Hair Dance

Lived in Orchid Island, the Yami women of Gaoshan ethnic minority group are good at dancing named Fa Wu (or Hair Dance). The women, who engaged in the dance, should have a black head of hair and a strong body. There is no limit on the numbers of dancer. They scatter their long hair and sing a song slowly. With their dance steps, they shake their body and hair gradually. Then, they hook on to each other’s arms. Their forearm fold on their chest or they spread their arms to hold on to each other’s waist. With their speeding up and their movement range increasing, they spring off the ground and toss their hair between front and back at the same time. When they toss their hair to the front, they bow down until their hair can touch the ground. Afterwards, they toss their hair over the top of their head, and their waist erect. All their hair is loose at the back of their head now after the state of “standing on their head” momentarily. They dance in such a way over and over again.

Origin and Types of Dance

Dancing is one kind of the eight arts, which uses the body as the language making human movements for the “mind communication” phenomenon in three dimensional spaces to express art, in a general way accompanying with music, an artistic form using rhythmic movements as the main means of performance. Dancing is always with music but also other properties. Dancing itself has multivariant social meanings and effects, including sports, social intercourse, courtship, sacrifice, etiquette and so on.
Origin of Dancing ------- Where did the dancing originate from?
According to the textual research of art and historians, dancing is the earliest artistic form. Before ancient times no language produced, people used movements, expression and gesture to transfer information and communicate affection and mind. After that, till all kinds of sound have been developed into languages and tones, poetries and music have been produced. In the labor, because of making tools, people’s hands became dexterous gradually, and then the painting and carving have been produced. As human evolution, the ability of thinking and the level of knowing beings have been improved, some artistic forms have been produced in succession, such as Chinese folk art forms, fictions and dramas. So to be the oldest artistic form, where did the dancing originate from?
In the tales of legendia of ancient China and ancient Greek, human learn dancing from the lord of heaven, or inspired by the goddess taking charge of dancing. We know that ancient people who understood the conception of God and human did not like the modern people who can distinguish the different between them. People in the ancient times more often than not regarded some person who had uncommon talents or transcendent wisdom, and or made contributions to human as the Avatar. But now, we know that, the various gods are created based on their images. The God created dancing, but after all is said and done the humanity themselves created dancing. Therefore, how did human create dancing?
What kinds does dancing have?
The living dance is including: Custom Dance, Religionary Sacrifice Dance, Social Dances, Entertainment Dance, Sports Dancing, Educational Dance and so on.
And the artistic dance is divided into two types.
The first type is including: Classical Dance, Folk Dance, Modern Dance, Contemporary Dance and Ballet.
The second is type is including: Solo Dance, Dance for Two, Trios dance, Group Dance, Songs and Dances, Musical Drama, Dance Drama and so on.

Wedding Dance- Most Romantic Moment Of Ones Life

A wedding day is one of the most romantic moments of one’s life and is filled with different traditions and trends. Perhaps, the sweetest ritual amongst all the rituals is the first dance of bride and groom. To be prepared for the first dance, you would need to make a little effort and practice. Practice would really make a big difference and it builds up confidence when the bride and groom are in spotlight.

The first dance on your wedding reception is a very special moment on your wedding day. Somehow, it should be a time of reflection, love and romance, many couples fear of dancing, tripping or falling or performing in front of their friends and family. By making a little effort your basic steps can look so beautiful on the dance floor. The wedding dance is considered as the initial experience of ballroom dancing which gives you the feeling of pure romance.

Song selection for the first dance is very important and should be decided with utmost care. One can ask your friends and relatives to choose the right song for your wedding day. You can also take wedding dance lessons to solve your problem of the first dance.

Your first dance will be one of your most beautiful memories for the rest of your life. Taking wedding dance lessons will be an advantage for your wedding dance. There are many dance studios in the US offering dance classes such as dance classes Santa Ana, dance classes Yorba Linda and cover other regions such as CA, AL, TX and other states.

