Munao ZonggeFolk Arts of the Munao Zongge Festival

《目瑙斋瓦》

《目瑙斋瓦》 is a long creation epic that brings together myth, legend, and poetry. It is a living oral history of the Jingpo people, passed from mouth to mouth through generation after generation and inherited to the present day, making it a precious spiritual legacy. The entire epic is marked by regular rhythm and meter, beautiful language, and a magnificent sweep. Beginning with the creation of heaven and earth, it unfolds through a wealth of moving mythological stories, vividly presenting the development and transformation of a people from remote antiquity to modern times.

The epic can broadly be divided into seven parts: the formation of heaven and earth; the conquest of heaven and earth; the birth of humanity and all living things; Ningguanwa’s leveling of heaven and earth; the age of the great flood; Ningguanwa’s marriage to the Dragon Maiden; and the opening and cultivation of the land. These sections advance one after another, recreating a historical current of immense force and grandeur. During recitation, specific forms of music, dance, painting, and other arts are integrated into the performance. Ningguanwa, the central heroic figure of the epic, is strong and courageous, filial toward his parents, and capable of accepting others. The character traits he embodies accord with the traditional moral values of the Chinese nation and have a positive role in fostering and developing the moral outlook of later generations.

Origin Legends

Among the Jingpo people, several closely connected legends are told about the origins of Munao Zongge.

Legend One: The Invitation of the Sun King and the Mission of the Birds

In ancient Jingpo legend, Munao was brought into the human world by birds from the Sun King. It is said that in remote antiquity, only the children of the Sun in the Palace of the Sun knew how to dance Munao Zongge. One day, the Sun God invited all beings of heaven and earth to attend a grand Munao Zongge gathering, and the creatures of the earth sent all the birds to take part.

The nine Sun brothers, who were supposed to appear one at a time, suddenly all rushed into the sky together and refused to return at night. All living things on earth were scorched so severely that they could no longer survive. Animals and humans therefore met and chose “Kongrang” — the hornbill — and “Wudong” — the peacock — as envoys to plead with the Sun King. When they arrived at the Palace of the Sun, the Sun King happened to be holding a “Zhan Munao” and invited them to participate. Their spirited bearing and melodious voices won the Sun King’s favor. In return, he agreed to send the deity “Mudai” down to the human world to withdraw eight of the suns and to divide time into day and night and into four seasonal conditions of coolness and warmth.

Legend Two: The Birds Transmit the Dance and Humanity Learns Munao

The birds learned Munao in the Palace of the Sun and came down to earth to dance it. After Jingpo ancestors saw the birds performing Munao, the Jingpo forebears also learned the dance. The birds’ Munao was thus discovered by the Jingpo ancestors and transformed into a human Munao. It developed during the southward migration of the Jingpo people and has been transmitted from generation to generation down to the present day. For this reason, when Munao Zongge is performed today, the “Naoshuang” — the lead dancers — wear headdresses made with peacock feathers and hornbill skulls as an act of remembrance.

Legend Three: The Hero Leipan and the Battle Against the Demon

Another heroic legend also circulates among the Jingpo people. In ancient times, there appeared a demon king who survived by eating children. He could summon wind and rain and flooded fields and farmland. The hero Leipan led the villagers southward, where they rebuilt their homes, but the demon king pursued them and devoured Leipan’s son. Leipan resolved to fight the demon king to the death. Deeply moved, the Sun God forged a treasured sword for him. At last the demon king was slain, and the people sang and danced with abandon to celebrate their victory. Later, in memory of their ancestors’ glorious achievement in defeating the demon, the Jingpo people began holding the great song-and-dance celebration of Munao Zongge whenever an important joyous occasion arose.

System of Types

Traditional Munao Zongge is not a single fixed form but a complete ritual system containing twelve different types, covering all the major moments of Jingpo society—from war to peace, from production to daily life, and from individual affairs to collective events:

Sumunao — attracting wealth and celebrating a good harvest

Badang Munao — celebrating victory

Dingshuan Munao — celebrating the completion of a new home

Deru Munao — taking an oath before setting out for war

Tingretu Munao — selecting a site and laying foundations

Naosai Munao — recreational activities

Kenran Munao — weddings and marriage

Tingran Munao — sworn friendship and social bonding

Kelong Munao — welcoming guests

Gongran Munao — separation and parting

Zhu Munao — funeral and sacrificial dance

These twelve forms of Munao Zongge record not only Jingpo history relating to warfare, production, everyday life, and migration, but also the content and procedures of religious worship. Over the course of history, Munao Zongge evolved from the coexistence of many different types toward a system in which one principal form predominated.

