The Manchu shaman performs dances whilst making offerings to the gods.Of these shamanic dance types two warrant special attention: 1) the " high deity offering", alternatively called the "field" or "great deity""s dance" and 2)the "family deity offering". It is these types of shamanic dances and in particular the former-during which the shaman attains an altered and heightened state of consciousness-which I intend to discuss in this article. The two dance forms documented in this paper are performed by the shamans of Manchu families residing in rural parts of North-East China and are still practised today.

Although the term "Manchu" occured in written form for the first time during the late Ming Dynasty (the beginning of 17th century), the Manchu existed as an identifiable group long before this date. This view is clearly supported by several ancient texts originating in China, in which the following Manchu ethnonyms: Sushen, Yilou, Wuji, Mohe, Nüzhen are recorded. Further, all of these names, not only denote Manchu ancestry, but also correspond to different historical periods. The Manchu people inhabited a wide area, living in the locality of the Changbai Mountains, the Songhuajiang River and in the valleys of the Heilongjiang River. Before the Manchu arrived in Liaoning and Shenyang districts, they were fisherman and hunters, famed for their brilliance both as horsemen and as craftsmen.

It is argued that the term ""shaman"" derives from the Manchu-Tungus branch of Altaic languages. In the mid-20th century Xu Mengzi, a Nanjing scholar discussed the first textual occurences of the term ‘shaman’in his work Sanchao beimen huibian (volume 3). According to this work, the word: "Shaman means ‘sorcerer/sorceress’in the Nüzheng (i. e. Jurchen) languages. "Also, "because [the shaman] is able to transform himself into any one of the deities, only those nobles who hold a rank above that of Nianban can compete with him... " Further, according to Xu Mengzi, the word ‘shaman’(as found in the very earliest sources) is not only transcribed as ‘shaman’, but is used inexactly the same way as it is today. Other ancient texts quoted by Xu Mengzi for example, Xi Qing""s Heilongjiang waiji, Yao Yuanzhi""s Zhuye wan zaji, also record the use of the word shaman, but these texts vary the transcribed spelling of the term, employing the following variations: sama, chama, jama, jamo,shaman and samou. In the Da Qing Huidian Shili ("Collected Statutes of the Qing Dynasty") the term ‘shaman’is also recorded and in this instance is transcribed as sama. With reference to all these sources, it is possible to assert that since by-gone times the Manchu people (and their ancestors) have practised shamanism.

DANCE TYPES

During the "high deity offering", all beings which: fly in the sky and inhabit the earth (i. e., dwell in rivers, on mountains etc. ) are worshipped.These beings are composed of both animal and plant deities, as well as of Manchu heroes. This being the case, the number of deities worshipped during the "high deity offering" can be anything from ten to one hundred.

All the dances performed by the Manchu shaman during the "high deity offering" are made up of two consecutive phases: first, the shaman performs an invocation or rather, an invocatory dance and second, the shaman attains a heightened state of consciousness, alternatively referred to as the act of "contacting the deity". The act of "contacting the deity" means that the shaman completely identifies with the deity invoked. By performing an invocatory dance, the shaman manifests as hero deity or as animal deity (e. g, the wolf,tiger, hawk, snake, etc. ). During the process of invocation the shaman behaves in a manner characteristic of the deity summoned, often emitting animal calls.

The "family deity offering", is an offering performed in the main for ancestor deities or for those deities who are regarded by the Manchu as family gods irrespective of whether they are animals or plants. Unlike the "high deity offering", the dances performed by the shaman during the "family deity offering",are comprised of a single phase: the shaman dances with a one-handled drum beating it and dancing in the prescribed manner (sometimes turning around in circles. ) Since the dance that the shaman performs during the "family deity offering" is non-invocatory, quite obviously, the shaman""s state of consciousness remains unaltered i. e., the "deity-contacting" state is absent.

Clearly, the two types of dances performed by Manchu shamans during deity offering activities are entirely different. In the offerings made to "high deities", the shaman performs the first type of dance which necessarily involves the invocation of each "high deity" concerned. Offerings made to the "high deities"have to be carried out one at a time, i. e., one offering is made per "high deity" invoked, because the shaman can only (self-) identify with any one "high deity" at any one time. On the other hand, the dances involved in the "family deity offering" are non-invocatory in nature, since the gods worshipped are not "high deities" but rather, family or ancestral gods. During the "family deity offering", the shaman is able to treat the family or ancestral deities as one group,since the shaman does not invoke the family deities with his dance but rather,dances for them. Hence during the "family deity offering" the shaman makes a single offering to all the Manchu family deities.