Love Seafood? Trust Sushi Restaurants to Serve Up a New Fare

For people living close to the beach, life would be like a platter full of oysters, and more so in the case of sea food lovers. The mighty Oceans of the world have always been helpful to mankind by providing sea food since life and time itself began, nourishing people and providing them with much needed minerals and nutrients that cannot be supported by vegetarian food. The tradition continues to this day, making businesses thrive and cash in on the human need for a bit of nature’s gift. Though sea fare is available in almost every part of the world, including the land locked areas, it is the dishes served in the native areas that steal the limelight when it comes to sea food. The most common and the most popular of all sea foods is fish, the staple diet for millions of people world wide. If we were to dig a bit further, we would also come to know that the traditional Sushi and Sashimi offered by the Japanese is the best of fish cuisines so far. Fortunately, one will not have to go all the way to Japan for a taste of Sushi, as the local restaurateurs have already realized the gold mine that is Sushi. The craze for this delicious fare is such because of the intricate way in which it is cooked. When laced with toppings of fresh vegetables and fish meat, the steaming mound of rice is powerful enough to make even the toughest of fitness freaks gobble it up without a trace of guilt! Many local restaurants and eateries now serve Sushi, much to the delight of the foodies, who continue to enjoy modified versions of the original fare, due to the lack of the Japanese touch.It is common knowledge that sea food has always been a constant in the world of cuisines, with its wide variety of dishes ranging from the expensive Caviar to the more modest Salmon pickle, that can bring back good old memories of simmering broth from home, to those who work in the cities, away from their hometowns by the sea. While a few aqua species are specific to a particular country, world wide shipping makes it possible for the food lovers to enjoy a bit of foreign fish, though at a comparatively higher cost of course. With more and more people wanting to try out new things with each passing day, more and more restaurants are now opening up across the world, concentrating only on the availability of those food items that cannot be found anywhere else, which is precisely the need of the hour and which is also sure to put these restaurants apart from the rest.This would perhaps be the main reason why we see a lot of Sushi restaurants mushrooming everywhere, promising treats with the help of Japanese cooks, who alone can do justice to the dish. Apart from the most popular and favorite dishes, Sushi restaurants also serve a lot of other items, all of which include sea food, made exclusively for your culinary tastes. Though a few food items may be a little on the expensive side, they are worth the money, provided you are a foodie who can love and enjoy the many varieties in sea food. For those who wish to have a taste of sea food without having to spend too much, Sushi restaurants would be the ultimate answer. Eating joints that cater to students and young crowds, are often affordable eateries that miss out on the five star treatment while providing you with mouth watering food. Since the latter sounds more beneficial than the former, it is advised that one hit the local joints first, that offer sea food and proceed if you develop a liking for it.Also, people who love a bit of cooking can as well make home made recipes that are more often than not better than the expert cooking at the restaurant. All that you will ever need to make your own sea food is a proper guide that will give you a fair idea of how to treat the raw materials, which then go on to become a gastronomic delight

Cultural differences in Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”

Literature has the capacity to provide insight into cultures from around the world. In the books one reads and the stories one hears, glimpses of different worlds become apparent and one is able to see how the different aspects of a culture work together to create a national identity. The music, cuisine, language and art depict much of what a culture consists of but some of the most important cultural cues come in the types of relationships formed between people. Whether the stress is on friendships or in intimate relationships can say much about a cultural identity. In the novel “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, American and Afghanistan cultures are compared and contrasted through the types of relationships that are formed by the main character and protagonist, Amir. The novel begins in Afghanistan, the childhood home of Amir. In this part of the novel, there is a complete absence of women and the stress of relationships lies on the ties that are formed between males. Amir nor Hassan have a mother and there is absolutely no mention of women or the part they play in daily life in Afghanistan. Instead, there is much focus on the ties that exist between father and son and in the friendships made between males. There is the relationship between Hassan and his father, between Amir father and his best friend as well as the central relationship between Amir and his father and the friendship between Amir and Hassan. The relationship between Amir and his father, Baba, is a very strained one. Amir is continually vying for his father’s attention and feels as though he constantly falls short. In contrast, the father and son relationship between Hassan and his father is full of love, understanding and comradeship. The friendship between Amir and Hassan is a central relationship throughout the entirety of the novel and showcases the brother-like understanding between the two boys during their childhood. In their friendship one understands the strong bonds that can exist between two boys who grow up together. Their childhood together creates between them a bond that will last through the subsequent war and through another generation. Likewise, the friendship between Amir’s father, Baba and Rahim Khan shows the loyalty and trust that can form between two men in a culture that emphasizes the relationships and friendships among men. In Afghanistan there is a strong focus on male to male relationships. This reflects a cultural difference to the Western world in which the focus on relationships lies in male to female relationships, which one sees in the second half of the novel.

