The Farmer's Dance is a choreography of typical Korean folk dance in northeastern China. It was popular in the Korean congregating areas of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning provinces. Traditional Farmer's Dance performances began in ancient times when Koreans started farming and held rituals to bless crops and improve the weather. Farmer's Dance was traditionally performed during planting, harvesting, and other agricultural events to help farmers overcome their fatigue and anguish. Historical records discuss Korean farmers using percussion instruments for drumming.
The rhythm of the ritual is characterized by "beating tambourines" and "swinging elephant caps". The movements of the beaters are varied and vigorous, posing like horse riders and archers. The elephant cap swingers use their necks like axles, just to swing the long tape tied to the cap, which dances all around the dancers and dazzles the audience. About 60 people usually participate, wearing white costumes and colorful vests and sashes. In the dance, the movements of farming are imitated, which is shown in gestures like 'walking the field ridges'. Some hold a banner with characters reading "Agriculture is the basis of society," which shows the dance is as much about recognizing agriculture as it is entertaining the farmers. Some people sing and dance to the sounds of various percussion instruments, including small and large gongs, double-headed hourglasses, basic barrel drums, and at times, conical flutes. The player of the small gong sets the beat and leads the dance.
A small band performs this music featuring small gongs, tiny drums, large gongs, barrel drums, and large hourglass drums. The musicians dance as they play, and other dancers beat time to the musicians' music with miniature hand-held drums. The spinning hat dance is one of the more exciting dances to watch and perform. Some members of the farmer's music band wear black hats with long paper streamers inserted onto the top. As they spin in circles, the dancers beat a small gong or drum as they fly through the air.
From its agricultural origins to its popularity in both urban and rural areas, the dance has evolved considerably. For example, the musical ensemble of the group was also expanded to include wind instruments, and the dancers’ costumes incorporated the clothes of other Chinese ethnic groups. Since the dance was brought to China at the end of the nineteenth century, it has been influenced by other elements of Chinese culture. These include traditional costumes and patterns. This dance remains a vital part of the culture of China's Korean ethnic group as an expression of the labor and wisdom accumulated throughout the generations. Today, it can be seen more regularly at special festivals and folk art competitions and also can be viewed at village holidays and major village events in rural areas from time to time.
References