People living in Macao may feel that it is a diverse culture society. However, Macao has a variety of special traditional and interesting local cultures originally. From Macao Museum exhibition, I known some basic information about Macao Drunken Dragon Dancing. Every year 7 th day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, drunken dragon dance performance will be held on the following day. Macao Drunken Dragon Dancing includes a series of activities, such as the drunken dragon dance, local citizens gathering to eat and talk, the dragon boat longevity rice distribution to local citizens and so on. Macao Fish Trade General Association has the special custom of Drunken Dragon Dancing to celebrate on this day.
According to the interview from Macau Fish Trade General Association, Mr. Guan Zhiong is the director Macao Fish Trade General Association. He described that Macao Drunken Dragon Dancing is a local special cultural, we should know and protect it. Macao Drunken Dragon Dancing is a celebration ritual of bathing festival. On that day, the dancers from the Macao Fish Trade General Association will dance in the street. Usually dancer and many local participators will gather in Pagoda Sam Cai Vu Cun to have the ceremony. In general, the dancers drunk themselves first with rice wine and then they will dance with wood dragon head and tail in the street. The citizens will walk out of the door and watch this wonderful performance. It is really a very special culture; it seems the wooden dragon can dance in reality. The dancers are very professional for his performance.
Mr. Gu Hong is the another interviewee and he is also the member of the Macao Fish Trade General Association. He is 64 years old now; however, he was the dancer of drunken dragon dance performance when he was very young. According to his talks, there is also a very interesting legend story about this culture. It is said that, long time ago, Macao had a pestilence. The villagers asked the Buddha for help. The villagers decided to invite and carry the Buddha to the village. On the way of back home at the side of river, there is a boa snake jump out from forest suddenly. The villagers struggled for the fighting with boa together; finally, the boa snake was killed. The blood of boa snake flowed into the river and the water in the river cure the disease in the village. Then the villagers think that the boa snake was the embodiment of the dragon, afterwards, the people are dancing the drunken dragon to commemorate it. Later and later, the local Macao people inherit the habit and then it becomes a ritual of bathing festival. It is a very important and special culture in Macao. At the noon of that day, people will be distributed the "Dragon Boat Longevity Rice” at the two markets. The longevity rice from S.Domingos market is more traditional, with ingredients such as roast pork, hairy cucumber, pork skin, peanuts, Chinese mushrooms and beancurd sticks. The Longevity Rice from Red market is vegetarian and includes ingredients such as black fungus, white fungus, Chinese mushroom and carrots. It is said that people who eat the Dragon Boat Longevity Rice will be lifelong and lucky. It is very meaningful.
Besides, according to the talk of Mr. Gu, we also know attitude of the government. As it needs expenditure to hold this activity, the government gives Macao Fish Trade General Association certain financial support every year. The ex-chief executive Ho Hau Wah had attended to watch this performance on the festival day, which shows he pays an attention to protect Macao traditional culture.
According to the interview, Mr. Guan and other members of the Fish Trade General Association pointed that, with development of economic and political, Macao is a diverse and modern society. First, the people more and more come from outside of Macao, the cultures from others dilute the local culture. Second, the old generation knows about this ritual and they did not inherit it to their offspring seriously. Third, the younger are busy with their study and work, they prefer the modern lifestyle, and the traditional life style seems far away from them gradually. Fourth, there is expenditure pressure in Fish Business Association because the Macau Drunk Dragon Dancing will spend certain money.
Are you familiar with culture of Macao Drunk Dragon Dancing? Quite a lot of people may say no. Without doubt that protecting this traditional culture is important for the younger in Macao. As time go by, Macao drunken dragon dancing is disappearing now, fewer and fewer teenagers know about that. It is necessary that the locals should know about it, and then they have the responsibility for inheritance. Macao government added the Drunken Dragon Dance to the list of intangible cultural heritage in June, 2011. The importance of cultural inheritance is make the younger generation knows about the past and the history. The performance make people believe that the roots of all Chinese are intertwined with the soul of the fishery industry. It is through persistence and good fortune in good times and hard times that they managed to persist until today.
Mr. Guan suggests that cultural inheritance should start from now on, we should do it first by ourselves. During the dates from March 11, 2012 to April 18, 2012, there is an exhibition about Macao traditional culture will be held in Macao museum, besides; there is also a speech about Macao drunken dragon dancing in Macao museum. It introduces the culture of this traditional habit and it aims to this cultural inheritance. The Macao museum exhibition attracts some teenagers and this is a good opportunity for Macao traditional culture inheritance. Meanwhile, the people in the Fish Business Association hope that the government will also support them. The older people in Macao most know this culture, and now they start to realize that they should try their best to educate their offspring about this drunken dragon dancing culture from now on.
Are you familiar the way your ancestors walked along with? It is very meaningful and interesting for you to learn and inheritance. Drunk dragon dancing is a colorful traditional cultural in Macao. There are a lot of things we need to participate in. If you know this culture you may talk to your friends or classmates, you can also hold some cultural activities to memorize this tradition. We hope that the government will focus on more traditional culture inheritance instead of only emphasizing economic. Let all of us keep this tradition culture beside us.