Kazakh Black Walking Horse

Black Walking Horse, Kazakh "Karakolha", is the most representative folk dance of the Kazakh people, which is widely spread in Xinjiang inhabited areas of the Kazakh people.　 Karakorakha is a Kazakh word meaning "black walking horse". There is an old Kazakh proverb that says: "Song and horse are the two wings of the Kazakh people". Horses are indispensable tools and partners in the life of the Kazakh people, and the "black walking horse" is a special thing among horses, its image is swarthy and majestic, with a shiny black body, a smooth and powerful pace, a beautiful posture, and the sound of the hooves is like the beat of a drum. Riding on the black horse, as if into a realm of art, people in the dance, the horse is also in the dance. This has led to the formation of the folk dance named Karajokoleha and the music of the same name.　 Karakalakha is an ancient dance, about its origin, there is a legend in the Kazakh folklore: a long time ago, on the steppe there was a Kazakh boy found a herd of wild horses, he waved a lasso to catch a very swarthy black wild horse. The young man went through all kinds of hardships, overcome many difficulties, and finally domesticated it into a good horse. When he rode the black horse back to his hometown, the townspeople came to congratulate him. The young man proudly and wittily performed the whole process of capturing and domesticating the black horse with various movements on and off the horse. Since then, the dance of Karakolakha, which is based on horseback riding and expresses the athleticism of the steeds on the steppe, has been spreading in the Kazakh folklore.　 The male movements of the Karakorakha are brisk and powerful, robust and strong, imitating the walking, running, jumping and leaping postures of the black horse, and showing the rough, swarthy and bold style in the rhythmic movement of the whole body. Women's movements are graceful, stretching, lively and subtle, such as the "Flower Praise" that shows the girl's beauty and pride, the "Shy Peep" that peeps at the lover, and the "Spreading Skirt and Hanging Flower" that leans forward and backward. These movements of both men and women contain specific contents, which are integrated with the performer's inner feelings and humorous facial expressions, and according to the dancer's own level, he/she can give free play to constantly add new contents and movements. Performers often incorporate into the dance various dynamics of labor and life with strong characteristics, making the dance vocabulary and performance content of Karakolakha more rich and diverse, and this has led to the derivation of such dances as the "Felt Rolling Dance", "Milking Dance", "Embroidery Dance", "Milking Dance" and "Embroidery Dance", "Embroidery Dance," "Ramen Dance," and other dances.　 The Karakoleha can be performed at large gatherings or in a small felt room. The dance can be performed by one person alone, by a pair or by a group of people. The method of dancing also varies from person to person and from place to place. Depending on the atmosphere and environment at the time, there are easy and happy performances, strong performances and funny performances, thus obtaining a variety of different artistic effects. Kazakhs in the grazing, after labor, often accompanied by the sound of the piano Dombra jump Karakolha, singing and dancing for a day.　 Karakolakha is accompanied by the music of the same name. This music has a strong sense of rhythm, bright and lively, the melody is like a horse galloping on the grassland. It is played by the traditional Kazakh instrument Dombra, which changes the rhythm according to the speed of the dance and creates similar local characteristics and individual playing techniques.　 Karakolakha improvisation does not require specialized costumes and props, and can be improvised anytime, anywhere. For folkloric events and other performances, it is necessary to wear a felt hat, a shirt and colorful patterned shoulders, pants and boots, and a cowhide belt. Origin and Sources It is said that after the Mongols became powerful, there were many wars over pastures with the Kazakhs, and the wars forced the Kazakhs to gradually migrate to the Ili River basin, and once the Mongols seized the pastures of the Kazakhs and took away their horses. Kazakh herdsmen love horses as much as their own lives, in the long grazing life herdsmen understand the habits of the horse, was taken away from the herd of horses in a black horse especially humane, can understand the herdsmen's flute (Kazakhs a unique musical instrument called the Spuzhi), when the herdsmen anxious and helpless, he sat on the hill picked up the Spuzhi blew, flute with the wind from the hill slowly to the mountains, passed to the ears of the black horse, the flute, the flute, and the wind from the hill slowly to the mountains, the flute. It reached the ears of the black walking horse, which heard the owner's sorrow and sadness, put up its front legs, and ran to the horses, and drove the snatched horses back to the place where they used to live, and returned to the owner's side, which touched the horse herder a lot, and at the same time avoided an even bigger war over the horses. So the horse herders created the "Black Walking Horse" song, and folk artists choreographed the story into the "Black Walking Horse" dance. The performers tell the story in full body language as the music ebbs and flows and moves faster and slower.