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"Danzak" (Scissors Dancers) At the hearth of this dance there is a form of 'competition', Atipanakuy in the Quechua language, where two Danzaks or dancers each one with their own musicians challenge one another; the entire event is accompanied by live music. Two musicians play a variety of melodies on harp and violin; accompanying the percussive rhythms of the dancers who skillfully sound a pair of metal blades resembling scissors, which are held and moved by the dancer in one of his hands. The dancers perform in turn, each trying to surpass the other. The costume of the dancer is bright on the eye and full of symbolic meaning. The dance is a syncretic _expression of Spanish influence and Andean Native roots. The Spanish elements are seen to some extent in the style and colors of the costume, and the musical instruments. Native Andean pre-Inca roots are lived out in the content and spirit of the ritual. It has both religious and social origins. Because of its links with pre-colonial Andean rituals, the dance was forced underground and had to be performed in secret. It was associated with the great religious rebellions in the 16th century the Taki Onqoy, which called for the restoration of the regional Wakas (Shrines) cults and the expulsion of the catholic cults after the fall of the Incas. It has gone from being an _expression of regional culture, and has been declared a symbol of Peru's artistic heritage. The dance keeps alive the ancestral rites and the cult of Andean Gods such as the Apus or Tayta Wamani, spirits which live in the sacred mountains and are represented by the condor. Every year on Easter Friday, the same day on which Christ died, the dead and the living are reconnected. A special ceremony takes place in order to consecrate the dance and the music. All of the dancers make their way to a sacred place where their years of hard work are rewarded by formal recognition on the part of their master. Chicha de Jora a form of alcohol is imbibed. This is followed by the Pacha Tinka ceremony, where the dancer's costume is laid out on the ground, with the sleeves pointing outwards. Another ritual gesture takes place. Alcohol is sprinkled on the costume and the ground, as a way of showing respect and asking protection from the Wamanis and the ancestors. A dancer is not allowed to dance without completing the Pacha Tinka ceremony. It is only then that the music begins, the dancer puts on his costume and the dance commences. The dancers start with simple steps which progresses to more and more complex and highly skilled movements, until at the end, culminates with tests of bravery, magic and feats of endurance, in which, each dancer has to prove his courage and magical skills through fakirs like acts. Without doubt this dance symbolizes the very deep roots of Peruvian Andean culture. |