Asia in Seattle: Mak Fai Lion Dancers

Yesterday I followed the unmistakable sound of the Mak Fai Lion Dance Troupe to King Street, walking down an alley to save time. Parked on the edge of Hing Hay Park was their pickup truck with the Mak Fai banner, filling the street with drumming and the clash of gongs. Jackets and green teeshirts that identify members of the troupe surrounded two dancing lions and their masked, robed companions. 

The explosive shots of firecrackers were sharp but comforting, and the acrid smell of the little clouds of smoke bit at my throat and made me happy. It had been over two years since I’d last inhaled that odor, or had watched lions come to life and chase bad luck away from Chinatown. I’ve been waiting for this ever since I returned from Tucson last April and now this group of dancers and musicians were feeding my spirit, as they have for many years.

When I still lived in the ID, I’d rush outdoors the minute I heard the beat that belongs exclusively to the Mak Fai troupe. I’ve spent hours following them through the streets of the neighborhood that belongs to them, watching them grow up. I’ve seen the young man who conducted the percussionists with subtle waves of his fingers yesterday as he changed from a serious bespectacled little boy to a rockstar drummer and I’ve witnessed a talented teenager grow into a man who leads the troupe now. I’ve seen the martial artist who came to Seattle from Kowloon many years ago, the man who taught these kids how to be artists and athletes, grow old. He still stands with them as the guiding force behind it all.

The day was bright yet cold but even so the lions moved from one restaurant to the next and the percussionists took their turns to play in the back of the pickup. I followed them for over an hour, standing nearby and absorbing as much of their artistry as I could until hypothermia began to feel like a very real possibility. But as I waited underground for the train, the firecrackers and the clashing music echoed triumphantly down the stairs and through the tunnel, blessing the businesses, the streets, and the people of the C/ID. Once again the Mak Fai troupe had ushered the neighborhood into a new year and a renewal of life, chasing away the Rat, leading in the Ox.~Janet Brown