【亚洲·日本】秋保的插秧舞 Akiu no Taue Odori（2009年）

在Akiu no-Taue-Odori，日本北部Akiu镇的居民通过舞蹈模拟插秧的动作来祈祷丰收。从17世纪末开始，在该地区的各个社区表演，今天的Akiu no Taue Odori在春季或秋季的节日期间举行。十名身穿五颜六色和服和花卉头饰的女舞者，在两到四名男舞者的协助下，表演六到十种舞蹈。妇女们拿着扇子或铃铛，排成一排或两排，进行旨在唤起水稻周期手势的动作，尤其是将秧苗移植到充满水的大稻田中的taue。这些表演一度被认为能确保丰收，但随着人们的态度和信仰的改变，以及现代农业技术取代了像“秋野头”这样的仪式，成为丰收的保证，它们已经失去了宗教意义。如今，舞蹈是一种文化和审美活动，将市民与他们的农业遗产、日本依赖大米的传统以及通过民间表演传播的跨世纪群体身份联系起来。

2009年度列入人类非物质文化遗产名录。

来源：联合国教科文组织亚太地区非物质文化遗产国际培训中心

In the Akiu no Taue Odori, residents of the town of Akiu in northern Japan pray for a good harvest by simulating in dance the actions involved in transplanting rice. Performed since the end of the seventeenth century in communities throughout the region, the Akiu no Taue Odori today takes place during festivals in the spring or autumn. Ten female dancers dressed in colourful kimonos and floral headdresses, assisted by two to four male dancers, perform a repertoire of six to ten dances. Holding fans or bells, the women align themselves in one or two rows and perform movements designed to evoke the gestures of the rice cycle, particularly taue, the transplantation of seedlings into a large rice field filled with water. Once believed to ensure an abundant crop, the performances have lost their religious significance as attitudes and beliefs have changed, and as modern agricultural techniques have replaced rituals such as the Akiu no Taue Odori as guarantors of plenty. Today, the dance is a cultural and aesthetic event, connecting townspeople to their agricultural heritage, to Japan’s tradition of reliance on rice, and to a group identity transmitted across centuries through folk performance.

Included in the list of human intangible cultural heritage in 2009.

Source: UNESCO International Training Center for intangible cultural heritage in the Asia Pacific Region