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Friendship Through Paddling: East Meets West on the Water
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20618 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1992 |
2,702 Words |
| Author
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Sue Smith
Sue Smith is founder and president of the American Dragon Boat
Association and serves as dragon boat chairman for both the
U.S. Canoe Association and the Dragon Boat Committee of the
American Canoe Association. |
One the fifty day of the fifth moon, according to the lunar calendar, regions throughout China resound to the heartbeat of dragons. The beat goes on for two days in tribute to the beloved Chinese ancestor Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Miluo River more than 2,300 years ago. The dragons are brilliantly painted, forty-foot canoes with massive dragon heads and tails. The serpentine craft are powered by crews of twenty paddlers, who thrust their oars to the beat of a drummer in the bow. The drummer's cadence, echoing the lore of an ancient Chinese dynasty, had summoned modern-day Americans to reenact this colorful Chinese pageant by sending teams from both coasts and America's heartland to paddle the dragon boats in Asia.
The first question most Americans ask when introduced to the subject is, What is a dragon boat? The term, often misunderstood as "drag boat races," conjures visions of motor-driven speedboats. In fact, Chinese dragon boats are more like carved wooden fantasy figures of a child's imagination. The dreamed-of dragon, a symbol of power and dominion over the water, becomes, reality as a long, ornately patterned craft, gliding across the water. The passengers appear to be riding on the dragon's back, the monster's magnificent head guiding the beast's speedy path. Paddles thrust like so many centipede legs, churning a frothy bed beneath the dragon's belly. Brilliantly colored scales glow in the mist, and the dragon's silhouette punches forward from the solid background of the sky. The image, once seen, is never forgotten.
Dragon Boats Across America
Before the 1980s, few Americans knew much about dragon boat racing. Almost simultaneously, pockets of interest emerged around the country: Fire fighters in Oakland, California, outrigger racers in San Diego, and rowers in Philadelphia pioneered dragon boat racing in the United States prior to 1986. From 1986 to the present, Mississippi River Canoeists, operating out of Burlington, Iowa, developed a national following for the sport, which has involved about six thousand Americans.
Dragon boats were a natural for Californian outrigger racers: The paddling techniques are similar, and the crews of six to nine are accustomed to synchronizing their strokes. San Diego's ties with Asia brought two dragon boats from Singapore to California shores. Members of San Diego outrigger clubs took quickly to the sport, spurring enthusiasm for an exchange of teams between San Diego and Singapore. This enthusiasm took the team on to races in Malaysia and Hong Kong, and the city carved an
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