Himalayas

The Himalayas or "abode of snow" is in fact the youngest and highest mountain system in the world. It extends over 2,400kms as a vast south-facing area between the Indus and Brahmaputra rivers with Nanga Parbat (8,125m) and Namcha Barwa (7,755m) as its terminal high points. Fully a third of 800kms of its central section traverses Nepal and is known as the Nepal Himalayas, Here congregate more than 250 peaks that exceed 6,000m in height-a unique concentration of lofty dazzling summits. Of the thirty one Himalayan peaks over 7,600m, twenty-two like in Nepal Himalayas including eight of the world's fourteen highest giants. These are:
Sagarmatha(Mt. Everest)
8,848m
Kanchenjunga
8,586m
Lhotse
8,516m
Makalu
8,463m
Cho Oyu
8,201m
Dhaulagiri
8,167m
Manaslu
8,163m
Annapurna
8,091m
The Himalayan range within Nepal fits into a geographic pattern as the culmination of a series of parallel ranges. The main mountain region, represented by the eternal ranges, lies about 90kms north of the Mahabharat Lekh. The intervening space between the two parallel ranges is made up of the lower belt of the low hills (Pahar) and the higher belt of elevated ridges (Lekh) that provide the first intimation of the high snow continuous range but rather a chain of lofty ridges separated by deep gorges. Each of these mountain chains or Himals in turn sends out a maze of spurs studded with numerous peaks.
In the western and central Nepal, there is yet another mountain range that defines the boundary between Nepal and China. This border range has elevations ranging from 5,000 to 6,000m with comparatively less rugged relief but a harsh climate. Between the main Himalayan range and these border ranges lie some of the elevated Bhot Valleys.
Much of the high country above 5,000m is under the realm of snow and ice although the permanent snow line may vary according to aspect and gradient. Winter snowfall occurs up to an elevation of 2,000m and is much heavier in the western part. While winter is harsh and bitter, summer is the season of alpine flowers and is the time of the year when the high pastures teem with grazing animals from lower valleys. For the mountain communities, it is the time for harvesting their main crop before their winter migration to warmer climates.

