Yup'ik dance orYuraq, alsoYuraqing (Central Yupik:yuraq[juʁaq](sg.),yurak(dual),yurat(pl.)) is a traditionalEskimo styledancing form usually performed to songs in Yup'ik, with dances choreographed for specific songs which theYup'ik people of southwesternAlaska. Also known asCup'ik dance for theChevak Cup'ik dialect speaking Yup'ik ofChevak andCup'ig dance for theNunivak Cup'ig dialect speaking Yup'ik ofNunivak Island. Yup'ik dancing is set up in a very specific and cultural format. Typically, the men are in the front, kneeling and the women stand in the back. The drummers are in the very back of the dance group. Dance is the heart of Yup’ik spiritual and social life. Traditional dancing in theqasgiq is a communal activity in Yup’ik tradition. Themask (kegginaquq) was a central element in Yup'ik ceremonial dancing.[1]
Inuit dancing of their ancestors wasbanned byChristian missionaries in the late 19th century asprimitive idolatry. After a century,Cama-i dance festival is a cultural celebration that started in the mid 1980s with a goal to gather outlying village Inuit dancers to share their music and dances. There are now many dance groups who perform Inuit dances in Alaska. Most popular activity in the Yup'ik-speaking Inuit area is rediscovered Yup'ik dancing.
Both Yup'ik andIñupiaq dancing are also known asEskimo dance in Alaska.
The most obvious ways in which the Eskimo dancing of northwestern Alaska (known asIñupiaq style Eskimo dance) differs from that of southwestern Alaska (known asYup'ik style Eskimo dance) are in the beating of the frame-drum from below, rather than from above; the standing, rather than the kneeling of the male dancers; the very small use of decorative dance fans (de rigueur in the south); and the considerable musical ceremonialism that still survives (which never developed as much in the south and southwest of Alaska, although it certainly existed there).[2]
YuraryaraqsgYuraryaratpl (lit. "way[s] of dancing") orYupiit Yuraryarait (lit. "Yup'ik ways of dancing") embrace six fundamental key entities identified asciuliat (ancestors),angalkuut (shamans),cauyaq (drum),yuaruciyaraq (song structures),yurarcuutet (regalia) andyurarvik (dance location).[3]
Theancestors (ciuliaqsgciuliatpl,ciuliaput "our ancestors") are regarded with respect and believed to be part of the living in Yup'ikepistemology.[3]
Theshaman (angalkuqsgangalkukdualangalkutpl) played a functional role in dance. The role of shaman as the primary leader, petitioner, and a trans-mediator between the human and non-human spiritual worlds in association with music, dance, and masks. The shaman’s professional responsibility was to enact ancient forms of prayers to request for the survival needs of the people. The specified masks depicted survival essentials requested in ceremonies.[3] Shamans often carved the symbolic masks that were vital to many Yup'ik ceremonial dances and this masks represented spirits that the shaman saw during visions.[4]Nepcetat (powerful ceremonial masks) were empowered by shamans. Shamans wearing masks of bearded seal, moose, wolf, eagle, beaver, fish, and the north wind were accompanied with drums and music.[3]
Thedrum (cauyaqsgcauyakdualcauyatpl) is the only instrument in yuraryaraq. The drum is made with a roundbentwood frame crafted with a designed handle and is accompanied with adrum stick (cauyaun,mumeq,mengruq). Traditionally, thedrumskin (eciq orcauyam ecia) was made out of fine mammal stomach lining. The drum was to be treated with respect and used for ceremonial purposes.[3] The Yup'ik calendar clearly marks the seasons and seasonal rounds of activity. The November (Cauyarvik in Nelson Island dialect,Causarvik in Kotlik dialect, lit. "place for drumming”) is the time for drumming.[5]
Thesong structures (yuaruciyaraqsg) in ceremonies are composed and choreographed differently. The ceremonies are accompanied with music and must adhere to specific composition formalities as practiced by Yup’ik ancestors. This musical forms of songs are warm-up chorus (ayakata’aryaraq), chorus (agnera), first verse (apalluan ciuqlia), voiceless motion (cauyarialnguq), second verse (apalluan kinguqlia), encore (pamyua).[3]
The danceregalia (yurarcuunsgyurarcuutekdualyurarcuutetpl) includesqaliq (fancy fur parka),nasqurrun (wolf/wolverine/caribou beaded headdress),uyamik (beaded necklaces),tegumiak (finger mask or woven grass caribou dance fans),piluguuk (decorated boots), and ivory/beaded earrings. Men wear round wooden fans with waterfowl or owl feathers. Today, both female and male dancers wear designedqaspeq (hand-sewn calico pullover clothing).[3]
Dancemask (kegginaquqsgkegginaqukdualkegginaqutpl) was a central element in Yup'ik ceremonial dancing.
