Bringing the lions to life!!

 

Lion dance has been part of the Chinese Culture for thousands of years and is very popular around the world. Traditionally, lion dances are performed to scare off bad or evil spirits with loud drums and cymbals and to attract good fortune and good luck. There are a number of myths around the lion dance, one of which is a celebration in a village when a mythical monster called Nian was driven away successfully.




Did you know that before the lions do their performances, they must first be blessed by an eye dotting ceremony or a lion-awakening ritual? The purpose of this blessing ceremony is to awake and empower the lion so that it can bring protection, good luck, health and prosperity. During the eye dotting ceremony, the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body and legs are dotted in red with a brush.


                                            

   
                                     
   

Dot the eyes, so that the lion can see. Dot the nose so that it can smell. Dot the mouth so that the lion can eat, and dot the ears so that they can hear the beat of the drums. And finally, dot the lion all down its body, to ensure that it is brought to life from head to tail.


 

One the lion is “dotted”, it gradually wakes up from its sleeping position by stretching, scratching, kicking one leg after the other to finally jumping up and gracefully dance to the beats of drums, gongs and cymbals. The spirit of the lions has been brought to life and the lions can now perform in all majesty.





   

                                                       














































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