The dances of the Manchu shaman as described in this paper are those performed by Shi family shamans and other shamans of Manchu families dwelling in Jilin province. The second part of this paper will focus on and expand upon the "high deity offering" as performed by Manchu shamans.

"HIGH DEITY OFFERING"

When offerings are made to the "high deities" the shaman necessarily enters into an altered state of consciousness characterised by the shaman""s total self-identificaiton with the deity invoked. During the "high deity offering" the shaman performs one of the following three dance types: dances of invocation,dances of revelation (preceded by invocation), and combination dances (combining invocation and revelation).

Dances of Invocation

As mentioned above, this type of dance is characterised by the shaman""s ability to behave in the manner characteristic of the high deity invoked. For example, the high deities invoked by Shi family shaman are animal gods who are divided into three categories: 1. fly, 2. slither or 3. walk (on all fours).

1. The Manchu shaman most commonly makes offerings to eagle or hawk deities and hence it is these deities which are most regularly invoked. Nevertheless, in the Sacred Book of the Shi Family[2], offerings made to the following bird deities: water birds, "wind" and "field" birds, gold-and silver-tongued birds, are also documented. An example of an invocatory offering dance performed by the Shi family shaman for the god of hawks proceeds as follows: first of all, the shaman puts on his shamanic costume composed of: a sacred cap, a white shirt, a sacred skirt and bells which are tied around the shaman""s waist. [3] The cap is decorated with three birds, from which a dozen or more red or green coloured ribbons hang, extending all the way down to the ground. The shaman begins his invocatory dance. Carrying two drums (the so-called "grabbing" and "carrying" drums) the shaman begins the invocation. The shamans beats the drums whilst dancing and shortly thereafter, the shaman achieves an altered state of consciousness. At this point the god of hawks is manifest. The shaman""s assistants remove both drums from the shaman and tie the ribbons extending from his sacred cap to his hands. The shaman then begins to twist from the waist from side to side in order to swing the bells and dances to the rhythm of the drums his assistants are now beating. The shaman extends his arms outwards and flaps them. Occasionally, the shaman turns around with his arms wide open, as the hawk god circles in the sky. By now the shaman has identified himself completely[4] with the deity invoked and the hawk deity is completely present. The shaman as hawk god, steps up onto two tall tables, and still flapping his arms prepares to fly. At this point, the assistants sing: "Hawk god with a stone head, gold mouth, silver nose and bronze neck, you spread your wings in order to cover the sky and the earth, and hold up your tail to tuck it up under the moon and the stars. " With this the shaman as hawk god looks pleased.

2. For those animals which slither or crawl, the offerings most commonly performed by the Manchu shaman are those made to snake gods, in particular to the god of pythons. The shaman of the Shi family performs his invocatory dance but before doing so he puts his sacred skirt, his white shirt and a vest made from three pieces of cloth, a red, a yellow and a black piece, which mimic the pattern and tri-colour skin of the python god. When the python god enters the shaman""s body, the shaman falls to the ground, facing upward. He wriggles forwards using his shoulders and the balls of his feet. At the same time, the shaman""s helpers sing: "The god of pythons is eight feet long, and the god of snakes is nine feet long. You live on the peak of the Changbai Mountains, in the golden ditch found in the stone gap on the ninth peak. Crossing the mountains, mounting the clouds and riding the mist, you arrive on the bank of the Nisi River. "

3. The Manchu shaman also makes offerings to animal gods. These gods can be any of the following: wolf, tiger, wild boar, bear, etc. These animal deities behave in a distinctive manner when they are present during a shamanic dance-offering. For example, the bear god always carries a large wheel on his shoulders and the god of wild boars always uses the walls to aid his movements.I once witnessed the invocatory dance of the sleeping-mother-tiger deity. In this case, once the sleeping-mother-tiger goddess was invoked, the shaman immediately adopted a position on all fours and began to roar and walk about. The shaman as sleeping-mother-tiger deity then looked around, searching for something. Eventually, the sleeping-tiger-mother goddess noticed two bundles on the ground which were cloth representations of tiger cubs which she proceded to pick up, one in each hand, and then put down again on the ground. The sleeping-mother-tiger deity nuzzled the tiger cubs lovingly with her head and kissed them. She then sat lightly on the tiger cubs demonstrating her love for them and fed them with bread from her mouth. By now the sleeping-mother-tiger goddess was completely present. Her acts demonstrated the great tiger mother""s love for this world.

Dances of Revelation

The types of dances performed by the Manchu shaman during revelation are in fact, the reenactment of certain heroic deeds performed by Manchu gods.These skills, or heroic acts as represented by the Manchu shamans of the Shi family are divided into four types: 1. martial arts, 2. magic acts, 3. artistic dance acts and 4. acts of technical skill.

