Sani Lion & Tiger Dance

Lion & Tiger Dance  is a traditional dance circulated in the Sani stockaded village of Shilin Yi Autonomous County in Kunming. There must be Lion & Tiger Dance in Sani people's stockaded village as it has been long tradition that on the funeral of an elderly, uncle and aunt's families must organize Lion & Tiger Dance teams to participate in the funeral. Later this dance went on stage for wedding, funeral, and major festival celebrations.

Lion Dance for Spring Festival

Sani Lion & Tiger Dance mainly has two people for a “lion” and two people for a “tiger” accompanied by a band of more than 4 or 6 people. This dance has abundant movements to express sorrow and happiness. Lion & Tiger Dance for funeral has movements including kneeling, holding a bull head or pig head;  festival dance with cheerful rhythm uses movements like head shaking, turning, jumping, scratching and fighting each other. Lion & Tiger Dance is strong and powerful with vivid performance, having high artistic value.

Mask for Lion Dance

In 2005, Lion & Tiger Dance (traditional dance) was included in the first batch of Kunming Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List upon the approval of Kunming Municipal People's Government (K.Z.F.[2005] No. 57). (Text from Shilin County Cultural and Sports Bureau, Picture: Li Kun, Wang Limei)