Tibetan Zhamuniedanchang
01 · Historical Records
Zhamuni singing and instrumental performance is most widely transmitted in Gonghe, Tongde, Xinghai, Guinan and Guide counties of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai. It is a common form of performance at Tibetan banquets, festivals and pasture gatherings there, and the performers are mostly singers within families or villages. Its lyrics are multi-stanza narrative poems, performed with singing interspersed with spoken lines, with even rhythms and a lively, flowing character.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Tibetan Zhamuni singing and instrumental performance is the most influential art of singing with accompaniment in the Qinghai Tibetan area, and is mainly current in Gonghe, Tongde, Xinghai, Guinan and Guide counties of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Zhamuni is a Tibetan word meaning 'the pleasing sound of the qin'; it has circulated for a very long time among the Tibetan people and has a history of more than a thousand years to the present. Tibetan Zhamuni includes four-string, sixteen-string, twenty-string and six-string types, of which the six-string type is the most common. Its basic playing method is to hold the instrument with the left hand and press the strings, and to pluck with the right hand to produce the sound, so that the performer can play, sing and dance at the same time. The content of Zhamuni singing is basically the same in each region, but the modes of performance each have their own character. It may be played and sung by one person or by two, or sung in chorus by a number of people, accompanied at the same time by simple movements. The range of Zhamuni singing generally spans about an eleventh; it uses the pentatonic scale, mainly the shang and zhi modes and the gong mode, with a few individual pieces in the six-tone scale. The lyrics of Tibetan Zhamuni singing are multi-stanza narrative poems, performed with singing interspersed with spoken lines, with even rhythms and a lively, flowing character. Its representative repertoire includes Gesar's Subjugation of Demons and Horse Racing and Crowning. As society changes, the living space for Zhamuni performance grows steadily smaller.
Gesar's Subjugation of Demons
Its representative repertoire includes Gesar's Subjugation of Demons and Horse Racing and Crowning.
Horse Racing and Crowding
Its representative repertoire includes Gesar's Subjugation of Demons and Horse Racing and Crowning.
Gesar epic singing
One of the two main categories of Hainan Tibetan Zhamuni singing, centred on the narrative singing of the epic King Gesar.
Improvised singing
The other of the two main categories of Hainan Tibetan Zhamuni singing, including verse-praise narrative singing, music-praise narrative singing and the like.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Hainan Tibetan Zhamuni singing and instrumental performance both preserves elements of local Tibetan folk music and absorbs melodies from narrative singing and dance music, presenting a style of great beauty and charm. Its content falls into two categories: the first is the narrative singing of the epic King Gesar; the second is improvised narrative singing, including verse-praise narrative singing, music-praise narrative singing and the like.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Gongbuzhanianbodong.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Tibetan Zhamuni singing and instrumental performance has a broad popular base and displays strong ethnic character; the individuality of its language, music and dance is very marked, and it has extremely high research value in ethnology and in the study of art. At present many well-known Zhamuni performers in the Hainan area have died, and transmission has broken down. Tibetan Zhamuni singing and instrumental performance is in an endangered condition and urgently needs a rescue and protection plan that is put into effect without delay. Zhamuni singing in the pastoral and the agricultural areas each has its own emphasis: in the pastoral areas epic passages are mostly sung, while in the agricultural areas love songs and songs of blessing are also sung, with the six-string zhamuni as the main accompaniment and the flute and drum used now and then to strengthen the rhythm.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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