1. The martial art dance of the high deity is only fully revealed once the shaman has attained the deity-contacting state. In the past the Shi family were renowned among the Manchus as great horsemen and hunters and thus the martial arts dance preserves for posterity the martial quality of the Manchu people since the time of the Qing Dynasty. Martial art skills among Manchu families is mainly expressed by the so-called "holy spirits", such as the family holy spirit of "mother adun" and "grandfather cooha".The names of these spirits suggest that these gods possess outstanding military skills. So, for example, adun is a variation of akdun and according to the Collected Statutes of the Qing Dynasty (i. e., the Da Qing Huidian Shili) this word means ‘firm,’‘solid,’‘hard’or ‘valiant’. In this case, the word mother actually means ‘grandmother’,hence the literal translation of ‘mother adun’is ‘valiant grandmother’. In a number of Manchu "sacred poems" "mother adun" is described as a heroine who rides two horses. Turning to the second deity " grandfather cooha," the term cooha means ‘soldier,’so the literal translation is ‘soldier grandfather.’Grandfather cooha also figures in the sacred poems of the Manchu where he is portrayed as a warrior on a battlefield. Other great Manchu holy spirits include buku manni of the He family in Heilongjiang province, Huyanqi manni a deity who uses a three-pronged horse spear who is a deity of the Shi family in Jilin province, Shulu manni, literally ‘he who handles an iron bar,’and the ‘grandfather of the first generation’and the ‘grandfather of the fifth generation.’These spirits all perform dances which are revelations of heroic deeds performed by these deities and which demonstrate each spirits"" skill of a martial type.

For example, when the shaman of the Shi family invokes the spirit "Grandfather of the First Generation", then this deity performs the deed of "running on fire. " This skill is enacted in the following way: A rectangular coal pit ten meters long and five meters wide is built and filled with thousands of coals. The coals are set alight and are made to blaze strongly. Once the coal has burned down a little, the shaman""s helpers pat the coal down with wooden sticks until the surface of the pit becomes flat and hard. At the same time the shaman holds a gida (a lance) in his hand. He then leads about a dozen of his helpers, who hold in their hands knives, iron hammers and horse spears, to the pit and together they proceed to run barefoot over the burning coals. Sometimes, with the guidance of the shaman, the helpers follow the rhythms of drums and dance around the pit. The shaman, using the gida, makes stabbing gestures with the weapon, attacking invisible enemies and demons. From time to time, the shaman""s assistants also run to the fire pit. A legend about the first-generation ancestors recounts that in ancient times, the great shamans of the Shi family and the Ao family had a martial arts competition. The Shi family shaman said: " I can change myself into a fish in order to cross the river. " The Ao family shamans said: "I can sit in his holy drum to cross the river. " When the competition began, the Ao family shaman sat proudly on the holy drum and floated to the center of the Sungari River. Then suddenly, a large fish appeared and almost capsized the Ao family shaman. The Ao family shaman knew quite well that this was a trick executed by the Shi family shaman, so the Ao family shaman used his three-pronged horse spear to prick the back of the fish and wounded the Shi family shaman. Several days later the shaman of the Shi family died. His coffin was put on the bank of the Sungari River, but it was not buried. The Ao family shaman knew that Shi family shaman was proficient in the " holy skills," so the Ao family shaman set fire to the coffin. The fire lasted for three days and three nights. On the third night a red light flew up from the ashes of the coffin to the Changbai Mountains, where it became a spirit. Later this spirit became the grandfather of the first generation of the Shi family. Hence the first Shi family""s shaman""s dance is called "running on firE. " The reenactment of the deed of first generation grandfather of the Shi family i. e., "running on fire" is an activity often performed by the shaman""s of the Shi family. It is a particularly well-known shamanic dance among the Shi family of Jilin province. [5]

2. Magic acts. This type of activity is a rare shamanic offering-practice which is seldom performed by Manchu shamans. Nevertheless, I had occasion to attend the magic act of a Shi family shaman manifest as water bird god. [6] The performance ran as follows: All lights and fires were put out. In the dark,the shaman held a gida (a lance), and danced to the beat of a drum whilst vigorously stirring water around in a large vat. Suddenly, the water started heaving, stones started falling from above and the whole house started to make crackling sounds. It was as if many birds were present on a shingle beach.When the light was turned on, stones were scattered throughout the house and water stains were everywhere. At this point, the audience rushed up to the shaman and grabbed any stones which he held in his hands. It is said that a single stone has many magical properties, including the power to vanquish demons and to cure diseases.

