[Photo/Tibet Daily]

Drolkar, 86 years old, once a dancer, now is a Xuanwu successor. She is guiding six local girls to practice Xuanwu currently in the rehearsal hall. The old woman sings along to the music with her hands moving gently to the beat, displaying her deep sentiments towards Xuanwu.

Speaking of her attachment to Xuanwu, Drolkar replied: “In old Tibet, every serf household had a young girl to dance Xuanwu. We were too poor at the time and to dance Xuanwu means to get food. That year I was 22 years old.” 

 At the site of Guge Kingdom mural of Ngari Prefecture, ten women dressed in red gowns with arms interlocked get up and dance gleefully. This type of dance is called “Xuanwu”, where “Xuan” means dance in Sanskrit and it dates back over 3,000 years.

Guge Xuanwu costumes are luxurious, the songs are beautiful and the dance is elegant. It’s normally performed at weddings ceremonies or used to welcome guests, to express joy and completeness.  As time has passed Drolkar has gone from a humble serf into a Xuanwu successor.

In 2011 she started teaching young people to dance and was invited by the county folk art troupe to teach young dancers Xuanwu. There are 13 kinds of Xuanwu and she is able to dance nine of them; six court and three folk kinds. Each dance has specific movements; court has strict requirements for movement, number of people and formation, whereas folk is more casual, according to the old lady.    

After watching the girls dancing for a while, the old lady couldn’t help throwing her walking stick aside and dancing among the girls. “Nowadays whenever I have time I go to the Folk Art Troupe to watch and monitor the children rehearse. Sometimes, watching them dancing, brings back memories of myself when I was young. Although I can’t dance as well as I used to, I still can’t help joining in.”

23-year-old Tsering Tsomo is a member of the Folk Art Troupe. She began learning Xuanwu at the similar age as Drolkar. “In 2011 I joined the Folk Art Troupe for two reasons; firstly, because I like song and dance, secondly, I want to learn something traditional. In 2013 I went to perform in a few cities on the inland and saw that the audience enjoyed it, which made me happy.” 

The old lady and the girls stand in a row with knees bent and start the elegant dance. Like in a trance, it’s as if the old lady appears from the Guge mural singing a story from a thousand years ago.