Cultural Meaning

Before Munao Zongge begins, four wooden pillars known as “Munao Shidong” are erected at the center of the dance ground to worship the Sun God and indicate the routes of the dance. Knives and spears are placed beside the Shidong, symbolizing the strength, courage, and resolute character of the people. According to the legend that Munao dance originated as a bird dance, carved wooden figures of a hornbill and a peacock are placed at the two ends of the crosspieces, while tall living bamboo poles are erected in front of the pillars to signify evergreen life. Munao Shidong is regarded as the “eyes” and “soul” of Munao Zongge—without the Shidong, there is no route or direction for the dance.

Patterns and Symbolism

Each Munao Shidong pillar is painted with intricate and richly symbolic designs, with two long knives and swords crossed at the center. Immediately beside the Munao Shidong stand two raised platforms for musicians, and various instruments—including mang gongs and large hide drums—hang from wooden stakes surrounding the platforms. Centered on the Munao pillars, bamboo strips and other materials are used to form a circular boundary. Jingpo people and guests arriving from every direction, led by the Naoshuang, step to ringing drumbeats and dance to the accompaniment of powerful music.

The designs on the Munao Shidong record the migration routes and spiritual totems of Jingpo ancestors, providing a visual expression of the people’s historical memory. In accordance with the legend that Munao dance originated as a bird dance, carved wooden hornbills and peacocks are placed at both ends of the Shidong, while tall living bamboo poles stand in front of them.

“Naoshuang” and “Naoba”

Jingpo Munao Zongge follows highly specific rules, and the dance cannot begin without the Naoshuang leading it. A Munao Zongge dance formation consists of the Naoshuang group, the Naoba group, and the mass of participating dancers.

Naoshuang — Chief Ritual Leaders

The Naoshuang are the chief ritual leaders, and the requirements governing their sacrificial dance movements are extremely strict. The Naoshuang consist of four or eight lead dancers wearing bird crowns made from hornbill heads. Wild-boar tusks are attached to both sides of the crown, three sacred tubes are fixed to the front, and the top is adorned chiefly with feathers from hornbills, paradise flycatchers, peacocks, pheasants, and other birds. They wear Sun Venerable and Moon Elder robes made from red and green satin and carry Fuludao ceremonial blades. Corresponding to them is an equal number of Jingpo women wearing silver-bubble garments and carrying fans.

The Naoshuang stand in two rows. Those in the front row wearing the Sun Venerable robes represent envoys of the Sun, while those in Moon Elder robes represent envoys of the Moon and are known as the Naoshuang. The women behind them, dressed in silver-bubble garments, are known as Wushuang. The dance skills performed by the Naoshuang follow strict and fixed traditional patterns and prescribed numbers of dancers. At the beginning of the dance, the Naoshuang lead the Naoba group into the dance ground before the groups separate. During the performance, the Naoshuang must know precisely when the two lines should move side by side and when they should separate; they must also know exactly when and where to perform bowing gestures and how many bows are required. They move freely back and forth through the dance lines, allowing the patterns of the entire dance ground to change endlessly while still preserving the traditional order of the Naoshuang steps. Because Munao dance is said to have originated when birds brought it from the Palace of the Sun, the Naoshuang wear hats made with peacock feathers and hornbill skulls as a form of commemoration.

Naoba — Leaders of the Mass Dance Formation

The Naoba serve as leaders of the mass dance formation. They must master the traditional patterns with great proficiency and clearly understand when the two lines of dancers should move together and when they should separate. They must also know when and where bowing movements are required and how many times they should be performed. In this way, they lead thousands or even tens of thousands of people in forming a wide variety of patterns, sustaining the dancers’ enthusiasm through their steps and gestures while keeping the enormous formation orderly, lively, and distinctive.

Naoshuang and Naoba are generally expected to be good-looking, of good personal character, and familiar with the historical origins of the tradition. Traditionally, they are selected strictly through divination because Munao Zongge is a sacred ritual activity dedicated to the Sun God. Every movement of the Naoshuang and Naoba and every transformation of the formation contains ancestral wisdom and a philosophy rooted in the worship of nature.

