Tujia Sayeerhe Funeral Dance

Sayeerhe is a Tujia funeral song-and-dance, also known as 'tiaosang' (dancing for the dead), found in the Tujia mountain areas of western Hunan and Hubei. It embodies a distinctive Tujia view of life and death and is recognized as national-level intangible cultural heritage.

Before the bier, kin and friends sing and dance to the beat of a drum, with vigorous, earthy movements and lyrics that recount the life of the deceased. It sends off the dead with spirited song and dance, turning mourning into a celebration of the life that was lived.

As national-level ICH, Sayeerhe expresses the Tujia attitude of honoring the dead through song and dance and treating death as a continuation of life — a key window into the Tujia inner world and sense of identity.

At folk performances and cultural venues in the Tujia areas of Zhangjiajie and Sangzhi, visitors can watch this striking ritual of resounding drums and answering song and dance.