3. Artistic dance acts. The performance of dance as art refers only to those dances which are performed by those gods who are superior dancers. For example, the god Maksi Manni worshipped by both Yang and Shi family of Jilm Province and the "Golden Flower Fire God" worshipped only by the Shi family are highly skilled dancers. In Manchu, maksi is the imperative form of the verb maksimbi (‘to dance’) and means ‘command to dance.’In other words,among the Manchu Maksi Manni is the " God of Dance. " This god""s dance movements run as follows: the shaman grabs a drum and holds the ribbons extending from his sacred hat in his hands. He dances with two helpers who ring bronze bells. The shaman and his two assistants dance to the beat of the drum.Sometimes they hold one hand up to their foreheads and place the other behind their backs, or they walk in the shape of a "V" and the shape of a "+".

On other occasions the shaman and his two assistants dance in a circle.On these occasions the shaman""s assistants sing: "Maksi Manni, you live on the ninth peak of the Changbai Mountains and reveal your dances to us!"

In the past the shaman would dance with three or more assistants and formed groups of four or six in order to give a performance. Sometimes there were six persons performing the dance but it was necessary to always have even numbers. Another Manchu deity skilled at dancing is the "Golden Flower Fire God. " The Shi family call this deity aisin tuwa ilha enduri, where aisin is ‘golden’and ilha is ‘flower,’tuwa means ‘fire’and enduri is ‘god.’This deity""s dance proceeds as follows: the shaman and an assistant hold burning joss-sticks in their hands and make " + " patterns in the air. When everything is ready, all lights are turned off and at that moment the sound of the "grabbing" drum also stops. All that can be seen now are the movements of the burning incense sticks in the air which are accompanied by the jingling sound of the shaman""s waist bells. Sometimes the incense sticks are held up high, sometimes they are held down low and sometimes they are brought together.

4. Acts of technical skill. Certain techniques such as "climbing the knifeedged mountains" and "swaying the fire chains," are also performed by Manchu shamans When manifest as various high deities. In this paper I will introduce only one such shamanic technique as perforwed by the "Spotted Leopard Fire God" or Tuwa yarha jihana in Manchu. Where tuwa is ‘fire,’yarha is ‘leopard’and jihana means ‘spotted.’Although this god often walks around, its main characteristic is that it roars alot. First of all, the bells on the shaman""s waist are wrapped up in the shaman""s skirts. When the " Spotted Leopard Fire God" enters the shaman""s body, the shaman immediately drops to the ground and begins to walk on all fours. Sometimes he puts his hands in his lap in order to look around, and may roar loudly. The shaman""s helpers then hold up some burning coals which the shaman puts in his mouth. At this moment all the lights go off. The shaman""s cheeks are burning red and he spits sparks, some of which are over a meter long. Puffing and blowing sounds are heard emanating from the shaman as " Spotted Leopard Fire God. " In this way the shaman as "Spotted Leopard Fire God" dances and turns around to the rhythm of the drum.

COMBINATION DANCES

Combination dances are those which are composed of heroic deeds and other types of activity representative of a particular god. Take as an example the Baturu Manni god (baturu means ‘valiant’or ‘brave’) i. e., the " Valiant God" of the Shi family. On this occasion, the deity""s dance is called "walking in formation. " Wearing a sacred cap and holding a three - pronged horse spear, the shaman waves the spear and dances to the rhythm of the drum. The shaman is followed by nine helpers who all hold yellow flags. One of these flags is bigger than the others, and on this flag there is a drawing of a winged-tiger in flight. All the other flags are also decorated with drawings of animals respectively a: wolf, tiger, jackal, leopard, snake, python, eagle and hawk. The shaman rushes ahead of his followers shouting and attacks invisible enemies. The shaman""s helpers follow him, shouting and fighting too. On other occasions the shaman""s helpers walk in the shape of "8" at which point a drum is played very fast. The shaman and his helpers form a circle or a ("V") shape and cross their flags. The shaman and his helpers may vary the formation of the dance from time to time. This dance is representative of a type of close fighting style in which the Manchu engaged during battle.

Although materials and information about the above three dance types are mainly taken from the Shi family in Manchuria (only a few examples are taken from the other families) this paper is comprehensive since only these three types of shamanic dance performance are practised among the Manchu. The main differences which exist among the shamanic dances of the Manchu concerns the style of dance and not the equipment used nor the deities invoked.

As we have mentioned before, there are a many high deities, but each high deity has its own method of being invoked. So, if one would like to invite a certain high deity, one has to dance in the manner to which the deity responds, i. e., there is a dance which is unique to each deity. Then, the shaman invites the high deity in front of the altar set-up for that particular deity,after which point the deity contacting state is achieved.