Tens of Thousands Dancing Together

As the music begins, the Naoshuang and Naoba enter the dance ground first, followed by people of different ethnic groups dressed in ceremonial finery, who join them to form a circular dance formation. Munao Zongge movements are simple to learn yet strongly rhythmic, with “顿步摆肩” as the basic movement and a distinctive, clearly defined cadence. The dance is transmitted mainly through elders teaching younger people by word and demonstration, while the young learn through constant exposure, passing the tradition down from one generation to the next.

When Munao Zongge is held, more than ten thousand people may gather from an area extending dozens of kilometers around. Everyone dances together in the same space, creating an atmosphere at once solemn and fervent, with immense ethnic appeal and communal cohesion. Thousands sing and dance with abandon: Jingpo young men flash their long blades, while Jingpo women whirl silver ornaments, colorful scarves, and fans. The singing is powerful, the dance poses constantly change, the steps remain orderly, the rhythm is distinct, and the scale is immense, displaying an exceptionally high level of large-scale collective dance. For this reason, Munao Zongge is celebrated as the “dance of ten thousand people.” It is one of the most spectacular collective song-and-dance traditions in the world today.

Throughout Jingpo history, Munao Zongge has been held for military expeditions, triumphant returns, abundant harvests, weddings and funerals, and the welcoming of honored guests. Munao Zongge is not merely a dance: it is also a vessel for Jingpo epic tradition, faith, and collective memory.

Contemporary Dance Innovation

In 2026, musician Zhen Zhen adapted 《目瑙纵歌进行曲》, a work created in the 1990s by Jingpo artist Shi Legan, and the resulting song 《目瑙纵歌》 quickly became popular, inspiring internet users across the country to dance to its melody. Yuan Zhiping, principal dancer of the Yunnan Song and Dance Theatre and a National First-Class Performer, brought traditional Jingpo sword dance into wider public view through innovative choreography and bold fusion. The sudden popularity of Jingpo sword dance was not an overnight miracle but “a meeting long in preparation.” This wave of dissemination from online platforms into offline spaces has opened new possibilities for the integration of culture and tourism.

Dongba

The dongba is one of the most representative traditional instruments of the Jingpo people. It is a double-reed aerophone whose name in a Jingpo branch language means “a pipe flute with a horn.” Its form resembles the suona and consists of a cow-horn bell, a wooden body, a reed, and a core, with five or six finger holes commonly set into the tube. The cow-horn bell amplifies the sound, producing a tone that may be deep and full or bright yet profound. Crafted carefully from horn and wood, its sound is like the low murmur of the earth, carrying the ancient historical memory of the Jingpo people.

The dongba is used specifically to perform traditional Jingpo melodies and is commonly heard at Munao Zongge festivals, harvest celebrations, funerary rites, and other occasions. It is often played together with large drums and mang gongs to create the atmosphere for collective singing and dancing. It is an indispensable “sound of ritual music” during winter and spring festivals, especially the grand celebrations of Munao Zongge, sounding the joy of harvest and conveying auspicious blessings. During the festival, accompanied by the rhythms of wooden drums and large mang gongs, the ancient and distinctive melody of the dongba lingers above the Munao Zongge ground, as though resonating across time with the voices of the ancestors.

A moving story about the origin of the dongba circulates in Jingpo mountain villages. According to the tale, a lonely boy was driving birds away from a field when he absentmindedly placed a section of rice stalk in his mouth and discovered that it produced a sound. He then inserted the rice stalk into a bamboo tube and created an even more beautiful tone. In this way, the earliest form of the dongba came into being and was passed down through generations to the present day. Today, as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage item of Yunnan, the dongba continues to sustain its cultural vitality through festival performances by its inheritors.

Large Drums and Mang Gongs

Large drums and mang gongs are indispensable percussion instruments at the Munao Zongge Festival. When the dance begins, “铜芒响，齐举桨” — the sounding of the mang gong signals the formal opening of Munao Zongge. To the rhythms of wooden drums, mang gongs, dongba, flutes, and other instruments, more than ten thousand people enter the dance ground in orderly formation.

The deep resonance of the large drums intertwines with the clear ringing of the mang gongs, creating the most distinctive soundscape of the Munao Zongge Festival. At the Longchuan Munao Zongge Festival, once the ritual concludes, stirring and powerful drum music resounds across Munao Square. People of different ethnic groups follow the steps of the Naoshuang and Naoba into the Munao Zongge ground and begin the festival revelry.

《目瑙纵歌进行曲》

In 1991, Jingpo artist Shi Legan composed 《目瑙纵歌进行曲》, originally titled 《献给景颇人迎宾曲》. The piece skillfully blends traditional Jingpo musical elements such as dongba tunes and Wenbeng melodies. Its music is forceful, sonorous, and magnificent in scale. It has become the signature musical work of the nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage tradition of the Munao Zongge Festival and a classic cultural emblem of the Jingpo people of Dehong.

