One of the things that we associate the Chinese New Year celebration with would be none other than the Lion Dance. More than just a cultural tradition of colorful, furry lions dancing to the beat of the drums, cymbals, and gongs, the Lion Dance has become an attractive sport-oriented and artistic fascination in recent years. This is true not only for locals in Malaysia of all races and religions who enjoy watching the exceptional acrobatic stunts and performances but also for visitors to Malaysia.
Firstly, do you know what the Lion Dance symbolizes?
In Chinese culture, the lion symbolizes power, wisdom, and superiority. When the Lion Dance is performed — not only during festivities but also during other large celebrations or ceremonies — it is to bring prosperity and good luck to the host and the onlookers, especially for the upcoming year.
This tradition has been practiced for hundreds of years, going as far back as the Tang Dynasty in China, where detailed descriptions of the dance and the costumes used by the dancers have been found in Chinese literature. However, throughout history, you would find two distinctive differences between the Lion Dance in the Northern part of China and the Southern part of China.
The Lion Dance in Northern China is usually only performed in the imperial court as a form of entertainment for the high-ranking officers and the emperor. The lions used are more shaggy looking and would only have a golden head, signifying wealth and riches. The lion dances are more performative compared to the Lion Dance in Southern China. In Southern China, the performances are more elegant and entertaining. The lions come in different colors and the heads would often have large eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and even a horn on top of the head. These lions are often used to exorcise evil spirits and summon luck and fortune.
When the Lion Dance was brought to Malaysia by Chinese immigrants many decades ago, the Malaysian Chinese improvised the dance moves to make it more refined, injecting local superiority and agility as well as creating a more attractive and interesting lion looks. In case you haven’t connected the dots yet, the Malaysian Lion Dance is highly influenced by the Southern China Lion Dance — but with our own twist to it.
Have you ever seen the high-pole Lion Dance? That’s actually a Malaysian invention!
Pioneered by the Malaysian Lion Dance Association, the dancers would have to practice and then perform on poles that could go up to a few meters high. Sometimes the dancers would “act” like they were falling but it would actually be a part of the show — a feat that not just anyone can do, and would require a very powerful core strength. This is why it is no surprise that the World Champion of Lion Dances is from Malaysia — none other than the Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association.
If you want to promote healthy exercises and body strength activities, maybe you can try learning the Lion Dance. At the same time, we should also not neglect the artistic part of it — both the music and the making of the lion costumes. As Malaysians, we should instill love and appreciation of this type of cultural heritage in our children and promote continuation for the generation after them so that our unique culture and heritage will never be forgotten.
Submit any #CNY2023 related content and stand a chance to win cash prizes up to RM10,000! Find out how you can participate here.
Aliza M. is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
