**Incorporating Folk Belief into National Heritage: The Interaction between Ritual Practice and Theatrical Performance in** *Xiud Yax Lus Qim* **(***Yalu wang***) of the Miao (Hmong) Ethnic Group**

**Chao Guo 1,\*, Huijuan Hua 2 and Xiwen Geng 1**

	- huijuan.hua@postgrad.otago.ac.nz

**Abstract:** *Xiud Yax Lus Qim* or *Yalu wang* 亞魯王 (Ode to the King Yalu) is a type of oral performance inherited verbally and transmitted orally by *dongb langf* (*donglang* 東郎, chanters of *Yalu wang*) at funerals and festive occasions. As one of the most representative cultural sets of the Miao (Hmong) ethnic group located in southern China, *Yalu wang* is embedded in Miao sorcery beliefs and practices, and serves as a vehicle to unite the community and maintain the identity of the ethnic group. However, since *Yalu wang* was "discovered" as a heroic epic by scholars in 2009 and entered the government's "List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage" two years later, different agencies have been vying to appropriate its cultural resources. Not only do local governmen<sup>t</sup> authorities use it as a tourist attraction, stage performances have also produced various versions of *Yalu wang* to portray an emblem of what are presumed to be "authentic Miao cultures". This article explores the interactive relationship between Miao sorcery and folk traditions in the oral performance of *Yalu wang* and their enactment and re-enactment in theatrical performances under the aegis of a state-endorsed tourism policy. In so doing, the discussion sheds new light on the bidirectional dynamics that not only remold the style of performing culture, but also facilitate religious synthesis.

**Keywords:** China; *Xiud Yax Lus Qim* (*Yalu wang*); Miao (Hmong) ethnic group; oral performance; ritual practice; sorcery and witchcraft; collective memory; cultural heritage; state presence