The work has continued to be sung and performed from the 1990s to the present day, becoming one of the most important musical symbols of the Munao Zongge Festival. In 2026, musician Zhen Zhen adapted the piece, and the resulting song 《目瑙纵歌》 rapidly became popular.

Wenbeng Tunes and Traditional Melodies

Wenbeng is one of the traditional musical styles of the Jingpo people. Together with dongba melodies, it forms part of the musical foundation of the Munao Zongge Festival. These traditional tunes are taught orally and by demonstration by elders, absorbed naturally by the young through repeated exposure, and passed down from generation to generation. In an age before writing, these melodies were themselves a form of Jingpo historical record—every note was a fragment of memory, and every melody a story.

Ceremonial Crowns and Dress

The ceremonial crown worn by the Munao Zongge lead dancers, the “Naoshuang,” is made from materials including hornbill beaks, peacock feathers, wild-boar tusks, rattan strips, and silver ornaments, giving it a highly distinctive form. It vividly expresses the idea that human wisdom and inspiration arise from the natural world. The top of the Naoshuang crown is adorned chiefly with feathers from hornbills, paradise flycatchers, peacocks, pheasants, and other birds. The dancers wear Sun Venerable and Moon Elder robes made of red and green satin and carry Fuludao ceremonial blades.

According to the legend that Munao dance originated as a bird dance, the Naoshuang wear hats made from peacock feathers and hornbill skulls in commemoration. This distinctive helmet-like headdress, constructed from hornbill beaks, peacock feathers, wild-boar tusks, rattan strips, silver ornaments, and other materials, is the “Naoshuang hat” worn by the lead dancers during Jingpo Munao Zongge ritual performance.

Festival Dress

The Munao Zongge Festival is one of the most concentrated showcases of Jingpo clothing culture. Jingpo young men brandish gleaming long blades, while Jingpo women’s silver ornaments, colorful scarves, and fans whirl through the air. At the festival, Jingpo men wear traditional clothing, carry the traditional Jingpo shoulder bag known as the “Tongpa,” and hold long-bladed props. Their movements are strong and crisp, with an imposing, heroic bearing. Jingpo women wear garments covered with silver-bubble ornaments, and the silver decorations on their clothing ring clearly with every step of the dance.

Munao Zongge brings together song and dance, painting, carving, clothing, architectural craftsmanship, religious rites, customs, and other cultural activities, permeating every aspect of Jingpo social production and daily life.

Worship of the Sun God “Mudai”

Munao Zongge originated in an ancient religious rite dedicated to the Sun God Mudai. “Mu” refers to the celestial deity Mudai, while “Nao” refers to the movements of the sacrificial dance. Munao Zongge was originally performed in worship of the Sun God Mudai. In ancient times, Munao was a ceremony offered to deities, including the Sun God “Mudai,” the God of Wisdom, the Water God, the Wind God, and others.

During the Munao Zongge Festival, respected elders conduct blessing rites in front of the Mudai house and perform the Shougong Duru ceremony for the Naoshuang and Naoba. Before Munao Zongge is danced, the Dongsa — ritual specialist — chants the Jingpo creation epic 《目瑙斋瓦》. Specific musical, dance, and other artistic forms are integrated into the recitation.

Dongsa and Blessing Rituals

Before Munao Zongge is held, a Dongsa — ritual specialist — must be invited to preside over and organize the event, chant the Jingpo creation epic, and slaughter cattle and chickens as offerings to spirits. Munao Zongge is not merely a dance but also a vessel for Jingpo epic tradition, faith, and collective memory. Traditionally, Munao Zongge was hosted by hereditary chiefs and wealthy individuals and was held for sacrificial purposes, celebrations of agricultural harvests, and warfare.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Recognition

In 2006, “Jingpo Munao Zongge” was included in the first batch of China’s National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The origins of Munao Zongge can be traced back to the period of primitive society. In 1983, following discussion and approval by the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, it was legally designated as an ethnic festival of Dehong Prefecture. It begins each year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and lasts four days.

Because of its enormous scale, long history, and rich ethnic cultural character, Munao Zongge possesses extraordinary power to inspire ethnic identification and communal cohesion. Bringing together song and dance, painting, carving, clothing, architectural craftsmanship, religious rites, folk customs, and other activities, it permeates all aspects of Jingpo production and daily life and is of great significance for the study of Jingpo history and culture.

