Cantonese Lion Dance: Creativities of Paintings as Symbolic Representations of Paknampo God and Goddess

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the history of Cantonese lion dance and Paknampo God and Goddess 2) to investigate the symbols that represented Paknampo God and Godess 3) to create the paintings as symbolic representations of Paknampo God and Godess.     This research was divided in two parts. The first part of this study consisted of analyzing documents and collecting data from fieldwork in order to find symbolic representations of Paknampo God and Godess. The second part comprised of creating paintings. The results showed the important factors gained from analyzing symbolic representations of Pak Nampo God and Goddess which comprised of history, belief and faith, Chinese holy symbolic representations, and related objects. The data analysis involved the use of semiology theories to investigate the symbols and their meanings. The results gained from this study led to the analysis and synthesis of symbols which were used as guidelines for creating painting sketches. All sketches were organized beautifully with a new element by using the principle of visual arts. Each painting was sketched out two to three paintings. The sketches were sent to evaluate by experts. The experts selected the appropriate sketches that presented as symbolic representations of Paknampo God and Goddess. The selected paintings were used as models in creating eight oil paintings.