** Nuo drama in Guichi, Anhui Province
In Guichi, a nuo performance consists of three parts: the ritual, the dance and the drama, blending worship with recreation. Primitive features are reflected in the masks, costumes and props, as well as the overall performance style. This is the oldest dramatic form in China, regarded as a living fossil of Chinese drama.
In the evening, hundreds of villagers travel dozens of miles to fetch the nuo mask trunk from the temple or another clan, and carry it to their own ancestral hall. Every household makes offerings at the hall to honor their ancestors and the gods, and offers chicken blood to welcome the masks. A specially designated person arranges the sacred nuo masks in a prescribed manner.
The nuo drama begins around 7 pm and continues until early the next morning. When the drama is about to begin, guns are fired to announce the coming of the nuo procession. After the performance, the masks are carefully and cautiously counted and placed back into the trunk.
The worship of the god of earth is held during the day. During this ritual, villagers perform the nuo dance to pray for good weather and health. After the ritual, they return to the village to perform dramatic pieces on stilts.
At the Yuanxiao Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, all of the clan members carry the nuo mask trunk to Qingshan Temple to worship the nuo gods.
** Nuo drama in Luoga village, Guizhou Province
Luoga village is located in the Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County in the western part of Guizhou Province. Luoga villagers are the only people who can perform the nuo drama for "Cuotaiji." In the Yi language, Cuotaiji means an "era when mankind appeared."
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