Talipu Kuwan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In his youth he took a master and learned the craft, and became thoroughly proficient in the complete set of skills and rules of Meshrep activities. Within the regional tradition and school record of Weiwuerdaolangmaixirefu in Maigaiti, Xinjiang: It is not restricted by environmental conditions, time, or the number of participants; its procedures are strict, its types are numerous, and its content is rich and varied. According to its nature and function, it can be roughly divided into four types: festival and life-cycle ceremonies, agricultural and pastoral production, social activities, and other folk activities. The Dolan Mexrep is mainly transmitted among the Uyghur people of the Dolan region, centered on the area from the Yarkand River to the Tarim River basin on the northwestern edge of the Tarim Basin, with its transmission most widespread in Maigaiti County. Maigaiti is the place where the Dolan Mexrep is transmitted most widely. About 90 percent of the county's population are Dolan Uyghurs skilled in song and dance, and the Mexrep spreads along the village roads, farmyards, and bazaars of the oasis — held indoors around a raised platform in the courtyard, and equally at weddings and at the wheat harvest. It is not particular about the date, the number of people, or the venue: at the field's edge, under the trees, or in the farmyard, it can begin at any time; a few people start dancing, onlookers naturally close into a circle, and once one circle is in full swing the next group takes over. Here the transmission of craft relies on instruction from master to apprentice: Talipu Kuwan both performs and plays the Dolan hand drum, the Dolan rawap, and the kalun, and over more than thirty years he has trained nearly fifty successors, some of whom now teach the Dolan Mexrep in vocational schools. The Dolan Mexrep has a long history; it is said to have originated in the native culture of the Western Regions and to have been deeply influenced by Islamic culture.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Uyghur, born in November 1949, a native of Maigaiti County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. A man of many talents, he not only performs Meshrep but also plays the Dolan hand drum, the Dolan rawap, the qalun and other instruments indispensable to Dolan Meshrep; his drumming, playing, singing and dancing are of consummate skill and rich in ethnic and local character, fully embodying the essence of traditional Meshrep culture. In more than thirty years of transmitting the tradition he has trained nearly fifty successors, some of whom now teach Dolan Meshrep performance at vocational schools, so that the skills of Uyghur Dolan Meshrep are carried on and sustained. Within the documented technical tradition of Weiwuerdaolangmaixirefu in Maigaiti, Xinjiang: Maigaiti County lies in the southwestern part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; this is a typical settlement area of the Uyghur people, and about 89 percent of the population are Dolan Uyghurs, who excel at singing and dancing. The Dolan Mexrep mainly depicts scenes of the Dolan Uyghur people hunting in the wild, celebrating the harvest, and living in joy, and it includes Dolan muqam singing, mass recreational dance, feasting, literary and artistic performance, and various games. Some experts believe that in the period when the ancestors of the Uyghurs were engaged in fishing, hunting, and animal husbandry, songs and dances that gave impromptu expression to lofty aspirations in open country, among the mountains, on the grasslands, and in the farmyards had already come into being. Over the long course of social and historical development, the Dolan Uyghurs continually enriched the Dolan Mexrep with material drawn from life, forming a distinctive Dolan culture. It has always preserved the strong primordial character of the native songs and dances of the Tarim region, and it remains an important component of the daily life of the Dolan Uyghurs. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Four settings of the festive gathering": Ritual and life-occasion festivals, farm work gatherings, social meetings and other customs make up four distinct types of performance. "The Dao Lang Muqam pieces": Dao Lang Muqam singing forms the musical backbone: one section sung, then danced, the voice and footwork sharing a single rhythm. "Dao Lang hand drum, rawap and qalun": Drumming, playing, singing and dancing work together: the hand drum sets the beat while rawap and qalun carry the tune. "Improvised song and dance in yards and fields": Keeping the raw character of Western Regions song and dance, performers improvise on the spot, filling the whole yard as the crowd grows.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of the Uyghur Dolan Meshrep, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He has been invited to take part in artistic galas at national and autonomous-region level and has won many awards, exercising great influence among fellow artists and the public.

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. Talipu Kuwan · National Representative Bearer Archive