Malaysian Dances! Part 3: Magunatip (Bamboo dance)

 After learning the Zapin dance moves! We brought in the big guns! We brought in our "bamboo sticks" or more like poles wrapped in green paper! We make do with what we have! When I was researching for these dances, Magunatip really spoke to me! I knew the students would love it, was just something so different, and just fun honestly! Magunatip requires dancers to have agility and skill in jumping/dancing while avoiding getting crippled by the bamboos! Dancers hop in and out of the two or more clapping bamboo poles.

Originated from the Borneo land of Sabah! Performed by the Murut tribe while wearing their utterly beautiful traditional costume! Picture below! This dance originally performed for healing ceremonies and returning headhunters as a celebration (sounds of clapping, gongs and cheering made the blood of nearby villages run cold) is now performed during cultural events and festivals throughout Sabah. Most commonly now, it's performed during the harvest season or weddings as a sign of joy and happiest to their roots!

   Isn't it gorgeous?!

Two people will sit opposite each other and move the bamboos following a rhythm while 2 or more people jump and avoid the sticks! I knew I had to avoid any accidents (can't afford a lawsuit T_T) and the safety of the students does come first! I sought help from Yukari-san and Tomo-san in moving the bamboos while I jump as an introduction. We managed to create a routine where we counted (1-5) and managed to not get hurt! We were ready for the students! 

Video here:

Magunatip (warrior dance)

Students started off again watching a video and were just amazed! They were frightened but definitely ready to be jumping everywhere. I started off with a demonstration, twirl in front of the bamboos and then the jumping starts! We did it by making students follow my lead one by one until they were comfortable doing it on their own! They were later curious about the "Bamboos" and wanted to move it while the others jump around. They learned fast! By the end of it, I was sitting at the side as the students became masters! They wanted to do more tricks but were quickly shot down! 

But boy did the students enjoy it! I for one had fun teaching them about my culture as well as immersing myself in it! 

Miki’s holiday report

Postcard from Awaodori Festival, Tokushima

Thank goodness we don't have to provide our own band to produce the music for Bon Bon!

Every dancing group here at Tokushima Awaodori Festival brings its own drummers; some with shamizen & other instruments, and choreograph their own dance routines (but with the same foot & arm gestures). Some of them had really cool moves & wonderful traditional costumes; nearly everybody wears the signature conical straw hat. And they do this for three nights running?!

Also unlike Bon Bon, the groups move between set places to perform, where there are grandstands for the crowds to sit & appreciate the teams properly. This stops people walking through the groups, which is something that really annoys me when we dance in Matsumoto - it is very disrespectful and potentially dangerous.

And finally, there were no deisel generators chugging out noxious fumes to light the streets. This has to stop in Matsumoto.

There was a good crowd, and all the shops were open - plenty of ramen shops - and the party went on until 10pm. It's nice to see someone else's summer festival, and enjoy as a spectator.

Keep Calm & Carry On Bon Bon!

Despite the apparent threat made to the festival, Matsumoto showed it's mettle Saturday night with a superb turn out to celebrtate the 43rd edition of Bon Bon. Luna was team number one, setting off from in front of the Castle, an honour we all took on board & kept in mind as we paced the rest of the city! Ceilidh and his mate Sola kept on poin the entire evening to earn MVP status, but to be honest all our young troopers were magnificent.

Massive thank yous to dads being vigilant, and to Damian, Naomi, Hannah & Sam for variously keeping us going in the right direction, dancing like disco 1978, and for keeping their elbows out! Yukari as usual on her sensible 'A' game & everyone in the right place at the right time with a t-shirt on etc. Brilliant.

Help yourself to downloads from Flickr (below). As you can see, we had an amazing time :)



Would be remiss of us not to thank the police & emergency services for their extra vigilance & care tonight. We think the only scare was Kaichi being announced lost - just as his mum & dad gave him a thick ear for wandering off!

Another Bon Bon Boogie Night!

The first week of August, hot and steamy, drew to a close; Matsumoto's streets gave way to pedestrians and party-goers! Once again, tens of thousands of people turn out to dance the city streets and join in the fun...and right in the middle is little Luna, led by our merry band of mini-dancers in their smart red t-shirts...and they kept dancing all night long!

We had time to warm up, on Eki-mai, with nobody around - same as last year...but our good friends from the Nagano Pref. Children's Hospital were in front of us. Not sure if they enjoyed the special jelly Damian & Jim had concocted. Contents? Trade secret - but 'special'.

It seemed like a quiet night, and thankfully not too many idiots trying to barge through our group this year. Main problem was Alex occasionally getting too close to the white line in the middle of the road!

