Tibetan Layi
01 · Historical Records
The layi grew out of Tibetan mountain songs; the division of the three great Tibetan regions in the seventh century prompted its wide circulation in the Amdo Tibetan region of “lower Dokham”. Handed down from generation to generation with the pastoral life of the Tibetan herders and keeping pace with the growth of the Tibetan people, it formed a settled tradition of singing in the broad pastoral areas around Qinghai lake and on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The layi is mostly sung in the pastures and hills, in keeping with the distinctive norms of propriety of the Amdo Tibetan region. At grassland gatherings and at leisure from herding the herders gather to sing the layi, conveying their feeling in song.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The layi is rich in kind and vast in number; its content touches on every aspect of love life, and a complete antiphonal singing has a certain procedure, such as the opening song, the greeting song, the song of first love, the song of mutual love, the song of longing, the song of discord, the song of parting and the closing song. The tunes of the layi form many styles according to region: some emphasize the linguistic quality of the music with a relatively tight rhythm; some have a deep, drawn-out melody, forming a free and melodious long-drawn mountain-song style; some have a sweet melody and regular rhythm, forming an elegant and dignified lyrical style.
The Opening Song, the Greeting Song, the Song of First Love and the Song of Mutual Love
The first half of the procedure of a complete layi antiphonal singing.
The Song of Longing, the Song of Discord, the Song of Parting and the Closing Song
The second half of the procedure of a complete layi antiphonal singing.
The Long-Drawn and the Lyrical Tune Styles
The various tune styles formed by region, such as the tight type, the long-drawn type and the elegant and dignified type.
Singing in the Pastoral Areas around Qinghai Lake and on the Upper Yellow River
The occasions of singing in the Amdo Tibetan areas, centred on the Hainan and Huangnan prefectures and radiating in all directions.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Tibetans are divided into the three great dialect regions of Ü-Tsang, Kham and Amdo, which, together with the terrain, form three cultural regions with distinctive characters. The layi is a mountain-song art current in the broad Amdo-dialect Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan, devoted specifically to expressing love; its distribution is centred on the region around Qinghai lake and the Yellow River basin, in the Hainan and Huangnan prefectures, and radiates in all directions.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tibetan Layi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The layi has a long history, keeping pace with the growth of the Tibetan people and carrying the nation's creativity and inspiration, and has important value for the study of anthropology, ethnology and folklore. It displays not only a striking regional character and a distinctive artistic style but also, by its rich forms of expression, a unique and important cultural value. (Associated bearer recorded in the official archive:) Qieji Zhuoma, female, Tibetan, born 1942, a native of Hainan, Qinghai. Her vocal range is broad, her metre and rhythm free, her melody with relatively wide undulation, drawn out and high, extremely rich in plateau character. Her representative works include Tibetan Layi. She is a representative bearer of the second batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, the Tibetan layi, and began performing Tibetan folk songs in 1956, many times winning prizes in folk-song contests.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Qiejizhuoma 02-0248
- Caihejie
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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