Tibetan Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
Tibetan wine songs have long been transmitted in the Tibetan-inhabited prefectures and counties of Qinghai. Their formation is closely bound up with the gatherings, banquets and wedding customs of the local tribal society: an elder generally leads the singing at a feast while the others join in, and young men and women also use the wine melodies to meet each other and answer each other in song. They are performed mostly standing or sitting, mainly as solo and as a duet between a man and a woman. The lyrics are prompted by what the singer sees around them and are strongly improvised, so the same tune tends to yield different words in different villages.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Qinghai Tibetan wine songs circulate widely in the Tibetan-inhabited prefectures and counties of Qinghai Province. They are Tibetan folk songs with a far-reaching distribution, and are especially popular in the Tibetan autonomous prefectures of Hainan, Huangnan, Golog and Haibei in Qinghai Province. Tibetan wine songs consist mainly of two large parts, “le” and “la yi”. “La yi” are the folk songs by which young men and women express their love. “Le” are a kind of folk song sung by the Tibetan people of Qinghai when they celebrate, amuse themselves or gather together. Because they are sung mostly at celebratory occasions such as wedding banquets, and are marked by mutual toasts and the expression of rejoicing, they are also called “wine songs”. Qinghai Tibetan wine songs are generally performed standing or sitting, mainly in the forms of solo and of duets between a man and a woman. The singers render each wine song with a refined, bright and concise vocal manner and technique; the melodies are lively and flowing, the lyrics are prompted by the things they see, and the subject matter is broad. There is praise for the magnificent snow-field plateau, longing for the beloved homeland, narration of beautiful legends, and good wishes and earnest hopes for a happy life, among other subjects. The principal pieces include “Gesar on Campaign”, “A Sang Kuo”, “A La La Mu”, “Xiang Jia Luo Luo” and “A Ma Le Ya”. Through a long historical development, Qinghai Tibetan wine songs formed a style and a set of characteristics closely bound to their geographical location, local customs and ways of life. At folk weddings and local celebrations, Qinghai Tibetan wine songs have become an important part of the programme and one of the emblematic items, with a large following of listeners and audiences and a very rich repertory of sung content. Qinghai Tibetan wine songs have a wide range of transmission and cover a large area; they are deeply rooted in the traditional culture of the ethnic group, the locality and the tribe. Their lyrics and vocal styles carry strong local ethnic and cultural colour and traditional features, and the wine songs of a locality or a tribe are often the result of collective transmission.
Gesar on Campaign
The principal pieces of the repertory include “Gesar on Campaign”, “A Sang Kuo”, “A La La Mu”, “Xiang Jia Luo Luo” and “A Ma Le Ya”.
A Sang Kuo
The principal pieces of the repertory include “Gesar on Campaign”, “A Sang Kuo”, “A La La Mu”, “Xiang Jia Luo Luo” and “A Ma Le Ya”.
A La La Mu
The principal pieces of the repertory include “Gesar on Campaign”, “A Sang Kuo”, “A La La Mu”, “Xiang Jia Luo Luo” and “A Ma Le Ya”.
Xiang Jia Luo Luo
The principal pieces of the repertory include “Gesar on Campaign”, “A Sang Kuo”, “A La La Mu”, “Xiang Jia Luo Luo” and “A Ma Le Ya”.
A Ma Le Ya
The principal pieces of the repertory include “Gesar on Campaign”, “A Sang Kuo”, “A La La Mu”, “Xiang Jia Luo Luo” and “A Ma Le Ya”.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Qinghai Tibetan wine songs are mainly divided into types such as “Qiao Le” (hymns of praise), “Le Ka Cai Ri” (songs for playful jesting), “Le Xi He” (songs of mockery and satire), “Kai Le” (riddle songs) and “Le Za Xi” (songs of blessing).
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs · Tibetan Folk Songs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Transmission mainly depends on the singers’ natural talent, on the accumulation of life absorbed through constant hearing and seeing, and on instruction from noted masters. The great majority of inheritors trained themselves into skill under the influence of family and tribal surroundings, and often have no clearly recorded line of masters. Qinghai Tibetan wine songs have a long history; they carry the development of the Tibetan people in the Qinghai region down to ancient times, and they are an artistic form that displays the historical development and cultural transmission of the Tibetans of Qinghai. Their influence is broad and they have considerable power to bind a community together and to inspire it. To a large extent they embody the humanistic spirit, the conditions of life and the social character of Tibetan society in modern and near-modern times, and they have high artistic, folkloric, social and cultural value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Ma Jianjun 03-0871
- Hua Ergong 03-0872
- Dawazhandou 03-0873
- Jiangbaqizha 05-2122
- Wudefen 05-2123
- Majinlian
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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