Mongolian Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
The Khoshut are one of the four divisions of the Oirat Mongols; from the 1630s their people moved in stages to graze around Alxa, and whenever festival rites and celebrations were held the Khoshut would offer wine and songs to create a festive atmosphere. Besides Alxa Left Banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Khoshut folk songs are also found in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu, each varying with differences of dialect, natural environment and ethnic custom, and the singing of the Alxa Left Banner area is generally accepted as the most representative.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Khoshut are one of the four divisions of the Oirat Mongols in China, and whenever festival rites and celebrations are held they offer wine and songs to create a festive atmosphere. The words and tunes of the Khoshut folk songs they sing are enough to delight the ear and gladden the heart of every guest at the banquet and put them in high spirits. Long tunes predominate among the Khoshut folk song forms, which are of many kinds; by subject they are divided into historical narrative, blessing, everyday customs, love, longing, weddings and the praise of horses. They are simple and solemn, with lively tunes that rise and fall widely; in their tonal character they rather completely preserve the pentatonic modal style of Mongol folk song, and there are also six-tone and seven-tone modes. They insist on the richness and the variety of timbre; the breath is broad, the line winding and far-ranging, the manner expansive and bold, and there are many ornamented notes; the melodic structure is mostly two phrases in two sections, accompanied by rich auxiliary and inserted words. When a long note is sung, varied he yin and hui yin overtones are often inserted. They have also formed a distinctive singing method called tatlaga: the long-tune songs are sung with an upward lift and a raised register, winding and turning; on reaching the final note of a phrase the note is lengthened and flung upward by the hayalaga method, and the melody is then gently drawn back and carried into the next phrase. Besides, every Khoshut folk song has a fixed refrain; when a song is finished, all join in singing the refrain, which adds to the atmosphere.
Thematic categories
Long tunes predominate among the Khoshut folk song forms, which are of many kinds; by subject they are divided into historical narrative, blessing, everyday customs, love, longing, weddings and the praise of horses.
Tatlaga singing technique
The long-tune songs are sung with an upward lift and a raised register, winding and turning; on reaching the final note of a phrase the note is lengthened and flung upward by the hayalaga method, and the melody is then gently drawn back and carried into the next phrase.
Fixed refrain sung in chorus
Every Khoshut folk song has a fixed refrain; when a song is finished, all join in singing the refrain, which adds to the atmosphere.
Harmonic and echo overtones
They insist on the richness and the variety of timbre; the breath is broad, the line winding and far-ranging, the manner expansive and bold, and there are many ornamented notes. Varied he yin and hui yin overtones are often inserted when long notes are sung, and the melodic structure is mostly two phrases in two sections, with rich auxiliary and inserted words.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Khoshut folk songs are a traditional form of Mongol music transmitted in Alxa Left Banner of Alxa League in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region; besides Alxa Left Banner, they are also found in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and elsewhere. Under the influence of dialect, natural environment, ethnic custom and other factors, Khoshut folk songs have formed a distinctive artistic style.
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
Khoshut folk songs are transmitted mainly through master and apprentice, with a good number of representative inheritors; a well known inheritor can sing more than 200 folk songs. Over the years Alxa Left Banner has set up a folk song association and regularly held study sessions, symposia and competitions as well as activities bringing folk songs into schools, communities, sumu and gacha, devoting itself to the excavation, sorting out, dissemination and promotion of Khoshut folk songs and drawing together a large body of inheritors and practitioners. Khoshut folk songs have a long history and are closely bound to the history of the Khoshut tribe; they reflect the folk customs and the life tastes of the Alxa region and are indispensable epic material for understanding and studying the social and historical forms of Alxa. They carry the distinctive features of nomadic and regional culture, recording and recounting in the language peculiar to the people of the grasslands the Mongol people’s understanding of history and culture, human custom, morality, philosophy and art, and they have high historical, cultural and artistic value.
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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