Dragonboats are long slim boats with a dragon’s head protruding from the bow and a dragon’s tail affixed to the stern. They’re powered by two rows of paddlers, with a helmsman in the back, and a drummer in the front or middle. Traditionally they’re made of wood – and wooden boats are still used in 90% of Hong Kong’s races – but the fibre-glass vessels used in the West are becoming common. They come in three sizes: 22-crew vessels used in international races; small boats accommodating 12 riders; and 'big dragons', that interesting species.
Traditionally, dragonboat racing was an all-male activity. Women, especially when pregnant or menstruating, were forbidden to touch a dragon, the symbol of male vigour. But now with over 50 million people worldwide involved in the game, mindsets have been changing. Since 1985, races in Hong Kong have included women’s and mixed events. That said, machismo is anything but dead. Try patting the dragon’s head on a big boat (if you’re a woman), and you’ll see. 'Big dragons’'carry 50 strapping fellows and can fit up to 120. They’re proudly paraded at races, jealously guarded off-season, and oiled, repaired and fussed over – exclusively by men – before the racing season.
Dragonboating originated over 2000 years ago in China as a ceremony for worshipping deities of the sea. It’s associated with the Tuen Ng Festival which is celebrated in late spring when disease and flooding were once rampant. Dragonboating was meant to dispel the 'fog and filthy air' and to keep the gods happy. But that’s the researcher’s version.
Ask any Chinese about the origin of dragonboat and they’ll mention Qu Yuan, a loyal statesman who drowned himself in the river. Worried that fish would consume their hero, the people unleashed their boats and threw rice dumplings (now a festive delicacy) into the water to distract them. Since then races have been held every year to honour the day of Qu’s passing – on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Lunar calendar (late-May to June). Though other figures have been commemorated by the festival, Qu’s patriotic story has prevailed.
Dragonboat spread all over China, in particular to the south, where it remained a fishermen’s game and ceremony for many years.
Then in 1976, it all changed. Hong Kong held the world’s first international dragonboat races, and propelled the game into a new era. In the first year, boaters from Japan competed with nine local fishermen’s teams. In the next two, representatives from Malaysia and Singapore joined the event. Soon competitions were being organised in these countries as well as in Australia and Canada. In 1980, three dragonboats from Hong Kong made their debut on the River Thames.
Today, dragonboat is a mainstream sport in Hong Kong. The city has the greatest number of teams (about 400), all non-paid and voluntary, and the most races (over 20 a year) in the world per square metre. And the 10-boat wonder that started it all in 1976 is now a mega event featuring 200 teams.
What’s so fascinating about dragonboats? They’re pure heritage. Never used for transport or war, unlike canoes and sailboats, they’ve hardly changed over the centuries. Imagine then such a boat, blades plunging fast and furious, hundreds of times over to the throb of a drum. It’s the lure of the primordial, something rare in modern-day sports.
