Lifelike, beautifully shaped, colorful... At night, the fish lanterns of the North Slope Polder in Beipo Town illuminate the night with brilliant brilliance and converge into a river of light, like the underwater dragon palace in the mythological story.
Swimming fish is a traditional activity loved by the people of Suixi North Slope. Photo by Guo Longbi
"Swimming fish" is a traditional folk culture activity in Beipowei, Beipo Town, Suixi County, which has a history of more than 300 years. There are 16 natural villages, more than 50 surnames, because of the coastal slope terrain, no mountains and no rivers, and there have been nine droughts in the history of ten years. In order to pray for the wind and rain to be smooth and the yearly surplus, during the Lantern Festival every year, every household in Beipo Wei pastes fish lamps, dancing fish lamps, tour villages, thousands of empty alleys, lively and extraordinary, becoming a beautiful landscape. In 2018, the "swimming fish" on the northern slope of Suixi Was selected into the seventh batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage list in Guangdong Province.
The exquisite fish lamps woven by parents decorate the children's wonderful childhood. Respondents provided
Originating from myths and stories carrying beautiful visions
According to Yang Song, the representative inheritor of the "swimming fish" on the northern slope of the provincial non-heritage Suixi, the "swimming fish" on the northern slope originated during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty and was full of mythology.
Legend has it that at that time, Laowei in Beipo Town, Suixi County, often suffered from drought, and one spring, several days of torrential rain fell, and the rain did not pass through all the dry slopes of Laowei on the north slope, and the villagers cheered on the slopes where the rainwater penetrated, and children played and played in the water. At this time, the carp swim to the edge of the slope to feed, and the villagers reach out to catch it. An elder in the crowd shouted, "Don't catch them, they are water gods, and today's rain is what they brought!" People stopped. Strange to say, the fish are not afraid of people at all, calmly foraging and playing, children holding the fish to play, adults reaching out to stroke the scales, and a scene of mermaid dancing together appears on the slope.
Since then, on the fifteenth day of the first month of each year, in order to pray for the wind and rain to be smooth and the grain to be abundant, the local people have wrapped themselves in the shape of a carp with bamboo sandpaper and lit candles on the belly of the fish, so that "swimming 'fish' brings water, and there is more than enough every year". For more than 300 years, it has been passed down from generation to generation without stopping.
The night boils with swimming fish. Images courtesy of respondents
It is worth mentioning that in the 2017 Lantern Festival, Suixi Confucius Culture City held a lantern fish and dragon parade activity of "10,000 people fish dragon dance, drunken beauty Kong Holy Mountain", and more than 20,000 people entered the city to participate and watch. That night, the Confucius Culture City was full of lights, tourists were weaving, and a thousand fish lanterns dotd a fantastic world, allowing many people to see the beauty and grandeur of the "swimming fish" on the north slope for the first time.
On the CCTV big stage "2020 Lantern Festival Special Program", it also vividly demonstrated the intangible cultural charm of Suixi Beipo "Swimming Fish" - in the first program "Selling Tangyuan" after its opening song and dance, 30 Suixi North Slope fish lanterns produced by folk artists on the Leizhou Peninsula appeared and swam and danced, creating a warm opening atmosphere for the show.
Colorful swimming fish dot the night sky into an ocean of joy. Photo by Guo Longbi
Handmade, innovative and radiant
Suixi north slope "swimming fish" is also known as "fish and dragon dance", every year after the New Year's Day, Lao wei households began to prepare bamboo baskets, make fish lamps. Fish lamp making includes fish, paste paper, painting, assembly and other processes. First tie the shape of the fish with a bamboo grate, then take paper or cloth to frame the paste, then use colored pigments to color, draw fish scales, fix the illuminated candle or small bulb, install the handle, and the fish lamp will be ready.
The old man is carefully drawing and coloring the fish lamp with colored paint. Photo by Peng Wei
"'Swimming fish' is purely handmade, in the north slope of the old Wei every household will do, due to the complicated process, high time cost, no one to make to sell, are their own use." Yang Song introduced.
With the change of the times, the fish lamp style has evolved from a single carp lamp at the beginning to a variety of fish lamps, shrimp lamps, frog lamps and zodiac lamps, etc. to more than 100 kinds, and it is also gradually made of cloth by the traditional paper mounting process. But each one is meticulously crafted, the skills are unique, and the finished products are colorful and fascinating.
Fish lanterns and fireworks shine together in the night sky. Photo by Guo Longbi
In recent years, on the basis of the tradition of "swimming fish" in laowei on the north slope, the "swimming fish" of Suixi has been continuously introduced. Formally, before the "swimming fish", the dragon dance, the lion awakening, the eagle dance and other links are added; in terms of content, on the basis of the original only swimming carp, it has gradually evolved to add various types of fish such as dragon fish and spotted fish, as well as shrimp, crabs, frogs and the zodiac of the year; technically, the candles in the belly of the fish have also been changed to electric lamps.
The fish lantern in my hometown has become a strong nostalgia for my children who have traveled far. Images courtesy of respondents
Talking about how to protect and carry forward the traditional culture, the relevant personnel of Beipo Town introduced that at present, Beipo Town has set up a swimming fish museum, and according to the plan, a swimming fish theme park will be built, which is currently in the preliminary preparatory stage.
【Written by】 Mai Si Rong
【Photo】 Guo Longbi is provided in part by the interviewee
【Author】
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client