Jiarong Style Guozhuang Evening Party
Jiarong or Gyalrong, meaning a tropical agricultural area of the Eastern Jiamu Mo'erduo Mountains, is located in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River and the Dadu River in the Northwest Sichuan Plateau. It reaches Baoxing County of Ya'an City in the southeast, Danba County of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south, Zhongtang Town of Rangtang County in the west, Heishui County and some parts of Lixian County in the north. In the center are Barkam County, Jinchuan County and Xiaojin County, and the people living here are called Jiarong Tibetans (also known as Chake) who are mainly farmers engaged in animal husbandry (farming in river valleys and animal husbandry on mountain tops). The densely covered villages, terraced fields and the unique geographical environment of high mountains and valleys have formed the cultural form in contrast to the grassland. As people live together, their forms of entertainment naturally become communal. The form of group singing and dancing is now known as the "Jiarong Guozhuang", commonly known as "Daerga"—the most ancient form of folk entertainment in Jiarong area. The lyrics mainly cover the development of Jiarong, wars, territorial changes, as well as the climate change of four seasons, the time of spring sowing and autumn harvest, celebration of bearing children, romance between men and women, the celebration of house building and creation. Jiarong people did not have written language. When a written language was introduced along with the Buddhism, the language was only used by a few upper class people and monks. Therefore, the Jiarong people use Jiarong language as a tool for mutual communication, and use "Daerga" to convey feelings and information.
