Last Saturday marked the official date for Oakland's Dragon Boat Racing Festival. I found out that in China, Dragon Boat Racing is the only National Holiday. Dragon Boat Racing dates back over 2,000 years to the Chinese legend of Qu Yuan. After being exhiled from his land, Qu Yuan, threw himself in the Milou River. In an attempt to save him, local fishermen wildly beat their drums and splashed the water with their paddles to prevent water dragons and fish from eating his body. The modern Dragon Boat Race is based upon the reenactment of the race to save Qu from the waters terrors. The drummer is considered the "heartbeat" of the dragon boat, and leads the crew throughout a race with the rhythmic beating of a drum to indicate the timing and frequency of paddling strokes. The drummer may signal commands to the crew through a combination of hand signals and voice calls, which directs the crew to perform at their peak. A drummer is mandatory on the dragon boat during racing events. There were many teams racing their dragon boats from very early in the day. The races ended with a huge group picnic for the racers. I had never seen the races so I was very excited to chance upon them while I was out studio hopping with my friends.
1 comment:
I've always wanted to see this. My youngest sister was on a dragon boat team in Portland for several years. Training for the races is hard work!
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