Dance fans or finger masks or maskettes (tegumiaqsgtegumiakdualtegumiatpl): Hand-held fans accentuate the fluid movements of a dancer’s arms. They were used in traditional winter ceremonies and continue as part of contemporary Yup’ik dance regalia. Men’s fans, like this pair, have feathers inserted into wooden hoops.[6]
Dance headdress (nasqurrunsgnasqurrutekdualnasqurrutetpl): Women wore similar headdresses, which remain a part of modern Yup’ik dance regalia for both sexes.[7]
The dance location (yurarviksgyurarviikdualyurarviitpl lit. "place for dancing”). Theqasgiq is where people danced in ancient times.[3] The qasgiq, was the community center for ceremonies and festivals which included singing, dancing, and storytelling.
TheYuraq (yuraqsgyurakdualyuratpl) is use generic term for Yup'ik/Cup’ik regular dance. Also, yuraq is concerned with animal behaviour and hunting of animals, or with ridicule of individuals (ranging from affectionate teasing to punishing public embarrassment).[3] But, use for inherited dance isYurapik orYurapiaq (yurapiaq ~ yurapiksgyurapiitpl, lit. "real dance") and yurapik long story dance performed by women,[8] or is a dance style that relates to dance sequences that have no associated song [and] are owned by individuals and passed down through family lines.[3]
Types of dances arenangercelluku (first dances),yagirat (motions dances),cukaqautet (fast beat dances),ciuqitet (contemporary dances),ingulautet (slow dances).[3] Rhythmic dances combined distinct gestures, story-telling, songs and the use of drums and masks. There were six styles of yuraq:arula dances consisting of yuraq, verse and chorus;yurapiat (storytelling dances);ingula dances, which were slow, old-style dances performed by women following berry harvests;pualla dances, primarily performed by men;yurat done totaitnauq songs; andtelciqata'arcutet, or proper entrance dances.[1]
The reasons of the discrediting of traditional native dances are the effects of social changes that came about in the late 19th century as a result offur trade,epidemics, andmissionary activity.[1] Along with the expansion of Europeans and Americans into Alaska were accompanying hardships for the indigenous people: epidemic diseases, strong Christian missionary activities, and western educational policies such as English language-only rules.[9] Ancestral Eskimo dancing and non-Christianfestivities, traditional ceremonies, andshamanistic rites were discouraged or even demonized andbanned by Christian missionaries in the late 19th century asprimitive idolatry. Shamanistic rituals are no longer practiced, although some elders have information about these rites. Song and dance have remained.[10] TheMoravian Church had banned dancing from the villages.[11] Yuraq dancing feasts between villages in theKing Salmon andNaknek region were forbidden byRussian Orthodox priests as of 1933.[12][13] Dancing as part of Yup'ik feasts no longer existed asJesuit missionaries forbade it at the end of the 19th century. Many of these spiritual ceremonies, such as theAgayuyaraq, an intervillage ceremony associated with the performance of masked dances usually at the end of the winter season, were abandoned.[14] Masked dances and the Kelek (masquerade) dances were among the first to be removed from Yup'ik practice. Because of their highly spiritual content, dances were considered dangerous by missionaries who called them "heathen idol worship, devil's frolic and black art".[1]
There are now many dance groups who perform Eskimo dances in Alaska. There are many performances and festivals, however, that are more traditional in their role. Masked dances especially have served as a strong reminder of the connection to the worlds of animals and spirits. Dances embody the Yup'ik conception of the world. The beliefs that stem from this conception are the models by which Yup'iks live. Today, a dance festival, both in preparation and the actual event, consumes an entire village with its significance, just as it did in pre-contact times.[1]
The first Yup'ikdance festival isYupiit Yuraryarait (lit. "Yup'ik ways of dancing") started in 1982 atSt. Mary's (Negeqliq), fostering a revival of the traditions of the Yup’ik people.[15] Concerned about the survival of Yup’ik cultural heritage, the Negeqliq first brought together artists where traditional dancing was still practiced to participate in a festival designed to pass on dance traditions to younger generations. Nine villages inYukon–Kuskokwim Delta came to that intervillage festival. The success of that event stimulated the creation of dance festivals throughout the lower Yukon River region.[16][17] The Yupiit Yuraryarait is a dance festival that is now held every three or four years.[1]
The second Yup'ik dance festival isCama-i (lit. "hello; greetings; pleased to meet you; good to see you again") started in 1984 inBethel (Mamterilleq). Traditional dancers from all over Alaska and beyond participate every March in the Cama-i dance festival. Bethel is unique in the region in having an astounding diversity of cultures, including a large contingent of Koreans. The Cama-i dance festival, an annual event in Bethel in the spring, hostsAlaska Native dancers from all over the state as well asKorean andJapanese dancers, and dancers from other regions of the world and the nation.[18][19][20]