I was back from buying some groceries and I came across a lion dance troop. How really cool!
Back at the old house, we’d see these performance about once a month. The lion dance club house was in the block beside us, and us kids would rush out and sit down on the grass patch as the troop performed. I really enjoyed the loud and festive drumming as the lions balanced themselves on top of planks.
I think that these lions were there today as there is a new shop opening in the shopping center. The owner of the shop hired the troop to bring in good luck for his shop.
Here is a clip showing the performance 🙂
I’m wondering why the lion throws things from its mouth. Anybody knows?
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hee, Im from my school’s lion dance troupe. If I am not wrong, the lion isn’t supposed to really eat any of the things, so it will “vommit” it out… e lion will only really “consume” the first veggie when it is being “brought alive” by the dropping of the eye.
And supposedly, the things it vommit out will be lucky objects!
rinaz.. very nice leh.. i don’t know how the the lion ate the orange until finished.. how the guy do seh.. hehe
Hisyam
I think they didnt eat all the orange because the oranges were used to make the chinese words on the plate. Anyway they took quite a long time to do it.
Crazyhamster
Cool! Hahaha! I saw the lion throw out alot of things from its mouth, some vegetables, some orange peels. Maybe the orange was to symbolise gold and it was throwing it at the owner, the altar, even the troop playing the music!
What do you mean by dropping of the eye?
hah. when a lion is made, it cannot be used to perform, unless it is being “called alive”, we call it “dropping of the eye” because, according to tradition, the lion will not have its’ pupil until someone of authority use chicken bloody to paint it on the lion, den the lion could be used to perform!
Oh! You have to dot the eye before it can be used for performance? I didnt know that. Cool! Something new that I learnt today 🙂 Thank you crazyhamster 🙂
Do they still have to do that now?
haha yes. I was one of e lions to be awaken in my school this chinese new year… but im certain that the red pigment is not chicken blood! HAHAH
Oh yeah, I remembered watching this during chinese new year. One of the officials dotted the eye of lion using a red ink. I’m pretty sure its not chicken blood. They said something about the day being auspicious is the reason why the lion was being dotted 🙂