Walking up Emmet Street on Sunday afternoon I noticed a black garment lying on the ground. It was decorated with studs and yellow feathers. Two young men were standing guard over the garment, and I enquired as to what was going on. They told me that the Chinese restaurant outside which they were standing was being "cleansed", and a blessing was being offered in the hope of bringing prosperity and good fortune to the restaurant for the year to come. This blessing would involve a line dance, which brought to mind denim and stetsons. Not very Chinese, I thought. Within moments, this duo were joined by 16 people dressed in similar attire, and a street band was formed. Two members climbed under the garment, creating a lion. Other members conducted and performed percussion using drums, gongs and clash cymbals, to which the lion danced. Ah I see... LION dance.
Lion Dance / Cleansing - Marigold Restaurant & Takeaway from Rob Tobin on Vimeo.
">Lion Dance / Cleansing - Marigold Restaurant & Takeaway from Rob Tobin on Vimeo.
The lion approached the doors of the restaurant and takeaway, crossing the threshold and continuing its dance inside before leaving, and "eating" a head of lettuce dangling from a first floor window. The performance lasted about 10-15 minutes, and many passers-by stopped to watch the performance in awe. Afterwards, I enquired further about the process of cleansing the restaurant and the nature of the organisation. I learned that they are from a Kung Fu academy based 25kms away, near Slane. Their repertoire includes kung fu, tai chi, meditation and dragon & lion dances.
Hi Rob, there seems to be an emerging interest in your work in ritual and time, which would be interesting to explore further. Long time being the slow effects of weather and wear, versus quick time being a 10 minute Chinese street ritual.
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering if you might make a survey of your family house in Trim, given it is an example of continued living above the shop? Orla