regarded as a living fossil of Chinese drama.
1 In the evening, hundreds of villagers travel dozens of miles to fetch the nuo mask trunk from the temple or another clan and carry it to their own ancestral hall.
2. Every household makes offerings at the hall to honor their ancestors and the gods.
3. Guns are fired to announce the coming of the nuo procession.
4. Each household makes an offering of chicken blood at the ancestral hall to welcome the nuo masks.5. A specially designated person arranges the sacred nuo masks in a prescribed order.
6. The nuo drama begins around 7 PM and continues until early the following morning.
7. After the performance, the masks are carefully and cautiously counted and placed back into the trunk.
8. The ritual to worship the god of earth is held in the daytime.
9. During the ritual, the villagers do the nuo dance to pray for favorable weather and good health.
10. A scene from the nuo dance.
11. After the ritual, the villagers return to the village and perform dramatic pieces on stilts.
12. At the Yuanxiao Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, all the clans carry the nuo mask trunk to Qingshan Temple to worship the nuo gods.