Dancing to Drums, Singing to Sweethearts

Do not miss the bright and lively Ansai Folk Culture Museum in north Yan'an City. Naturally, the coed Ansai Waist Drum troupe greeted us in the forecourt with a lively performance of leaps, kicks and turns.

You would think we might find these groups rather ho-hum by now but that isn't possible. Each is unique, participants are enthusiastically engaging and the sight and sound is irrepressible. It's a show that injects endorphins into the audience.

The museum's contents were a perfect match. Ansai is known as a center for folk art - the dance we had just seen, paper cutting, embroidery, songs and so-called "farmer paintings".

The paintings grab your eyes. In the 1950s. the Communist party encouraged residents of farm communes to try painting. Some did, some didn't, but today's artists, many of them women, produce charming depictions of rural community life.

People, animals, legends, everyday activities are portrayed in vivid colors. Initially seen as naive and simple, they represent an uncanny sense of complex design, tonal balance and skill.

It is hard to tell which came first, these sculpted clay animals and creatures on display or Maurice Sendak's creations.

Nothing is too mundane to be embroidered with colorful designs. Shoe insoles,

wall hangings

pillows,

hanging ornaments,

toys, nothing escapes the needle workers' enhancements.

Debi follows directions.

After trying our hands at paper cutting, it is impossible to conceive of the patience and skill required to make any of the mural-sized creations on display. Debi completed hers - I believe it was referred to as "window blossoms" - but I had tried during an earlier visit to China and chose to watch.

Ta-Da!

Our teacher, reputedly the best in the area, displayed a one-of-a-kind silk scarf done with paper cut art and farmer paintings.

This is an area of hills and valleys and over the years sweethearts developed the art of singing love songs to one another across those distances.

We were treated to an example.

Meanwhile, members of the waist drum group gathered in the museum and began showing our colleagues how it is done.

We wanted to to stay longer but in Shaanxi there is always more to see.

Forgotten Story of Cai Lun, Creator of Paper

Scrolls of papyrus and bamboo shoots were cumbersome and heavy, silk was expensive. Cai Lun (61-121 A.D.) developed the solution, paper, and civilization has been grateful ever since.

Grateful, but forgetful. Cai Lun, ranked by experts as the seventh most influential man in history, is virtually unknown in the West. The Good Girls certainly had never heard of him and neither had our fellow writers and photographers who were along on this Shaanxi adventure. That is until we were taken to Longting Town, given to Cai Lun by the grateful emperor and where he is buried.

Officials at Longting waiting to greet us.

At the age of 15 he had been selected to work for the royal family and rose quickly in their esteem. As one of the emperor's most trusted eunuchs, he was invited to sit in on meetings and record them.

The story goes that on a rainy, muddy day, he had loaded a cart with important scrolls of bamboo strips to take home and read. En route the ox stumbled, the cart overturned and the scrolls fell out. As Cai Lun struggled to reload them, he decided there must be a better way to preserve documents.

There was. After much experimentation, he developed the methods for combining bark from trees, hemp, waste, old rags and fish nets, macerating and soaking it until it could be lifted out of the water and dried to form sheets of paper.

 He showed it to the emperor who issued a decree that the whole country should adopt it. Cai Lun was given a new title, Marquis of Dragon Pavilion, and a village, which quickly became a center of paper making. His invention was called the Marquis Cai Paper. 

Later, Cai Lun was accused of treasonous palace intrigue. Rather than go through an investigation, he bathed, dressed in his finest robe and took poison. Eventually he was absolved and reburied in a proper tomb.

The site is an humble one by comparison to others we had seen. You enter a memorial filled with

paper-making implements used during his lifetime,

 a portrait

and scenes from his life and paper-making.

You exit to a modest, tree-shaded garden.

Beyond is the grass-covered tomb. Very low-key for a man whose contributions out rank those of Gutenburg, Galileo, Aristotle, Pasteur and Einstein.

We toured through The Museum of Cailun Paper Culture next door to see Cai Lun's process at work.

