Mongolian Hunli
01 · Historical Records
The Ariben Sumu wedding is the local form of the Mongolian wedding ceremony practiced in Ar Horqin Banner, rich in grassland ethnic character. The wedding is held inside a Mongolian yurt, where traditional costume can be displayed to the fullest: the yurt, horseback riding, the lele cart, Mongolian clothing, and dairy and meat foods are all concrete expressions of grassland ethnic culture. The whole process takes the wedding of the young couple as its main thread, arranging a rigorously structured dramatic scene; the wedding master of ceremonies and the zhuzan praise-singers make use of zhuzan (eulogies) at many points in the wedding — these are the finest examples of Mongolian oral literature. Wedding ceremonies are broadly similar from place to place, and the display of horsemanship is one of their major features; the wedding process is often accompanied by song-and-dance performances in diverse forms, creating a very lively scene. Long-tune folk songs are also sung at this time and have been passed down, becoming repertoire that remains among the people after the wedding is over.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Mongolian weddings have a distinctive ethnic character, expressing in special forms the rugged, bold, brave, wise, industrious and kindhearted national character of the Mongols. Traditional weddings are held inside Mongolian yurts, in which ethnic traditional costume can be displayed to the fullest. Wedding ceremonies are broadly similar from place to place, with the display of horsemanship as one of their major features. The wedding process is often accompanied by song-and-dance performances in diverse forms, creating a very lively scene. The Ariben Sumu wedding is the traditional Mongolian wedding of the Ariben Sumu area of Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; it has a rich grassland ethnic character, displaying the honest and uninhibited character of the Mongolian people and their colorful life. The Ariben Sumu wedding takes the wedding of the young couple as its main thread, arranging a rigorously structured dramatic scene. The wedding master of ceremonies and the zhuzan praise-singers make use of zhuzan (eulogies) at many points in the wedding; these are the finest examples of Mongolian oral literature. The yurt, horseback riding, lele cart, Mongolian clothing, and Mongolian dairy and meat foods in the wedding are concrete expressions of grassland ethnic culture.
The blessing-sayer and his verses
The master of ceremony and the blessing-sayer recite verses throughout, a pinnacle of Mongolian oral literature.
Leque carts and dairy fare
Yurts, horses, leque carts, dress, dairy and meat give the wedding the full material imagery of grassland life.
The riding display
Riding displays are a hallmark of the rite, performed outside the yurt while the ceremony continues within.
Long tunes sung at weddings
Long-tune songs sung at weddings have thus been carried down and preserved as shared cultural wealth.
The endangered Ar Benz Sumu custom
The unique wedding etiquette of the Ar Benz Sumu area is being diluted and blurred and is close to being lost.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Mongols are distributed over a vast territory, and different places of residence have given rise to wedding ceremonies with different characteristics.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Eerduosihunli · Mongolian Hunli · Mongolian Hunli.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Some Mongolian long-tune folk songs are also sung at the wedding, and these songs have thereby been handed down, becoming a precious treasure of the Mongolian people and indeed of the entire Chinese nation. The Ariben Sumu wedding fully embodies the worldview, view of life and values of the Mongolian people, and has research value in folklore studies, art studies, history and sociology. At present, for a variety of complex reasons, the wedding customs unique to the Ariben Sumu area of Ar Horqin Banner are being diluted and blurred; they are on the verge of being lost and urgently need protection.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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