 Along the way we bumped into old friends & students dancing with other groups, and others joining us once their more boring teams went home early :) We added a Spanish coterie to our tails for the final swing around the whatever park, behind Yohashira shrine, and later heard stories of Seville & Barcelona while we warmed down over cold drinks!

Thanks everyone who joined us and made Bon Bon 2016 a lovely night out. We think you are great, and we love making this evening the centerpiece of our summers.

You will find all our pictures from the evening at the link below

https://www.flickr.com/gp/saint_george/X1NFwe

We painted the town red - Bon Bon in full Luna colour!

The Grande Depart

 Aching limbs, hoarse voices and stuck on smiles? Sure signs you've been dancing around the town again!

We circled our wagons as the traffic stopped on Eki Mae dori, just after 5pm on Saturday evening, and waited for our red wave to arrive. Busy process then getting name tags secured around children's wrists - we nearly lost a little girl a few years ago & I can't tell you how scary that was. Distributing fans which our students delighted in creating last week, and a bandana to top off the costume.

A Luna Dervish

Important to get dads, especially, in the mood with amber throat charming juice, and network a bit - one of Yamaga's star players came over to say hello, as did a couple of the Yamaga die-hards - good on you guys!

The music started bang on time and we were away, looking fresh and keen...away from the main festival that is, up the main drag into matsuri hinterland. Once again, no crowds, stalls, or mood. Who cares - over 70 of us this year so we entertained ourselves royally, and had a good practice so by the time we did turn in towards the main action, we were on a roll. As you can see from the slideshow here, everyone had a superb time - and almost everyone kept going from start to finish. Awesome stamina.



Proud of all our dancers; the festival is all about you, and you made this year very special. Of course thank yous to all parents and grandparents who looked after us along the way & especially Yukari for dealing with all the unglamorous preparations.

We totally conquered Matsumoto - again!

Find all the photos from Matsumoto Bon Bon 2015 right here

Throwing up with an audience - juggling in hospital!

Usually, the Quad in the middle of the hospital is a nice quiet place to sit and think, enjoy a bit of sunshine and escape the 'hospital' feel of flourescent lighting and the faint smell of disinfectant. On festival day, it became the home to a procession of cunjurors, mimes, jugglers and street performers. As you will see in the slideshow, they had their little audience (not their lunch!) in the plam of their hands.

One big balloon and glowing smiles

I have to admit I volunteered eagerly to be able to photograph this year's festival at the Prefectural Children's Hospital. The red roof is a familiar landmark (which I am sure the helicopter ambulance pilots appreciate) out in the fields of Azumino. My school has deep ties with the hospital, going back over a generation and still going strong now. We really do know how much good is done there, and how much the staff care about the children in their care. We know that some of the patients are very poorly indeed, and others just need to be there for a long time. It is a beacon of hope, as well as excellence.

Once a year, they open their doors and put on an event for visitors and patients. It is remarkable how many people attended, but not that the place was buzzing with tenderness and love. From dawn, a hot air balloon all the way from Saku was anchored, then inflated, in the car park, offering rides above the hospital roof for a pristine view of the Alps on a beautiful clear morning. It was wonderfully heartwarming to see clearly unwell children be brave again, and enjoy the thrill of a very unusual ride. A very big 'wow' event.

Click on the slideshow below for all the smiles!


You can download the slideshow (free) at http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/9p4ld9OFML/

Bon Bon 2013 slideshow

Another summer, and another Bon Bon Festival! Full photo album here

Our team gets younger every year, and we were missing a few noisy stalwarts this time out...and a bit hard for mums & dads to cut loose with toddlers in tow! We also had a new mototrised division - push chairs & prams at the rear.

As you can see from this slideshow, most people little & large went the distance - til 9pm and our finishing line at the top of Isemachi (as the crow flies we went about 75 metres!) and had loads of fun in the process. Lots of jumping & arm-waving, sometimes in time with the music even :) Everyone seemed to have a turn holding the banner up at the front & leading the sedate charge. Thank you everyone for joining us, and for sharing lots of smiles. Of course, a great evening like tonight needs planning & organising - thank you Yukari for going to the meetings, printing maps & t-shirt logos etc...you were super xxx



Thank you also to old friends & family who stopped us to say hello, especially:

• Nagano Prefectural Children's Hospital
• Sayaka, Mitsuna & Yumeka who danced in our very first Bon Bon
• Ayako & her friends, back from college
• Shibaura (where Jim taught back in 1990!)

We are looking forward to August 4th, 2014 already...

