Guribasier

01 · Lineage & Regional School

He was born into a musical family; his great-grandfather Bayarmanglai, his maternal grandfather Tuhai and his mother Nansilema were all renowned local folk artists. Within the regional tradition and school record of Mongolian Folk Songs in Hangjinqi, Inner Mongolia: It is current in the riverside district of Hanggin Banner in Ordos city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, mainly in Duguitala town and Jirigalongtu town; parts of it are also current in Liangwai, formerly Bayinengge sumu, near the riverside area. It is neither the Mongolian long tune nor the Mongolian short tune, but an original ecological song sung in several parts by the herding people; its representative works include Wugan Hantai and The Thirty-Two Mongolian Chessmen. Ordos gurug has a very long history; songs such as The Two Steeds of the Holy Ruler, which represent it, mostly arose in the Yuan dynasty and are steeped in the atmosphere of Mongolian life. As for the gurug The Panchen Monastery, since the monastery itself was first built in the late Qing dynasty, it may be inferred that the song arose after the nineteenth century, a full six centuries later than The Two Steeds of the Holy Ruler.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Mongolian ethnicity, born in January 1947 in Hangjin Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Influenced from childhood by his maternal grandfather and his mother, he developed a deep interest in the ancient songs of Ordos and systematically inherited their singing techniques and traditional repertoire; from 1979 he began to collect, collate and study these ancient songs. In 1980 he compiled and printed a mimeographed volume, Folk Songs of Hangjin Banner, which records more than thirty ancient Ordos songs. In 2008 he formally published the book The Ancient Songs of Ordos. Within the documented technical tradition of Mongolian Folk Songs in Hangjinqi, Inner Mongolia: Mongolian folk songs are rich in content, free in rhythm, delicate in feeling, high and resonant in melody, extended and winding, and leave a long lingering aftertaste. They fall into two kinds, the long-tune folk song and the short-tune folk song. Long-tune songs are generally sung in Mongolian; they are of great length, draw the breath out long and are deep in feeling, their use of the shake ornament is subtle and distinctive and their melodies far-ranging, and both melody and vocal style show the breadth and vigour of grassland folk song. Short-tune songs are current mainly in the half-farming, half-pastoral districts where Mongols and Han live in mixed settlement, are mostly sung in Chinese, are short in length, have an even rhythm and a fixed metre, readily use reduplicated syllables, and have simple lyrics and a free, flexible manner. Ordos gurug is the oldest form of the Mongolian long tune and belongs to the ancient repertory of court songs. Ordos gurug songs are sung mostly at court or on the occasion of state banquets; their themes are serious, their content orthodox and their manner chiefly didactic. Their content is mostly songs of current affairs, of parents, of the homeland and of steeds, while part of them sing in praise of love. There are rules governing the chanting and the singing of Ordos gurug; it is generally performed at grand and solemn ceremonies, and may not be casually hummed about in ordinary life. In performance three songs are sung as one group, called the “three-branch song” or the “three principal songs”. The music of Ordos gurug is full of a desolate, ethereal and tragic beauty; its melodies are slow without dragging and leisurely without lagging, its rhythm is half hidden and half revealed, its melodic movement leaps and falls in great sweeps, and natural resonance and natural harmony are interwoven throughout. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Wugan Hantai": It is neither the Mongolian long tune nor the Mongolian short tune, but an original ecological song sung in several parts by the herding people; its representative works include Wugan Hantai and The Thirty-Two Mongolian Chessmen. "The Thirty-Two Mongolian Chessmen": It is neither the Mongolian long tune nor the Mongolian short tune, but an original ecological song sung in several parts by the herding people; its representative works include Wugan Hantai and The Thirty-Two Mongolian Chessmen.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of Mongolian Folk Songs (Ancient Songs of Ordos), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has taken part in artistic performances on many occasions and won awards.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Guribasier · National Representative Bearer Archive