How can one recognise which deity has been summoned? There are two ways of establishing the deity""s identity: firstly, one may ask the deity where he or she lives, and secondly, one observes which type of weapon the deity uses.For example, the eagle god comes from the white mountain, in the upper air and lives in the "golden house" on the summit of the first mountain. The eagle god does not use any weapons at all, and will throw away the drum the shaman uses to invoke him. Other deities include the god Batuzeng Manni who lives in the "golden house" in the Changbai Mountains, travels along the Sungari River and uses the large fork as a weapon. Also, the snake deity resides in the Changbai Mountains and travels along the Nisihai River. The "Golden Flower Fire God" or the Jinhua huoshen comes from the Red River. Usually, once the deity has been invoked by the shaman through dance, the shaman""s assistant will ask questions pertaining to the deity""s identity. The deity replies, telling the assistant where he comes from and which weapon he needs. If the shaman""s assistant gives the deity a weapon which he does not want, the deity will discard it immediately. If the weapon is the correct one, the shaman as deity will start to dance to the rhythm of the drum. Every song that is sung during a shamanic performance is sung in Manchu. Manchu deities are only spoken to in Manchu.

All Manchu deities live in and around the Changbai Mountains and thus one can conclude that the Shi family and other Manchu families have been living in this area for a long period of time. Additionally, one can state that shamanism among the Manchu possesses many local features and is a particular kind of shamanism unique to the Changbai Mountains area.

The three shamanic dance forms mentioned above were all observed by Chinese scholars. Altogether 21 shamanic dances were recorded on video tape.I too witnessed these dances in the field. During the time that I was in the field the person who acted as the big shaman was Shi Zhongxuan, who was 64 years old that year and came from Dong village, Jintai county of Jilin province. Shi Zhongxuan had been a shaman ever since he was 10 years old. His nickname was "Small Muddlehead," because when he became a shaman he got the disease "muddlehead. " Only after Shi Zhongxuan promised to be a shaman did he become clearheaded again. Shi Zhongxuan kept his nickname until his death in 1990. He performed shamanic dances on many occasions and became a skillful old shaman.

In the Shi family the shaman""s assistants are Shi Qingmin, Shi Qingquan,Shi Wenkai and Shi Dianta. These shaman""s assistants are fully versed in the process of making ceremonial offerings and help to perform offerings to the deities alongside the shaman. The shaman""s assistants can also explain all the activities in the Sacred Book of the Shi Family. The shaman""s assistants are considered an integral part of any deity offering activity and they work closely with the shaman.

The members of the Shi family are found scattered throughout the mainly Han populated villages of Dongar and Xiao, Jintai county, Jilin province. All these families once lived along Sungari River, until they joined the Manchu leader Nurhachi and moved south. In the first year of the reign of emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, they received the imperial edict to go to Wula to dive for pearls and to hunt marten. Indeed, the Shi family went to Wula to be servants. The Shi family then belonged to the "Plain Yellow Banner". Because the Shi family lived in a remote and isolated area, they seldom had contact with the outside world and hence retained many ancient customs and practices, the foremost of which is their unique type of shamanism.

Notes:

[1] Institute of Nationalities Studies

[2] The Sacred Book of the Shi Family is a Manchu manuscript which records many ceremonies of worship (including the worship of holy spirits), sacrificial offerings and sacred shamanic poems.

[3] The shaman varies his shamanic dress according to which deity he intends to invoke. For example, the shaman wears both ribbons and bells for an invocatory dance designed to invoke bird gods. However, when the shaman invokes snake deities he neither wears his sacred cap nor his waist bells.

[4] Interestingly, during the height of trance, both Yang and Guan family shamans are able to manifest alternately as hawk deity and as hunter feeding or teasing the hawk god.

[5] Investigation shows that the fire pit mentioned in the legend does in fact refer to the Sungari River, which used to emit large flames more than a foot in height. At this time it was said that the fire "spirit" or "power" was great. I had the opportunity in 1987 to witness flames shooting from the shaman""s fire pit which were not as strong as those metioned in the legend. The weakening of the flames is caused by the general weakening in the abilities of shamans and their helpers who had not had the opportunity to practise the deed for many years and were considered less skillful than the shamans of olden times.

[6] In the Sacred Book of the Shi Family, the water bird god is called anyan muke gasha enduri, where anyan means ‘white,’ muke is ‘water,’gasha is ‘bird’and enduri is ‘god.’The whole literally translated is ‘white water bird god’.