Tibetan Hunyanshibashuo
01 · Historical Records
The Tibetan Eighteen Sayings of the Wedding Banquet are a folk oral literature current in the Tibetan-concentrated areas of the agricultural region of eastern Qinghai; they came into being with Tibetan wedding custom and have a rich national cultural content. The eighteen sayings run throughout the wedding, mostly narrative-singing and mostly improvised, generally completed in stages by a dozen people and sometimes taking several days.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Tibetan Eighteen Sayings of the Wedding Banquet are a folk oral literature current in the Tibetan-concentrated areas of the agricultural region of eastern Qinghai, formed with Tibetan wedding custom and with a rich national cultural content. Folk tradition has it that the wedding banquet goes on for eighteen days and nights and the wedding blessing has eighteen procedures, which is the true situation of the eighteen sayings. Running throughout the wedding, they are mostly narrative-singing and mostly improvised, generally completed in stages by a dozen people and sometimes taking several days. Their concrete content includes sacrificing to the gods, the braiding saying, the comb saying, the lament of the bride, the song of the road, the parents' admonition, the horse saying, the cushion, the praise of the land, the house, tea, wine, the wedding banquet saying, tying the waistband, clothing, blessing, charge, and auspiciousness. Along with the eighteen sayings are rich and varied song-and-dance activities and delicious food and brightly coloured and sumptuous Tibetan costume, the scene warm, romantic, solemn and splendid. Touching many links such as sacrificing to the gods, braiding, the bride's lament, admonition, blessing and charge, they are the concentrated embodiment of Tibetan wedding custom. Mostly improvised narrative-singing, they are completed in stages by a dozen people and sometimes take several days.
Sacrificing to the Gods
One of the links of the eighteen sayings of the wedding banquet.
The Bride's Lament
One of the links of the eighteen sayings of the wedding banquet.
Blessing and Charge
One of the links of the eighteen sayings of the wedding banquet.
Auspiciousness
One of the closing links of the eighteen sayings of the wedding banquet.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Tibetan Eighteen Sayings of the Wedding Banquet take the Tibetan-concentrated areas of the agricultural region of eastern Qinghai as their main area of circulation and are closely bound up with the local wedding custom, costume, song-and-dance and food customs, with a distinctive regional and national character.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Tibetan Eighteen Sayings of the Wedding Banquet have very high academic research value in history, folklore, ethnology and language and literature, and very important positive significance for enriching China's ethnic and folk culture, raising the overall quality of the people and promoting social development. With the change in the social environment on which the eighteen sayings depend for survival and development, many traditional folk activities show a tendency to decline, the platform for displaying the eighteen sayings is ever smaller, and protection work is extremely urgent. Protecting them is of great significance for transmitting Tibetan wedding custom and oral literature.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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