From the collection of materials,

their soaking,

Debi tries out the maceration device.

 maceration, re-soaking.

Once an even sheet can be screened out,

 It is eased off the screen,

slapped on a wall to dry

and voila! Paper.

The director showed us the final steps; in summer, regular demonstrations are offered. There is a small store were visitors can buy hand-made paper, with or without Chinese calligraphy.

Paper is considered one of China's greatest inventions along with gunpowder, the compass and the printing process.

We left with respect and great appreciation for Cai Lun, especially since none of us could have learned, developed and practiced our skills without his world-changing process.

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The Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian

The Good Girls went to Texas to see the rodeo, but we took time out to visit the Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian one day. The exterior building does not begin to tell the story of what’s inside. 

Exterior of Kwahadi Museum in Amarillo, Texas
Photo @ Debi Lander

We were met by Charles Ritchie, the Director, who is just the right man for the job. He’s both compassionate and passionate about the center. You notice the adobe architecture building from along I-40. Inside it contains a museum plus an entry room with lots of paintings, a Great Room for performances and a fabulous gift shop. We found it all quite a splendid surprise.

Charles, Ritchie, Kwahadi Museum Director
Photo @Debi Lander

The center or Kiva is the home of the world famous Kwahadi Dancers as well as an amazing collection of Native American art and artifacts. The Kwahadi Dancers began in 1944, but this, their own building, did not open until 2004.

The museum presents a varied collection of arts, books, costumes, artifacts, and paintings. You can see works by the late author and artist, Thomas E. Mails, covering 14 native cultures. Nature enthusiasts will love the detailed carvings of the Birds of the High Plains by Bob Jones.

Kachina Dolls in the Gift Shop

 I enjoyed the many kachina dolls and handmade crafts and costumes by tribe members. Judy found a horse dance stick, probably Lakota, that had been danced with in the gift shop to add to her collection.

Handmade Crafts

Judy's horse dance stick

We were surprised to learn that the dancers are not Native Americans. It began as a World War II era Boy Scout project. These are everyday normal Amarillo school students, male and female (plus the occasional tag-along little brother or sister) who’ve been encouraged and inspired to join and learn. They perform at the museum throughout the year, and travel during the summer and special occasions. They have danced in 48 states and overseas too.

Kwahadi Dancers perform in the Museum Kiva Room
Photo courtesy of Amarillo CVB

The Texas Commission for the Arts awarded the Kwahadis the Youth Award for Excellence. From a list of prestigious invitations, they were chosen to represent the U.S. at the International Festival of the Arts in Amman, Jordan and were selected by the International Olympic Committee to represent North America in the opening ceremonies of the Xtreme Games in South Korea.

Their performances are based on Comanche dances but are interpreted by the Kwahadi’s. That name was given to the young dancers by the Elders of the Comanche Nation who were also known as Kwahadis.

The dances journey into the folk art of the Southwest, demonstrate prayers and thankfulness for rain, the hunt, and harvest. Some honor our flag and soldiers. They tell stories and encourage folks to believe that persistence can make dreams come true. 

Kwahadi Dancers in costume
Photo courtesy of Amarillo CVB

Through learning and performing, the students experience the rewards of good choices, high goals and commitment.  Ritchie said that many of the past members went on to college, something that seemed beyond reach before their involvement with the group. 

We were very disappointed that we couldn’t watch a performance. If you are ever in the area, or if the Kwadahi Dancers come to your town, by all means, go see them.  And, if you are interested in Native American art, stop by the museum. 

Camden, SC, is a jumping place

Camden, the first inland city founded (1732) in the state, is my kind of town. Gracious homes, many of them antebellum, sit regally on large, heavily-treed lots, and signs of horse culture are everywhere.

A horse-lover since birth, my nose twitched happily at the familiar aroma  of leather and hay and my eyes spied the signs from horse-fenced pastures to the ones warning riders that horses are not allowed on the sidewalks.

