Wurina
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Wurina, Female, Ewenki, from Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Ewenki Folk Songs (Ⅱ-106). The tradition is documented in Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ewenki Folk Songs in Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia: Ewenki Autonomous Banner lies in the northern stretch of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and consists mostly of vast grassland; the long narrative folk song Song of the Mother Deer, which is current in this region, arose in a remote age of hunting and embodies the Ewenki consciousness of loving nature and loving life. Ewenki folk songs have bold and unrestrained melodies full of the atmosphere of grassland and forest; they are part song and part poem, some short and some long; and they are often sung on the spur of the moment with improvised verses, many songs using the same melody with different words fitted to it on different occasions so as to express the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the moment. The Ewenki are one of the ethnic groups with a relatively small population in northern China. Historically they lived by hunting, by reindeer herding and by pastoralism; their language belongs to the Tungusic branch of the Altaic family and they have no script of their own, so folk songs became the main vehicle for recording history and the experience of life. Ewenki Autonomous Banner lies in the northern stretch of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and consists mostly of vast grassland; the folk songs here are best known for their long narrative songs, which are sung during productive labour, at marriage and funeral rites and at folk gatherings, and are handed down from elders to the younger generation by oral transmission from heart to heart.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Wurina is anchored in the documented technical standards of Ewenki Folk Songs in Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia. Within the documented technical tradition of Ewenki Folk Songs in Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia: Ewenki folk songs have a bold and unrestrained melody and are full of the atmosphere of grassland and forest. They are part song and part poem, some short and some long; most of the short ones are lyrical songs, while the longer ones are called story songs. Ewenki folk songs are often inspired on the spot and the verses are improvised; in many songs the same melody is used with different words fitted to it on different occasions, in order to express the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the moment. The traditional Ewenki folk song Song of the Mother Deer, also known as Song of the Roe Deer and Song of the Mongolian Gazelle, is a typically representative ecological long narrative folk song. Ewenki Autonomous Banner lies in the northern stretch of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and consists mostly of vast grassland. The long narrative folk song Song of the Mother Deer, which is current in this region, arose in a remote age of hunting and embodies the Ewenki consciousness of loving nature and loving life. Song of the Mother Deer uses a personifying device, telling a moving story through a question-and-answer dialogue between an animal mother and her young. In a remote hunting age a hunter shot a doe, which ran off wounded. When the hunter caught up with her, he saw the dying doe comforting and instructing her fawn. The dialogue between the doe and the fawn, which moves one to tears, filled the hunter with a deep sense of guilt, and he regretted his own conduct. Through human emotion viewed from another angle, the song reveals the significance of maintaining the balance of nature and cherishing life. The lyrics consist of twenty stanzas; the music has a marked primitive character, showing the slow, beautiful and unadorned qualities of Ewenki pastoral folk songs, and the melody is as if weeping and complaining, moving beyond words. This emotionally charged narrative folk song has long been passed down without interruption among the Ewenki people. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Song of the Mother Deer": Also known as Song of the Roe Deer and Song of the Mongolian Gazelle, it is a typically representative ecological long narrative folk song. Its lyrics run to twenty stanzas, and through a question-and-answer dialogue between the mother deer and the fawn it tells the story of a hunter who, after shooting the doe, feels guilt and remorse. "Lyric short songs and story songs": Ewenki folk songs are part song and part poem, some short and some long; most of the short ones are lyrical songs, while the longer ones are called story songs. "Improvised lyric-setting": They are often inspired on the spot and the verses are improvised; many songs use the same melody with different words fitted to it on different occasions, so as to express the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the moment.
Song of the Mother Deer
Also known as Song of the Roe Deer and Song of the Mongolian Gazelle, it is a typically representative ecological long narrative folk song. Its lyrics run to twenty stanzas, and through a question-and-answer dialogue between the mother deer and the fawn it tells the story of a hunter who, after shooting the doe, feels guilt and remorse.
Lyric short songs and story songs
Ewenki folk songs are part song and part poem, some short and some long; most of the short ones are lyrical songs, while the longer ones are called story songs.
Improvised lyric-setting
They are often inspired on the spot and the verses are improvised; many songs use the same melody with different words fitted to it on different occasions, so as to express the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the moment.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Wurina was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Ewenki Folk Songs, with Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Ewenki Folk Songs in Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia as its declared area, and Ewenkezuzizhiqi Ewenki Autonomous Banner Culture Tourism Shiye Development Center (Ewenkezuzizhiqi Ewenki Autonomous Banner Cultural Center, Ewenkezuzizhiqi Ewenki Autonomous Banner Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding 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
Historical origin
The Ewenki are one of the ethnic groups with a relatively small population in northern China. Historically they lived by hunting, by reindeer herding and by pastoralism; their language belongs to the Tungusic branch of the Altaic family and they have no script of their own, so folk songs became the main vehicle for recording history and the experience of life. Ewenki Autonomous Banner lies in the northern stretch of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and consists mostly of vast grassland; the folk songs here are best known for their long narrative songs, which are sung during productive labour, at marriage and funeral rites and at folk gatherings, and are handed down from elders to the younger generation by oral transmission from heart to heart.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wurina | Ewenkezuzizhiqi, Inner Mongolia | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。