Inheritors

Yue Matong (1941–2012) was a representative inheritor of Jingpo Munao Zongge in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects. In 1980, he became a student of Gong Bao from his village and began learning Munao song and dance. He later accompanied his teacher to numerous Munao gatherings, mastering its traditional rules and ritual procedures.

Zhao Baozhong (born 1959) is a representative inheritor of Jingpo Munao Zongge in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects. He has loved traditional Jingpo culture since childhood and began studying Munao Zongge in 1983, receiving direct instruction from senior Naoshuang performers Yue Matong and Yue Weidong. He is highly proficient in the “Naoshuang” dance diagrams and is able to lead a dance troupe independently. He has traveled to Myitkyina, Bhamo, and other places in Myanmar to participate in Munao Zongge festivals and has served as “Naoshuang” in special Chinese Munao Zongge performances. In recent years, he has served as a “Naoshuang” at the Munao Zongge Festival of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture and frequently teaches the public basic knowledge of Munao Zongge, playing a central role in transmitting the tradition.

Shi Legan is also a representative inheritor of Jingpo Munao Zongge. He adapts ancient Jingpo melodies through creative transformation and innovative development so that they may respond to the times and to modern public aesthetic preferences. In 1991, he composed 《目瑙纵歌进行曲》.

Contemporary Celebrations

Far from declining in contemporary society, Munao Zongge has continued to expand. It has a broad popular foundation in Longchuan County, especially in villages with concentrated Jingpo populations, where people of every age and gender gather at the Munao dance ground during festivals and celebrate with abandon. Munao Zongge has evolved from being “organized by traditional local authorities” to “organized by government,” from “villagers entertaining themselves” to “international celebration,” and from “one ethnic group celebrating alone” to “many ethnic groups dancing together.”

Every year around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Jingpo communities in Dehong, Yunnan, hold Munao Zongge festivals that attract visitors from across China and around the world. Munao Zongge is not only the largest traditional festival of the Jingpo people but also a cultural celebration in which different ethnic groups come together in unity.

The folk artistic expression of the Jingpo Munao Zongge Festival differs fundamentally from the “literati poetry” associated with Han festivals. It is not “written” in words but “danced,” “played,” and “performed” at the festival itself. It does not arise from an external perspective of “watching” and “reflection,” but from an internal perspective of “speaking” and “revelry.”

From the sweeping narrative of the creation epic 《目瑙斋瓦》—“从开天辟地说起，形象地展示了一个民族从远古至现代的发展演变”—to the beautiful legend of birds learning the dance in the Palace of the Sun and Jingpo ancestors learning Munao from them; from the totemic code of the Munao Shidong, where “正中间交叉着两把长刀和宝剑,” to the mysterious solemnity of the Naoshuang, “头戴犀鸟冠、身穿日尊月老袍”; from the deep sound of the dongba, “如大地低语，承载着景颇族古老的历史记忆,” to the melody of 《目瑙纵歌进行曲》, “铿锵雄浑、气势磅礴”; from the lead-dance ritual of the Naoshuang and Naoba, “严格卜卦挑选、分工严密、各司其职,” to the overwhelming spectacle of tens of thousands “踩着同一个鼓点起舞”—the folk artistic expression of the Jingpo Munao Zongge Festival takes dance and music as its twin souls, and ritual and celebration as its core, forming a complete, living, and continuously renewing system of cultural expression.

Munao Zongge brings together song and dance, painting, carving, clothing, architectural craftsmanship, religious ritual, etiquette, folk customs, and other forms, constituting a concentrated expression of Jingpo religious belief, music and dance, customs and rites, clothing craftsmanship, and collective spirit. Munao Zongge is not merely a dance; it is also a vessel for Jingpo epic tradition, faith, and ethnic memory. When the dongba sounds across Munao Square, when the rhythms of the great drums and mang gongs shake the valleys, when the Naoshuang’s hornbill crown gleams beneath the sun, and when tens of thousands begin dancing to the same drumbeat—that is the Jingpo people, through their own voices, their own bodies, and their own dance, offering their deepest and most enduring declaration of devotion to “the Sun” and “life.” The Munao Zongge Festival is, as its name suggests, a call for “everyone to come and dance together.” It is not a performance merely to be watched, but a celebration to be entered into; it is not writing confined to paper, but melody danced beneath the feet, drumbeats ringing beside the ears, and faith engraved in the heart.

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