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

端午临近，广州多区举行龙船“起龙”仪式

继海珠国家湿地公园举办龙船景、南沙举行“起龙”迎端午活动后，5月15日，农历四月初八当天，荔湾、天河、黄埔等村落举行“起龙”仪式，将沉睡一年的龙船从泥潭挖出，为端午龙船景做准备。

5月6日，广州市海珠石溪村民开启传统的“起龙”仪式，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翻新、检修、保养等，再涂上桐油，安装龙头龙尾、鼓架、锣架、旗帜等。 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”的龙头依旧光彩夺目，在船体被清洗干净、翻新检查完毕后，龙头才可安装在龙船上。

5月15日，荔湾泮塘村村民在荔湾湖公园内举行“起龙”仪式。一系列仪式后，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”仪式由村内有威望的老人主持，他们负责为下水“起龙”的男丁们泼洒经柚子叶和黄皮叶浸泡过的水，寓意大吉大利，祈愿整个“起龙”仪式顺利举行。男丁们逐一下水，齐心协力将“老龙”从泥潭挖出，然后掏船舱泥沙、舀船底泥浆，经过一番清洗后，将龙船牌插放在船头和船尾。今年是泮塘女子龙舟队成立十周年，女子龙舟队队长兼鼓手蔡少玲说，十年间，女子龙舟队不断壮大，鼓手、掌舵手均已配齐，“记得成立初期，大家怕晒，现在，村中女士们都踊跃下船了！”

在天河CBD，猎德村12条龙舟齐起水，包括红龙、花龙、五色龙，以及一条历史悠久的“冠军”金龙。而天河石牌村上百位“桡手”（“桡”即船桨）齐聚黄埔双岗村龙船坊，一同唤醒“潜龙”。 龙船“出水”后，桡手们用抹布仔细擦拭船身，再将船送到船厂进行检修、调校，涂抹猪油。 有趣的是，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，“鱼跃龙门”的美好寓意不言而喻。 　　

5月13日上午，在南沙区南沙街道蕉门河，村民们启动传统“起龙”仪式，经过约三小时的努力，“起龙”队伍成功起出1艘在水底“沉睡”了约12年的龙舟。 当天的“起龙”仪式包括祈福、挖龙舟、清洗龙舟等多个环节。据悉，当天挖出的这条龙舟制作所使用的木材之间不使用任何黏合物质，靠手工凿出各种规格的咬口，再仔细地磨平，而且，不论是长龙还是短龙，侧立偏差控制在1厘米以内。因此，时隔多年后挖出来的这条龙舟仍完好无损。 

文｜记者 马思泳 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