Mongolian Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
The Urad are one of the ancient tribes of the Mongol people; in the late Ming and early Qing they moved west from the Hulunbuir grasslands to graze north of the Hetao plain, and the Urad folk songs settled and spread with the migration of the tribe, forming a pattern in which long tunes and short tunes coexist. They are sung above all on banquet occasions; at weddings, birthday celebrations and festivals there are strict rules about which song is sung when, opening with the long tune San Fu and closing with the song and poem Altan Khangai, so that a complete set of banquet song ritual is formed.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Urad Mongol folk songs circulate chiefly in four areas: the pastoral districts of Urad Front Banner, Urad Middle Banner and Urad Rear Banner, and the Mongol residential area in western Baotou; the folk song styles of the four areas are each different. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China large numbers of people from neighbouring Ordos poured into Urad Middle and Rear Banners, and the content of the folk songs and such singing styles as vocal manner and melody changed accordingly; the pastoral district of Urad Front Banner, by contrast, still preserves in full the distinctive character of the ancient Urad folk songs in their original state. Urad folk songs are divided into long and short tunes, and the long-tune songs and poems are much respected on banquet occasions; at weddings, birthday celebrations and festivals there are very strict rules about which song is sung when. The opening song, the long tune San Fu, runs in five rounds of three songs each, a sung refrain being added after each song to carry on the completeness of the whole set, and the closing song and poem Altan Khangai are the most representative features of Urad folk songs in their pure, original form.
San Fu
The opening long tune of the Urad banquet songs, in five rounds of three songs each, with a sung refrain added after each song to carry on the completeness of the whole set.
Altan Khangai
The closing song and poem of the Urad banquet songs, held to be the most representative feature of Urad folk songs in their pure, original form.
Long and short tunes
Urad folk songs are divided into long and short tunes, and the long-tune songs and poems are much respected on banquet occasions; at weddings, birthday celebrations and festivals there are very strict rules about which song is sung when.
Banquet song sequence rules
Banquet singing is governed by strict rules: it opens with the long tune San Fu, in five rounds of three songs each, with a sung refrain added after each song, and closes with the song and poem Altan Khangai.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Urad folk songs circulate chiefly in four areas: the pastoral districts of Urad Front Banner, Urad Middle Banner and Urad Rear Banner, and the Mongol residential area in western Baotou, and the folk song styles of the four areas are each different. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China large numbers of people from neighbouring Ordos poured into Urad Middle and Rear Banners, and the content of the folk songs and such singing styles as vocal manner and melody changed accordingly; the pastoral district of Urad Front Banner, by contrast, still preserves in full the distinctive character of the ancient Urad folk songs in their original state.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs · Mongolian Folk Songs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As society has developed, the folk banquet custom has wholly adopted the Han practice of holding feasts in the manner of city banquets; many conventions of folk singing have been discarded, the singers of the older generation dwindle year by year, and few of the younger generation can sing them, so Urad folk songs are in an endangered state. Su Yaletu (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Mongol ethnicity, born in November 1965, native of Urad Front Banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. By the age of twenty he had already mastered most of the repertoire handed down by his elders, and began to perform often in neighbouring sumu and gacha. After 2000 he took part many times in large-scale arts performances of Urad Front Banner, of Bayannur city and of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. He has systematically mastered the vocal techniques and traditional repertoire of the traditional Urad folk songs; his voice is high and resonant and his singing pure and natural, and he is a locally noted male soprano of the long-tune folk songs. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item Mongolian folk songs (Urad folk songs).
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Haleizhen 04-1533
- Guribasier 05-2111
- Suyaletu 05-2112
- Hanmei 05-2113
- Guli 05-2114
- Aoyunbielige
- Houqinghe
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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