The following photographs are designed to give a general overview of the dances at a Jingpo Manau. These images are provided to help contextualise future posts that will examine specific elements of the festivities.
Manau festivals are commonly held over multiple days and involve large-scale formation dancing. It is, therefore, helpful to have at least some idea of the shape and colour of the public performances. Manau are held in areas of northern Burma (in the Kachin and Shan states), in southwest China (in some areas of Yunnan), in northern Thailand (in Chiang Mai province) and in northeast India (in Arunachal Pradesh). Some are annual events while others are held less frequently and reserved for specific special occasions.
Image 1: A Manau dance
This is the first session of dancing at the Manau I attended. This snapshot gives some feel for the way that the dancers form patterns on the Manau ground. The twirling, twisting shapes of the dancing formations are supposed to mimic the patterns on the Manau posts. This photograph was taken from a concreted viewing terrace that abuts the Manau ground.
Image 2: The Manau Poles
The Manau poles (Manau Shadung) are the central feature of the Jingpo Manau and are arguably the key symbol of the Kachin groups (Jinghpaw, Jingpo and Singpo) across mainland Southeast Asia. Different Manau grounds have different numbers of poles and the patterns etched and painted on them also vary somewhat across Southeast Asia.
Image 3: Red Flag over Manau
This Manau was held on Chinese territory, only a few kilometers from the Sino-Burmese frontier. The Chinese flag flutters in the distance and beneath the flag the audience watches closely.
Image 4: Dancing continues on the final day
This final session of dancing drew a much smaller crowd than earlier in the week. The dancers are, however, still excited to have a final chance to show off their moves.
This post is part of the New Mandala feature on the “Yunnan Fringe“.
6 responses so far ↓
1 roger p // May 4, 2007 at 10:34 pm
here is a short comment by a Chinese specialist:
“The other communal ritual [the first is the one the author calls "numshang"] -the “manao zunggo”, the biggest ritual festival of the Jingpo- was specially dedicated to the “madai nat”, the spirit of walth and the great guardian. It was not routinely held because it was a costly ritual, requiring seven to nine cattle, tens of pigs, and hundreds of fowl as sacrifices; [...] These great rituals became infrequent after 1958, and finally disappeared during the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution, the festival was officially declared the nationality holiday of the Jingpo and fixed on New Year´s Day on the traditional Chinese calendar. The celebration of the holiday is formally organized and held in the county towns or the prefectural capital. None of the original nat-offering meaning remains”
The quote is from the book “The Jingpo. Kachin of the Yunnan Plateau” (1997, pp. 1), by Zhusheng Wang -a comprehensive study of one Jingpo village in Dehong based on his PhD dissertation. Leach has obviously written about these festivals, but I did not have time to check yet -just hope someone finds the reference useful
2 roger p // May 4, 2007 at 10:38 pm
here is the complete reference
- Zhusheng Wang, The Jingpo. Kachin of the Yunnan Plateau, Arizona State University, 1997
(the text is quoted from pages 184-5)
3 Nicholas Farrelly // May 4, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Thanks Roger P.,
This is certainly a useful reference for interested New Mandala readers.
Somewhat surprisingly, Leach has very little of substance to say on the topic of Manau, and doesn’t claim to have seen a “genuine example”. In Political Systems of Highland Burma (1954: 119), he explains the situation:
Best wishes to all.
4 Tara // May 5, 2007 at 4:34 am
I have a good friend in Thailand who enjoys telling Jingpho stories. I don’t remember the story exactly anymore, but one related to how the Kachin learned the dances for the Manau festival. I think it involved a boy who was raised by his grandmother and was left under a tree while she worked. He grew up knowing the language of the birds from the tree, and this later allowed him to win the hand of a chieftan’s beautiful daughter. The birds taught them the Manau dances as a celebration.
I could be mixing up stories there, though I’m sure at least one story had the Manau dances being learned from the birds. Is anyone else familiar with this story (or stories), or what the mythological origin of the Manau is?
5 aiontay // May 5, 2007 at 9:57 am
The version I heard from a Kachin jade merchant linked to the origin of the manau to the ancestor of his clan, which was not the standard Maran, Lahpai etc, but a rather small clan that was limited to the Hkahku region. I can’t find my notes right now which has the clan name. Anyway, in this version, the boy was born with the ability to speak from birth, which scared his mother, so she left him in a tree to die. While in the tree, the birds assembled and planned the dance, and it turned out the boy could understand their language as well, and hence got the ritual of the dance. Later, he managed to persuade a passing stranger to rescue him and when he grew up he initiated the dance.
I suspect there are several different versions beyond the ones Tara and I have heard. I’d be really interested in hearing any Singhpo versions. I suspect the bird element of the story stays constant- since that is a completely plausible origin, but other details may vary.
6 Thai News // May 6, 2007 at 4:24 am
Those people are wearing somany colors!
I’s very beautiful.
Do they have any special meaning in this case?
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