Naoerzai

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Naoerzai, Female, Mongolian, from Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song (Ⅱ-3). The tradition is documented in Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song in Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang: The Mongolian long-song folk songs of the Xinjiang region are distributed mainly in the Bayingolin Mongol autonomous prefecture and the Hoboksar Mongol autonomous county. The long song has a long history: more than a thousand years ago the ancestors of the Mongols migrated towards the Mongolian plateau and their way of production changed accordingly from hunting to animal husbandry, and it was in this process that the long-song folk song arose and developed.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Naoerzai is anchored in the documented technical standards of Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song in Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song in Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang: The long song is a free rendering of the Mongolian “urtiin duu”. It is a folk song created by the pastoral peoples of the northern grasslands in their animal-husbandry labour and sung when herding in the open and at traditional festivals. The long song occupies an important place in Mongolian social life, and it may be heard at such traditional social and religious festive activities as the Naadam assembly, weddings, house-warmings and celebrations of an infant's birth. This artistic form embodies in concentrated fashion the character of Mongolian pastoral culture; it is closely bound up with the Mongolian people's language, literature, history, religion, customs and habits and their view of the world, of ecology and of life, and runs through the whole of Mongolian social life. The long song's vocal line is expansive, its mood broad, its sound plentiful and its words few, its breath drawn out long, and its melody extremely rich in ornament (such as the front appoggiatura, the back appoggiatura, the glide and the turn), and it is especially distinctive for its florid manner of singing formed by the “nogolaa” (a Mongolian transliteration meaning a wavy or ornamental tone). Long-song folk songs are generally of two lines, upper and lower, the uneven long and short phrases maintaining a dynamic balance by their peculiar lilt and containing rich variation of pitch and rhythm. Divided by content, the basic types of the long song include the pastoral song, the homesickness song, the song of praise, the work song, the ceremonial song, the historical song, the topical song and the banquet song (also called the “wine song”). Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Subjects such as the Pastoral Song, the Homesickness Song and the Song of Praise": The basic types of long-song folk songs divided by content, including the work song, the ceremonial song, the historical song, the topical song and the banquet song. "Singing at Naadam, Weddings and Religious Festivals": The occasions of singing at such traditional social and religious festive activities as the Naadam assembly, weddings, house-warmings and celebrations of an infant's birth. "The “Nogolaa” Florid Manner of Singing": The distinctive manner of singing formed by wavy ornamentation, in which the long song has plentiful sound, few words and drawn-out breath. "The Mongolian Long-Song Transmitting Group of Bayingolin": The folk artists transmitting long-song folk songs in the Bayingolin Mongol autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang and the pastoral occasions of singing.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Naoerzai was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song, with Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song in Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang as its declared area, and Xinjiangbayinguolengmengguzizhi Prefecture Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

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. Naoerzai (Bayinguolengmengguzizhi, Xinjiang) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Naoerzai · China ICH Official Archive