HOI AN CENTER FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE
MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION
Photo gallery ART OF HEAVENLY DOG DANCING
Photographed by Quang Hai quangbahai@gmail.com
Exhibition license number: 28/GP-SVHTTDL issued by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province on August 29, 2023
The photography exhibition celebrates the event where the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Vietnam awarded the National Intangible Cultural Heritage certificate for the Traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, social customs, and beliefs in Hoi An, Quang Nam province.
The photo series "The Art of Heavenly Dog Dance in Hoi An" was created by photographer Quang Hai, who is also the Vice President of the Photography Association of Da Nang City. This exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Center for Cultural Heritage Conservation in Hoi An to mark the occasion of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Vietnam awarding the National Intangible Cultural Heritage certificate for the Traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, social customs, and beliefs on September 28 and 29, 2023, in Hoi An, Quang Nam province.
Heavenly Dog Dance, a long-standing tradition that flourished in Hoi An since the early 20th century, is an essential part of exorcism rituals, bringing prosperity and a festive atmosphere to the ancient streets during the Mid-Autumn Festival and other annual celebrations, including restaurant and shop openings and building inaugurations. As a result, Heavenly Dog Dance has left a deep cultural imprint in the hearts of the local people and throughout Quang Nam province.
However, it's common for people to associate Heavenly Dog Dance with Lion Dance mistakenly.
In reality, Heavenly Dog Dance is a folk performance that uses the image of a celestial dog to reenact the ritual of the Sacred Animal releasing the moon, symbolising a prosperous agricultural season and peaceful life. It is also linked to various customs and beliefs, including warding off evil spirits, ensuring good fortune, and seeking prosperity.
Heavenly Dog Dance differs from Lion Dance in several ways, with its head painted in five symbolic colors representing the Five Elements: red, white, black, blue, and yellow, with red being the dominant color. Heavenly Dog's forehead, horns, and ears are raised high, and its mouth, two ears, eyelids, and eyes can be moved during the dance. The tail of Heavenly Dog is made from colorful fabric and is often quite long. Heavenly Dog is usually performed by a team of 1 head dancer and 2 to 3 or 4 tail dancers, while Lion Dance typically involves only 2 dancers: one head dancer (leading dancer) and one tail dancer. During the Heavenly Dog performance, the head and tail dancers often perform martial arts movements. Another distinctive feature of Heavenly Dog is its aerial performance, with tricks such as balancing on the shoulders of 2-4 people, climbing bamboo poles, and breathing fire, demanding physical strength and martial arts skills from the dancers. Heavenly Dog Dance’s drum has a slow and majestic rhythm, showcasing the dignity and grandeur of this mythical creature through various ritualistic performances such as door licking to banish evil spirits, ascending to the heavens and breathing fire, biting children to protect against diseases, spirit-eye opening and cremation ceremony.
Starting as a folk dance of a mythical creature, Heavenly Dog Dance has evolved into an art form that is performed at various cultural events, including the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lunar New Year, cultural festivals, housewarming ceremonies, and grand openings.
Driven by a deep love for the folk performance of Heavenly Dog Dance, photographer Quang Hai dedicated his heart, soul, and serious research to the photography project "The Art of Heavenly Dog Dance." The project took nearly a year to complete and involved visits to nine historical sites in the ancient town of Hoi An, including Quang Trieu Assembly Hall, Ngu Bang Temple, Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, Hai Nam Assembly Hall, Trieu Chau Assembly Hall, Minh Huong Ancestral Hall, Ong Pagoda, Bà Mụ Pagoda, Khong Tu (Confucius) Temple, and the workshop of the artisan Nguyen Hung, who produces Heavenly Dog-Lân-Sư-Dragon masks and costumes in Trang Suoi, Cam Ha, Hai An.
Through 18 photographs showcasing the complete movements and ritual aspects of Heavenly Dog Dance, the author introduces the young generation of Hoi An and tourists to the differences between Heavenly Dog Dance and Lion Dance, with the hope of continuing to preserve and promote the unique values of Heavenly Dog Dance, increasingly highlighting its distinctive strengths and its close connection to the Traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, social customs, and beliefs in Hoi An, Quảng Nam province.
To enhance interaction and the exhibition experience, photographer Quang Hai has incorporated QR technology into the display. By scanning the QR code, viewers can discover more intriguing stories about the cultural history woven into these photographs.
Hoi An, September 2023
Thank you!