“A living kumi odori is Okinawa’s proof of a glorious past, celebrating the people’s complex ability to navigate waters between China and Japan, politically and artistically.” 

 

- Kathy Foley & Nobuko Ochner, 2011

(Gallery images 2-5)

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

Kumi odori has long been an ancient cultural tradition of the Okinawan people, all the way back to almost the 16th century.  Its inception originated in the aristocratic class of the royal court and maintained its elevated status up through the 19th century when it began to become more mainstream.


It is a tradition that is essential to the cultural identity of Okinawa which has always faced outside pressure from China, Japan, and then later the United States after WWII.  Although the dominant language in Okinawa is Japanese, its native tongue is Uchinaguchi; an indigenous language that is not only put at risk from mainland Japanese, but also from the influence of English due to American forces being stationed prominently in Okinawa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kumi odori helps to preserve the native Okinawan language as the plays are carried out entirely in Uchinaguchi, but also done in a form of classical Ryukyuan (Okinawan) poetry.  The ryuka is formatted from three lines with eight syllables, followed by one line of six.  One cannot be a performer of kumi odori unless one learns the local language.  The clothing also perpetuates native Okinawan culture; clothes are made through the traditional fabric art bingata, a technique symbolic of the 15th century Ryuku kingdom.     

 

 

 

 

(Image 7: Bingata artist hand painting fabric)

 

 

 

THE STRUCTURE

"Speaking in the Ryukyuan language, Okinawans generally say that they go to listen to kumi odori, rather than see it."

-Matt Gillan, 2008

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MUSIC AND VOICE

 

A kumi odori actor, Majikina Yuko, once stated that for kumi odori actors "everything begins with the voice," (Gillan 2018:5).  The dialogue is delivered through vocal techniques that are stylized to indicate gender, age, and the social status of each character.  Instead of speaking their lines, actors present dialogue through either soft-singing (wagin), which is reserved for female characters or younger, adolescent boys, and strong-singing (kyogin), which is employed for male characters of high status, such as lords or warriors.  

 

 

Music is utilized through traditional instruments such as the shanshin, a three-stringed plucked instrument; the kucho, another stringed instrument played with a bow; hanso, the flute; kutu, a thirteen-stringed zither; and two drums, the odaiko (larger drum), and the kodaiko (smaller drum).  The shanshin is the principle instrument which was brought over from China in the 14th century.  Whether or not its significant use in kumi odori was intended to appease the Chinese with a show of flattery by engaging an aspect of their culture is unclear, however, it remains a symbol of the foreign influence on kumi odori by being incorporated as an essential piece of the musical properties; properties which are more integral to kumi odori overall instead of the actual dialog of the actors.

 

 

The entire context of the plays is centered around the music and songs performed by the musicians.  While actors might sing out their personalities, status, and provide sub-context, the music and songs performed by the musicians – not the actors – are what drive the actions and set the stage for specific scenes.  If a scene is particularly climatic or significant, dialogue will cease entirely, and it is the musicians who bring out the emotions felt by the characters.  

STYLE AND MOVEMENT

 

Kumi odori resembles the Japanese nō in its movements which are simple but executed with tremendous technique and precision.  The simplicity of its movements speaks to the skills needed for its implementation, and like the various forms of song, represent different traits of its characters.  Wunna is stylized for women; wakashu for young men; and nisu wutuku for older men.  The women’s dance is that of a flowing movement, while the men move in abrupt, rigid patterns with the younger men falling in the middle between the two styles. 

 

 

(Image 9) 

 

Facial expressions (as shown above) are kept to a minimum.  The story and emotions of kumi odori speak through the music, song, and dance; although some expressions do convey context.  Lowering of the head can indicate sadness and fear may be expressed with a backward glance.  Despite the lack of overt expression however, it is said that the eyes of a kumi odori actor express emotions, despite the neutrality of the face. 

 

 

Movements through dance are complex and can be explained as to having three levels: realistic actions such as sitting or running; the heightening of these actions to indicate greater passion; and dance in its strictest form that tells the story of traveling or fighting.  In one of the most famous kumi odori plays, Shushin Kani’iri, a young woman searches for her lover in a Buddhist temple, when all of a sudden, she breaks into a series of dramatic swirls and twirls meant to demonstrate her great passion, moments before she is transformed into a demon.  The restriction in movement and especially facial expression in kumi odori speaks to its nature of being a play one listens to, rather than watches.

 

(Image 10: scene from Shushin Kani'iri)