Suzi Sale, tourism development director for Camden, filled us in on some of the city's history. Camden was on the Catawba trade path and King Haigler, whose face we had seen on Catawba pottery, is considered its patron saint for all the help he gave early residents.

The town had a large British presence, including General Cornwallis,  and the Battle of Camden (August 1780) was one of the patriots' biggest losses. The next confrontation a year later, the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, although a loss for the Patriots, prompted the British to abandon the city.

Bloomsbury House, built between 1849 and 1854 by South Carolina's third-richest man for his daughter, is now the Bloomsbury Inn, a bed and breakfast.

During the Civil War, Sherman's troops didn't go through Camden, sparing its homes for future generations.

Today, the invasion is of equine enthusiasts who swell the town's population by 10,000 February through April for the Carolina Cup steeplechase in March (March 28, 2015) then return for the Marion du Pont Scott Colonial Cup in November (Nov. 15, 2014) at Springdale Race Course.

Between those, the Camden Training Center and the South Carolina Equine Center, Suzi said there's an equine event of some sort every weekend year-round with the season running late September through May.

A life-sized statue of Lonesome Glory, five-time Horse of the Year, fronts The National The Steeplechase Museum .

It made sense to locate The National Steeplechase Museum, the only one in the country, in the Steeplechase Capital of the world so that's where we headed next.

Colors of Mrs. George M. Sensor, owner of 2014 Carolina Cup winner Top Striker.

Colors of Gregory D. Hawkins, owner of 2013 Colonial Cup winner Alajmal.

At the entrance of the Camden cottage-style building  you encounter two lawn jockeys painted in the colors of the most recent winners of the Carolina and Colonial Cups races.

Inside, if you're lucky, you meet Hope Cooper, executive director.

Hope gave us a tour of the museum and information about steeplechasing, which, like all other forms of racing, began when one owner turned to another and said, "Mine is faster than yours."

In Ireland and England during the 17th century, church steeples were the most easily points for starts and finishes. Racers had to negotiate any obstacles - walls, hedges, creeks - in between and the steeplechase was born. When the numbers of proud horsemen grew, courses were laid on which more than two horses at a time could race and the sport as we know it today was formed. By the mid 19th century race meets were being held along America's East coast.

Scene from The Grand National by Paul Brown.

Since 1927, steeplechase racing has been a highlight of life in Camden; the museum is adjacent to Springdale Race Course. Today there are two divisions, steeplechases with wooden rail jumps and those with brush jumps like large hedges. The Carolina Cup falls in the latter category. Races are 2 to 2 1/2 miles in length with 12 to 17 fences and last about 4 minutes.

Steeplechase riders weigh in at around 130 pounds compared to flat race jocks at 112 pounds. Most are from England and Ireland; only one American rider was on last year's card. Unlike Thoroughbreds that race at 2, steeplechasers aren't allowed to race until the age of 3, giving legs an extra year to strengthen for the jumping efforts.

Winners' silks and trophies.

Purses are smaller and oh, in South Carolina there is no pari mutual wagering, putting steeplechasing more on the level of a sport than a business.

Jockey silks surround the second floor cupola.

The museum is spacious and airy with silks of winning owners displayed around the second story cupola. Winners' plates and trophies fill niches, paintings and photographs of influential participants and famous horses on the walls.

Spacious and interesting.

In the library are 19 originals of England's The Grand National, the pinnacle of steeplechase races, by famed equine illustrator Paul Brown.

It wasn't the time for Judy to get in the saddle.

A favorite is the "trainer," a mechanical horse tacked with a race saddle that visitors can mount and see just how strong a jockey has to be.

Hope Cooper shows Debi the proper racing form.

Debi was laughing but admitted it was a lot harder than she expected.

I was dying to try it but with a slippy hip and knee-immobilizing brace, Debi had to do the honors. Yet another "next time".

Springdale Race Course grounds.

Walk out to the patio and you can see the grounds of Springdale Race Course. Makes you want to sit, relax and wait for the next race.