Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song
01 · Historical Records
The Ujumchin are one of the Mongol tribes; in the thirteenth century they lived in the region of the Altai Khangai Ujumchin mountains and afterwards moved by stages to their present place of residence. The Ujumchin tribe sang such long-song folk songs as Bogda Mountain, Bolgan Khangai and Duren Saihan Khangai from generation to generation and at the same time continually composed new long songs, such as Durenzana, composed about 1880, and Bogda Peak, The Red Ambling Horse and The Holy Lama, composed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Ujumchin long song is one of the most representative of the traditional Mongol folk songs of Xilin Gol: vast in structure, wide in range, open and expansive, noble and elegant, with finely wrought and complex ornamentation, and famous above all for its long-drawn breath and its overtone singing in the high register. Many Ujumchin long-song pieces belong to the category of the “long-drawn long song”, the “aijim urtiin dau”, and demand the highest skill of the singer for a perfect realisation. The content of the Ujumchin long song is mostly the praise of ancestors and the depiction of all things in nature, rich in philosophy and admonition; its performance forms include solo and one-leading-the-many, and on folk occasions there is also the “turelge”, the antiphonal refrain section, generally accompanied by the horse-head fiddle, so that it is an inseparable part of local folk activity. Representative pieces include The Cool Khangai, Bogda Holy Mountain, Bolgan Khangai, Durenzana and Zhongheer Laoji Xili. Formerly the Ujumchin long song was transmitted from generation to generation mainly by natural acquisition at seasonal festivals, rites of passage and in daily life. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of such masters as Modeg and Zhaonasitu, the Ujumchin long song trained numerous performing talents through stage performance and classroom instruction.
The Cool Khangai
Representative pieces include The Cool Khangai, Bogda Holy Mountain, Bolgan Khangai, Durenzana and Zhongheer Laoji Xili.
Bogda Holy Mountain, Bolgan Khangai
A representative Ujumchin long song, one of the pieces handed down by the Ujumchin tribe from generation to generation.
Durenzana
A long song composed about 1880 and listed among the representative pieces of the Ujumchin long song.
Zhongheer Laoji Xili
A representative Ujumchin long song current in the Xilin Gol region of Inner Mongolia.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Ujumchin long song is a form of traditional Mongol musical expression current in the Xilin Gol region of Inner Mongolia; its core distribution area is the West Ujumchin banner and the East Ujumchin banner inhabited by the Ujumchin tribe, and it also circulates in Horqin Right Front Banner of the Hinggan league, in Xilinhot city and in Hohhot city.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song · Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song · Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song · Urtiin Duu, Traditional Folk Long Song.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, the activities of transmission, training and competition held by the government, schools, folk groups and individuals provide new forms for the transmission of the Ujumchin long song. Up to now the clearly recorded lineage of transmission of this item has reached the sixth generation. The Ujumchin tribe has always had the tradition of singing history, and the Ujumchin long song links present and past in musical form: it is a “lyrical tribal history” that contains information on the Ujumchin tribe's beliefs, social order and aesthetic values, and is the vehicle of communication and expression for the Ujumchin people, possessing relatively high historical, cultural and social value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Badema 02-0229
- Erigejidema 02-0230
- Modege 02-0231
- Baoyindeligeer 02-0232
- Zhagedasurong 03-0805
- Alatanqiqige 03-0806
- Naoerjima 03-0807
- Saiyinbilige 03-0808
- Jia Daoerji 03-0809
- Dawasangbu 05-2033
- Douguersurong 05-2034
- Dao Wutunasheng 05-2035
- Siqingerile
- Naoerzai
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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