Dance for blessing

Sani people's faith includes ancestor worship and nature worship, etc. There are many sacrificial activities every year, mainly presided over by Bimo and Shima. Bimo is generally male while Shima is usually female. The occupation of Shima is to communicate between human and god, as well as between human and ghosts.

Traditional Shima Dance in Laowa Village (Provided by Shilin County Cultural Center)

Shima Dance is a kind of sacrificial dance circulated among Sani people for folk sacrifice and Shima for divination, available for women only. When dancing, Shima hold a special sheepskin drum for her to dance and chant accompanied by drumbeats. Her movements include small steps, leap, squat, and jump, etc. In ancient times, Shima Dance was not performed publicly, only used in particular Sani sacrificial and divinatory folk activities including divination and praying when building a new house, etc. In recent years, art workers adapted traditional Shima Dance to form Taiping drum that prayed for luck and conducted public performance, giving the ancient art brand new artistic charm.

Sani dance - Taiping drum

Divination (provided by Shilin County Cultural Center)