Xibe Xiqian Festival
01 · Historical Records
On the eighteenth day of the fourth lunar month in the twenty-ninth year of the Qianlong reign (1764), more than four thousand Xibo officers and soldiers, together with their dependents, set out from Shengjing (present-day Shenyang) by imperial order, migrating westward to the Ili region of Xinjiang to open up land and garrison the frontier.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Westward Migration Festival of the Xibo people in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is commonly known as the "Migration Festival," the "Eighteenth Day of the Fourth Lunar Month Festival," the "Westward Migration Festival of the Eighteenth Day of the Fourth Lunar Month," and so on. Ever since, on the eighteenth day of the fourth lunar month each year, people hold various activities to solemnly commemorate the heroic deeds of their ancestors, and this day has thus become a traditional festival of the Xibo people. The celebrations of the Westward Migration Festival are rich and varied, including picnics, archery, martial contests, singing, and dancing. Especially distinctive is the Westward Migration Song in the zhi mode, sung in solo and chorus form with the westward migration itself as its main theme; its lyrics run to more than four hundred lines, with three lines forming one musical phrase and the whole song twelve measures in length; after more than two hundred years of enrichment, refinement, and composition, there are now as many as seven versions, handed down to the present day, making it the most unique cultural expression of the Westward Migration Festival. On the day of the Westward Migration Festival, Xibo men and women, old and young, don festive attire and gather together joyfully, plucking the dongbuer (Xibo plucked instrument) and playing the meke tune, dancing heartily the beile'en, with its vigorous movements and bright rhythm. The girls' "shoulder-shaking" and the young men's "duck step" are vividly executed; through them they express their longing for their homeland and their hopes for a better life in the future. This festive activity collectively displays the Xibo people's splendid and long-standing cultural traditions, ethnic psychology, ethnic sentiments, folk beliefs, folk customs, and various crafts and song-and-dance arts, bearing rich cultural connotations and precious value.
Singing the Migration Song
The festival's most distinctive art form: over four hundred lines sung in solo and chorus, in seven versions built up over more than two centuries.
Outdoor cooking and archery contests
Neighbours gather on the riverbank for an outdoor meal, while archery contests are held in age groups with the winner's bow kept in the tent.
Dongbul fiddle and meke horn
A bamboo-string fiddle leading the song and a wooden pipe keeping the festive gathering alive between verses.
The Beile'en dance
A vigorous collective dance with clear beats, danced in a circle while singing the year's affairs into the drumming.
Shaking shoulders and ducking steps
Two signature movements of the dance: the girls' trembling shoulders set their silver ornaments ringing, the young men's low ducking strides.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The date of the Westward Migration Festival is set on the eighteenth day of the fourth lunar month, the same as the day of departure in that year. The Xibo people of Xinjiang mainly live in the area around Qapqal (Chabuchaer), where the Westward Migration Festival is organized jointly by the whole county, and Xibo people from other parts of the Ili Valley also come on horseback. Activities in the town are mostly held on the square or river beach with picnics, archery, and martial contests; between villages, people compete in martial skill and exchange news of farming. The singing is the most demanding part. The Westward Migration Song has two forms, solo and chorus; its lyrics run to more than four hundred lines, with three lines forming one musical phrase and the whole song twelve measures in length; after more than two hundred years of refinement, as many as seven versions have been passed down; the lyrics tell of the journey of the westward migration and the years of land reclamation, sung to the accompaniment of the dongbuer, with the meke tune interspersed. Dancing is dominated by the beile'en, with the girls' shoulder-shaking and the young men's duck step each having its own character. The festival itself is also an inventory of population and crafts: since the migration, language and customs have been passed down orally, and nowadays the number of old people proficient in the Manchu language and script is dwindling; the singing tunes and the handwork of tying torches, rolling noodles, and making cakes all come into view once a year on this day, with the clan telling the year's news and old stories to the young. The practical function of the Westward Migration Festival is to turn a migration history that has already been walked into something still alive in the current year.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, the loss of oral and literary works is becoming increasingly serious, the number of people proficient in the Manchu language and script is dwindling, and the distinctive character of the folk art of the Westward Migration Festival is weakening year by year; greater efforts are needed for its protection and rescue.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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