Very large grumble though about the obnoxious Yakuza presence, drunk students shouting obscenities "dancing" around our (and other) children, and a total lack of crowd. Seemed to me there were very few people actually watching this year. Have to blame the organisers for making the rules ever more boring and meaningless eg no hats, costumes, rattles, shakers, our large hands...at least there was provision at last for dumping rubbish.

What did everyone else think about the event?

Report - things to do in my hometown: Suwa, Nagano prefecture

Suwa lake firework Festival (Photo credit: Kurosawa Michiyo)

1. Festivals in Suwa

Summer Season: The majority of festivals are held in the summer. You can enjoy fireworks around Suwa Lake in August, every evening at 8pm. In additiona, many "Bon Odori" and "Ofune" festivals related with Suwa Lake are held.
Winter Season: Suwa Lake is frozen in January and February. The frozen lake blessing is broadcast on the news as "God`s walking on the Lake".

2. Onsens everywhere

There are onsens (public baths) which tend to be a bit cheaper than the majority of the high range hotels.

3. Suwa Lake

There are many options if you want to go fishing, boating and walking. While enjoying the outdoors, you can nearly always feel a nice, peaceful wind.

English: Lake Suwa, Suwa, Nagano prefecture, Japan  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. Eating out sight-seeing

Most traditional food restaurants are open near Suwa Lake. Generally speaking, some traditional food is cooked with very unique materials, such as bee larva etc. For your experience, we recommend trying to eat them. If you want to see a beautiful sight, why not visit "Kirigamine kogen". It takes one hour by car from Suwa station.

Posted by Yumi

Strange festivals - La Tomatina

There is a contest called "Latomatina". The festval's rule is so simple. You throw tomatoes!

This festival started because one man threw a tomato to a one man for fun. The man who got hit got angry and he threw a tomato back. they were fighting with tomatoes and a lot of people started to join, and everyone was throwing tomatoes, so the festival started.

This festival is on August's last Wednesday. I want to do this contest because I like tomatoes!

Let's "Latomatina" !!

Mr. T

Strange Festivals - Shouting Festival

In Kyushu in Japan there is a strange "Shouting Contest".

The rule is you shout to the mike and the winner is the person who shouts loudest. I want to do this contest, because I'm really good at shouting, so I think I can win!

Mr. T

Bon Bon yourself silly!

As any fool know, Bon Bon is the BIG GIG of the year in Matsumoto!

August 4th

Can't read the form on the left? Well, that means you probably ain't a Luna student. No problem. (If you are a Luna student, and you can't understand this...Nihongo posting on Monday!)

Want to join the festival? Email oyajim at gmail.com and I'll let you know how you can register. More importantly, we'll send you t-shirt iron-on prints (you buy the cheapest white t-shirt you can), and supply as much ale as you and all the other reprobates we recruit can drink. This will only cost you Y1,000 - and you will not get arrested for singing, drinking and dancing your little behind off all around our historic town!

Can my friends/wives/kids come? Yes, of course - but please register with us by the end of the month.

Can I just turn up? No - dress code applies, and Jim totally hates the idea of giving away beer (hints of Scottish relatives in the closet).

When does this part start & end?

• Meet up 17:30 (don't know where yet). Break up at 21:00 - if you are coming with toddlers, please advise (recommend a 8pm curfew)
• Apres dance knees up - don't want to miss out?!  Tell us the now!

Hinamatsuri - Girls' festival

Hinamatsuri is a Japanese festival held on March 3rd. It comes from an old custom. People put the evil in the doll and float it on the river. Now people celebrate Hinamatsuri as a festival when we pray for a girl's future. People decorate a hina-ningyou and hold a party with the flowers of peaches, hisimotchi (lozenge-shaped rice cakes) , and amazake (a sweet alcoholic drink made from fermented rice).

This is a picture of my hina-ningyou, in my house. I share it with my little sister.

Kamisya - Onbashira in Chino

Image by ijiwaru jimbo via Flickr

An awesome day wandering around looking for logs, drunks, photo ops and sunshine (still a bit nippy in the shade).

People kept giving us booze! I'd forgotten to bring a cup, but it didn't take long before Tana & I had both been collared with offers of sake & ume shu (plum liquour). Throughout the rest of the day we were plied with sake from generous tree-pulling, happi-jacketed, red-faced gents (thank you!)

