Every autumn, to celebrate the harvest, the Barhu Mongolian people who live on the Hulun Buir Grassland in Inner Mongolia will gather voluntarily on a vast empty place and dance a highly rhythmical group dance, which is called “Jeerenghei Dance” by the local people, and is also named as “A Circle of Dancing Mongolian Gazelles” or “Digging Through a Hole”. First, all the dancers stand in a semi-circle, hand in hand. Then the two men on both ends of the semi-circle take the lead in dancing a rhythmical stamping dance while getting into the middle part of the circle. The others then follow suitand file into the middle. They will move like this in cycles gladly and never tired. One thing they should pay attention to is that all the dancers must keep in step; otherwise the dance cannot continue. It is said that this dance would help the cattle reproduce and grow in the coming year. |