Following the dragon boat events at the Haizhu National Wetland Park and the "Awakening the Dragon" ceremony Nansha, on May 15th, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, villages in Liwan, Tianhe, and Huangpu held "Awakening the Dragon" ceremonies—digging out dragon boats that have been dormant in the mud for a year, in preparation for the Dragon Boat Festival.

On May 6th, people in Shixi Village, Haizhu District, began their traditional "Awakening" ceremony, digging out the "hidden dragon" buried deep under the river. After that, villagers need to refurbish, repair, and maintain the dragon boat, then apply tung oil, and install the dragon head, tail, drum stand, gong stand, and flags. On May 13th, in the river of Xiaozhou Village, Haizhu District, villagers dredged the silt and dug out the "Yingzhou Flying Dragon". Even after more than 40 years, the dragon head of the "Yingzhou Flying Dragon" remains dazzling. After the boat is cleaned and inspected, the dragon head can be installed on the dragon boat.

On May 15th, people in Pantang Village, Liwan District, held the"Awakening" ceremony in Liwan Lake Park. After a series of ceremonies, villagers went to Yucui Lake in Liwan Lake Park, where several dragon boats from Pantang Village, including a 400-year-old dragon boat, had been buried. The "Awakening" ceremony was presided over by respected elders of the village, who sprinkled water soaked with pomelo leaves and wampee leaves on the men retrieving the dragon boats, symbolizing good fortune and smooth proceedings. The men then entered the water, working together to dig out the "old dragon" from the mud, cleaned the boat, and placed dragon boat plaques on the bow and stern. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Pantang Women's Dragon Boat Team. The team's captain and drummer, Cai Shaoling, said that over the past decade, the team has grown significantly, with positions of drummers and steersperson filled. "In the early days, everyone was afraid of getting tanned. Now, the women in the village are eager to join in!"

In the Tianhe CBD, twelve dragon boats from Liede Village, including the Red Dragon, Flower Dragon, Five-colored Dragon, and the historically significant "Champion" Golden Dragon, were all awakened. In Shipai Village, Tianhe District, hundreds of rowers gathered at the dragon boat workshop in Shuanggang Village, Huangpu District, to awaken the "Hidden Dragon". After the dragon boats were retrieved, the rowers carefully wiped them down, and the boats were sent to a shipyard for inspection, adjustment, and greasing. Interestingly, the river storing the dragon boats is also home to many ducks and geese, and some villagers even caught carp, symbolizing the auspicious "carp leaping over the dragon gate".

On the morning of May 13th, villagers in Nansha District's Nansha Street held their traditional "Awakening" ceremony at Jiaomen River. After about three hours of effort, the team managed to retrieve a dragon boat that had been "sleeping" underwater for around 12 years. The ceremony included several steps such as blessing, digging out the dragon boat, and cleaning it. The dragon boat was made without any adhesive substances between the wood, relying on hand-carved joints of various sizes, which were then carefully smoothed. Regardless of the boat's length, the side standing deviation was controlled within 1 centimeter. Thus, even after many years, the dragon boat remained intact.

Source：Yangcheng Evening News

端午左近，广州多区举行龙船“起龙”典礼

继海珠国度湿地公园举办龙船景、南沙举行“起龙”迎端午动作后，5月15日，农历四月初八今日，荔湾、河汉、黄埔等村庄举行“起龙”典礼，将千里睡一年的龙船从泥潭挖出，为端午龙船景作念准备。

5月6日，广州市海珠石溪村民开启传统的“起龙”典礼，村民将深埋于河下的“藏龙”挖起。“起龙”后，村民还需要对龙舟进行改换、查验、保重等，再涂上桐油，装置龙头龙尾、饱读架、锣架、旗号等。 13日，海珠区小洲村的河涌里，村民们捞清淤泥后将“瀛洲飞龙”挖出。已逾40年的“瀛洲飞龙”的龙头依旧光彩属目，在船体被清洗干净、改换寻查收尾后，龙头才可装置在龙船上。

5月15日，荔湾泮塘村村民在荔湾湖公园内举行“起龙”典礼。一系列典礼后，村民来到荔湾湖公园玉翠湖，这里埋着泮塘村多条龙船，其中就有泮塘400多年历史的老龙船。“起龙”典礼由村内有雄风的老东谈主主抓，他们肃肃为下水“起龙”的男丁们泼洒经文旦叶和黄皮叶浸泡过的水，寓意大吉大利，祈愿通盘这个词“起龙”典礼胜利举行。男丁们逐个下水，王人心合力将“老龙”从泥潭挖出，然后掏船舱泥沙、舀船底泥浆，经由一番清洗后，将龙船牌插放在船头和船尾。本年是泮塘女子龙舟队建树十周年，女子龙舟队队长兼饱读手蔡少玲说，十年间，女子龙舟队不断壮大，饱读手、掌舵手均已配王人，“难忘建树初期，全球怕晒，目下，村中女士们都奋勇下船了！”

在河汉CBD，猎德村12条龙舟王人起水，包括红龙、花龙、五色龙，以及一条历史悠久的“冠军”金龙。而河汉石牌村上百位“桡手”（“桡”即船桨）王人聚黄埔双岗村龙船坊，一同叫醒“潜龙”。 龙船“出水”后，桡手们用抹布仔细擦抹船身，再将船送到船坞进行查验、调校，涂抹猪油。 道理道理的是，存放龙船的河涌中有不少鸭、鹅，一些村民还在现场捞到鲤鱼，“鱼升龙门”的好意思好寓意不言而谕。 　　

5月13日上昼，在南沙区南沙街谈蕉门河，村民们运行传统“起龙”典礼，经由约三小时的起劲，“起龙”队列得胜起出1艘在水底“千里睡”了约12年的龙舟。 今日的“起龙”典礼包括祝颂、挖龙舟、清洗龙舟等多个才智。据悉，今日挖出的这条龙舟制作所使用的木料之间不使用任何黏合物资，靠手工凿出各式规格的咬口，再仔细地磨平，何况，不管是长龙还是短龙，侧立偏差铁心在1厘米以内。因此，时隔多年后挖出来的这条龙舟仍完整无损。 

文｜记者 马念念泳 李春炜 符畅 冷霜 卢佳圳

图｜记者 陈秋明 宋金峪 林桂炎 卢佳圳

翻译 | 郑圣浩