I vaguely remember seven years ago - I say vaguely because I ended up extremely drunk, skulling sake in the sun & being treated by Bridgestone friends. I recognised the hill, and found a way around the crowd to the top of the hill where the logs were descending (four of them, altogether) line astern, attended by their hundreds of pullers/steerers/cheerers/chanters etc all in their gaily coloured jackets. Everyone was having a good time - police officers being teased by drunk old goats in a way that simply couldn't happen in the UK, cartons of sake or bamboo tubes filled with grog being proffered to friends and strangers alike. By the end of the day our pockets were bulging with cup sake!

As we had arrived the first log (call it the red one) was tipped over the lip of the crest, edged a bit further then bang - one of the big fat anchor ropes snapped & the log et al rapidly disappeared from view heading off to the right of the course. Everyone OK? No idea, but a lot of concerned participants quickly raced up the edge to look over. bizarrely, the same thing happened to the next log an hour later, after Tana & I had wriggled our way to the front. Here it was possible to see the spaghetti of ropes and anchors carefully laid out to help prevent carnage (that's the plan, at least) with teams on either side also help steer & balance the thing - here in Chino the logs have antlers/horns/outrigger looking things (next week in Suwa they do not) with young men proving their verility not clinging on for dear life, more like bull-riders with arms aloft.

Once the hill-drop has been negotiated, the logs are dragged (this 1200 year old tradition would seem to pre-date the invention of wheels?) through the streets - houses lining the course are obliged to offer sustenance to passers-by (all 2 million expected this year?!), and indeed we were invited to in to 'Please get drunk with us'. Hard to decline such wonderfully hospitable offers but I was keen to photograph this septennial event as much as I could. The outriggers barely squeezed between the houses/under power lines; every care taken by the teams to pick up their litter (tree bark mostly), all the while chanting, imbibing, smiling & dragging!

The procession was playing follow the leader down to the shrine, where these logs are raised vertical in a later ceremony (June). Barring the way is a river, which is forded en masse; we were shivering in the stiff breeze...plunging into this Apline run off at this time of year only for the foolhardy! Here, as with the hill, action preceded by lots of shouting & precision lining up; band playing their team tune; old lady wailing in a high-pitched prayer carried afar on the wind. As with the hill, people can & do get killed here, so there were rescue divers in the water just in case. Didn't seem to be any untoward drama today, but pulling a tree into & then out of a river with 50 odd guys on it not the simplest thing to co-ordinate.

As we lurched homewards, more sake from the last team, and an invitation Tana was unable to refuse to climb a bamboo pole. Smiles literally everywhere as everyone intent on having a good time and having it on time. For such a big event, seemingly chaotic, this went like clockwork. everyone has a job, and in the thousands all chipping in (very Japanese) to the greater mission. Really annoyed I'm going to be in Kyoto next weekend - would love to see how things work in Suwa (Shimosya I think?)

Brilliant day out - make a date in your diaries for 2017! Check out the other 699 photos on Flickr

Big Hand Bon Bon

Bon Bon 2007 was a blast; I really hope our "Big Hands" had as much of an impact on the crowd as they did on my arm/shoulder - feel like I played tennis all night! Anybody else sore??

We started off by the back of Parco, looking a bit sheepish & unsure....but that changed as soon as the music started! Eri's buddies jumped into the lead rank and stayed there pretty much for the rest of the evening, giving everyone else something resembling the Bon Bon dance to follow. Thanks guys!

As with every year we had a very young bunch of dancers, who had a blast being the stars of the show. Kayo-chan's niece once again showed us her moves, and again we were stranded for about an hour without moving - this time half-way down Eki Mai dori. Well done all our little ones for staying the pace.

Around about this time one over zealous staff member tried to tell us off for having too much fun & interacting with other groups! As if?! Never heard anything so ridiculous - not allowed to have fun at a matsuri. Anyway, I think she understood English because she didn't come back to bother us ;)...guess she didn't see me getting a bear hug from the Yamaga FC gorrilla

Last year we picked up a Chinese group, this year some home-stayers from the US, here with my old friend Mark Gribsco. Also a few other folks I didn't know, but presumably British, as they didn't mind putting on the Union Jack bandanas. Late arrivals Kouichi, Mark & family, Tsuchida-san padded our ranks welcomely as some tired ones toddled home.

Thanks this year to my parents-in-law for pushing us around - manning the drinks - and to Alex & Martin, Liza, Owen, Michelle for genki-ing up the crew. Big thank you to Maki guarding us, her baptism of fire as we tried to manage without Yuki-chan for the first time since we started joining Bon Bon about 10 years ago (of course she still organised everything!).

And of course a very big thank you to all who danced with us, or came along to cheer us through the streets. Take a moment to share your photos please at Lunasafamily@groups.msn.com and remember to book early next year for "Bambino Bon"!