Religion in Nepal

In Nepal, religion is not just a set of beliefs and accompanying rituals handed down from generation to generation; rather it is a complex intermingling of traditions, festivals, faiths and doctrines that have permeated every strata of Nepalese Society in such a way as to become the very heartbeat of the nation.
Nepal is famous, as the world's only Hindu Kingdom. However, it is an intricate and beautiful tapestry formed by the interweaving of Hinduism, Buddhism and other beliefs. Religious tolerance and harmony such as is found in Nepal, is perhaps a unique example to the world.
Religions in Nepal are:
1. Hinduism2. Buddhishm3. Tantrism 4. Islam and Christianity
1. Hinduism:
It seems that the first people to set foot in the ancient Nepal were Aryans. The Aryans' basic beliefs are recorded in the Vedas, a collection of over one thousand religious hymns that were to form the foundation of the polytheistic religion of Hinduism.
Hinduism has a basic trinity of three gods-Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Most Hindus, while revering Brahma, do not usually include his worship in religious ceremonies as his role in the universe is regarded to be essentially completed. Vishnu and Shiva, however, are very important to all the Nepalese Hindus.
Vishnu, whose primary duty is to assure the preservation of the world and all living forms, is believed to have visited the earth ten times as "avatars" or incarnations. He is also believed to have come to the earth as a Varaha, as Prince Rama, as the god Krishna and as Lord Gautam Buddha.
Shiva, the Destroyer, is believed to have three forms-Natraj the god of artistic skill, an anthropomorphic form and the Lingam form, the latter being the most famous Lingam is situated in the north-west of Katmandu. In front of any Shiva temple, one usually sees a statue of Nandi, the divine bull that serves as Shiva's vehicle. In anthropomorphic form, Shiva is depicted with his consort Parbati and usually holds a trident and a small drum. Another popular form of Shiva is terrifying Bhairav, who himself has a number of different forms.
Two of Vishnu's other incarnations- Rama and Krishna-are especially important to the Hindus. Rama and Krishna are the heroes of the classic Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharat respectively.
Another widely venerated god is Ganesh, one of the sons of Shiva. Ganesh is revered in Nepal as the god of wisdom and the deity responsible for deciding between success and failure.
In practice, the Nepalese Hindus may choose one particular god as a favorite deity to be worshipped daily, or more likely will give due deference to all the above-mentioned gods and goddesses, along with many other incarnations and deities. Nepal's many Hindu festivals are dedicated to dozens of different deities and are participated by all Hindus, as well as Buddhists.
2. Buddhism
Beliefs and practices of Buddhism in Nepal date back to the time of its founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautam who was born in Lumbini in the southern Terai region of the country in about 543 B.C. Up to the age of twenty-nine, the young prince led a very sheltered life in the royal palace of his father, completely unaware of the problems and suffering of everyday life outside of the palace walls.
One day, he convinced his charioteer to take him outside the palace and was shocked at the sight of an old man, a cripple and a corpse. The realization that there was much misery and unhappiness in the world persuaded the prince to abandon his luxurious life in the royal palace in order to search for enlightenment and the real meaning of life.
For many years, Gautam wandered from place to place looking for a solution to the problems he saw all around him. Finally, while meditating under a Pipal tree, he became spiritually enlightened. Henceforth known as Lord Buddha or the " the enlightened one," began to preach the "Four Noble Truths" to all who would listen. According to this doctrine, people suffer because of their attachment to things and people; in other words, the root of all the problems is desire. These desires and consequently, all problems and sufferings, can be totally eliminated by following the "eightfold path"-right views, right intent, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort right mindfulness an right meditation.
Buddha journeyed from place to place, teaching and converting hundreds of followers and died at the age of eighty. However, his many disciples continued spreading his teachings. At the same time Buddhism splitted into two main schools of thought: Hinayana and Mahayana. The Followers of Hinayana do not worship idols of Buddha as the enlightened prince taught against idolatory. Very few other Nepalese Buddhists have adopted the Hinayana school of thought, choosing rather to follow Mahayana teachings. One of the central beliefs of Mahayanists is that one can achieve nirvana by following the example of Bodhisattvas, Bodhi meaning enlightenment and Sattva meaning essence.
3. Tantrism
Both Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal have been strongly influenced by the beliefs and practices of Tantrism. " Tantra" is a Sanskrit word referring to the basic warp of threads in weaving. Difficult to define due to its varying types and forms, Trantrism is a religion of moral percepts, meditation, yoga, mantras and a philosophy that believes in interwovenness of all things.
Tantrism has greatly influenced Nepalese Buddhism by creating the path of Vajrayana, the Path of the Thunderbolt. The main object used in Vajrayana Buddhist rituals is a small thunderbolt-like sceptre that is said to represent the infinite in three dimensions. A large thunderbolt, or Vajra as it is commonly referred to, can be seen at the entrance of Swayambhu temple at Katmandu on the top of a long flight steps.
There are basically two types of Tantric gods and goddesses: Dharmapalas and Yidams. The former is often depicted with flaming red hair, several arms, legs or heads and three eyes. Yidams are tutelary deities often found depicted in thangkas; like their Dharmapala counterparts, they are ferocious deities with many hands and fiercesome weapons.
4. Islam and Christianity
In addition to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Trantrism, a very small minority of Nepalese adheres to Islam and Christianity. Muslims and Christians believe and practice in much the same way as their counterparts in the western and other countries.