Danza del Volador
The Danza del Volador or Juego del Volador is a ceremonial dance that is celebrated by the indigenous peoples of the Olmecs and Totonacs in several places in Mexico and Guatemala (e.g. Tulúm , El Tajín , Papantla in the state of Veracruz ) and probably in pre-Columbian language Time goes back. It was probably originally a fertility cult to increase the yield of the field crops and a ritual in honor of the fertility gods Tlazoltéotldes and Xipe Totec and is associated with a sun cult . In 2009 the aviator dance was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage .
execution
For the Danza del Volador, five men climb an approximately 25 m high pole, the palo volador , at the top of which a platform reminiscent of a stork's nest is attached. Four men tie a rope around each other while the fifth takes a seat on the stake and plays a one-handed flute and hand drum . The combination of flute and drum ( tabor ) is of Spanish origin. The four men (voladores) symbolize the four winds, the fifth man is the symbol of the sun. The four men dance towards the trunk. They greet the trunk and circle it several times. Then, when the music starts, the four "winches" climb the ropes to the top of the trunk.
The last one climbs to the top as the "sun". He sits down to the east and begins to play with a snare drum and a flute, while the four winches twist the rope around his abdomen. The sun now greets the four cardinal points with its game. She turns to these one by one and dances on top. Then the four winds slowly descend upside down with 13 turns to the earth. The sun plays the drum and flute during this time. After the four winds have reached the earth, the sun descends on the trunk or over one of the ropes on the earth.
history
Some pre-Columbian clay figures are interpreted as depictions of the aviator dance. The demonstration on the mast is shown on a drawing by the Jesuit Father Rafael Landivar (1731–1793), who worked in Guatemala. This ritual was previously prepared by young men between the ages of 20 and 25. A week before the ritual, the Voladores went in search of a suitable tree, an arból de vida , the tree of life . Before the felling, they danced in his honor and asked permission for the felling. Only then was the tree felled with great care so that it suffered as little pain as possible. The selected tree trunk had to be at least 25 m high and the length of the rope measured precisely so that the voladores could reach exactly 13 circles around the trunk, which multiplied by the four dancers would mean a period of 52 years. H. to symbolize an era as it was understood before the Spanish conquest of Mexico .
The clothing of the Voladores traditionally consists of red trousers, a white shirt, a red ribbon around the hips and a feather headdress.
tourism
In some cities in Mexico and also at cultural events in Spain and South and Central America, the Voladores games continue to be maintained and are considered a tourist attraction. The descendants of the Totonaks now dance for pesos and at central tourist sites. They are now unionized and try to keep the ritual true to the original and to shape it.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ritual ceremony of the Voladores. UNESCO
- ^ Paul Collaer: Music history in pictures . Volume I: Ethnic Music. Delivery 2: America. Eskimo and Native American people. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1966, p. 122
- ↑ http://mexiko-lexikon.de/mexiko/index.php?title=Los_Voladores
- ^ Samuel Martí: Music history in pictures. Volume II: Ancient Music. Delivery 7: Old America. Music of the Indians in pre-Columbian times. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1970, p. 86
Web links
- Robin Daniel Frommer: Megalopolis and colonial idyll . ( Memento of October 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Convention International, pp. 39–42 (at Internet Archive)