Kazakh Dongbulayishu
01 · Historical Records
The dombra is the most widespread plucked-string instrument of the Kazakhs. Its art has long been current in the Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Urumqi, the counties of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture and the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, and it has been handed down generation after generation among the people by oral teaching from master to apprentice. Players customarily tell the story behind a piece or describe its content before performing it, so that instrumental works carry a dual character of narrative and improvisation.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Kazakh dombra art is an ethnic folk music genre centred on the dombra, an ancient Kazakh folk instrument, current in the Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Urumqi, the counties of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture and the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; it has a history of several thousand years. Kazakh dombra art consists of five major parts — pieces, self-accompanied songs, music for folk dance, playing methods and techniques, and the instrument together with its making craft; it can be used both for self-accompanied singing and for accompanying dance. The number of “dombra kuy” is very large; according to statistics, several thousand of them circulate among the Kazakhs of Xinjiang. Dombra pieces generally display a degree of improvisation and creativity in performance; before a performance begins, the dombra player has the tradition of telling the story of the piece or describing its content. Dombra songs are divided according to their mode of expression into six categories, “an”, “aytes”, “terme”, “tolgau”, “kissa” and “dastan”, of which “an” is self-accompanied song, “aytes” is an antiphonal duet, “terme” is a didactic song, “tolgau” is the continued singing of a ballad, “kissa” is a short narrative poem, and “dastan” is a long narrative poem. Performing these art forms in the manner of dombra songs achieves good results. Its melodies are melodious, broad-ranging and bright, it is skilled at the mixed metres of Kazakh folk music, and accompaniment, ensemble and solo are all handled with ease; these are the principal characteristics of dombra song art. Apart from self-accompanied singing, the dombra is also the principal instrument of music for Kazakh folk dance. Kazakh dombra art has long been handed down generation after generation among the people by oral teaching from master to apprentice. Over the centuries the Kazakhs have used dombra songs to record many aspects of their own history, culture, life and beliefs; dombra art has thereby become an important spiritual resource and a medium of cultural identity for the Kazakh nation.
Tokpe kui (struck pieces)
The Kazakhs call dombra pieces “dombra kuy”; according to musical structure and playing technique these fall into two main categories, and pieces played by striking are the one.
Chertpe kui (plucked pieces)
The other main category of dombra kuy, performed with plucking technique.
An (self-accompanied song)
One of the six categories of dombra song classified by mode of expression, meaning songs that the performer accompanies on the dombra himself.
Aitys (song duel)
One of the six categories of dombra song classified by mode of expression, meaning improvised singing in antiphonal duet.
Terme (didactic song)
One of the six categories of dombra song classified by mode of expression, whose content is chiefly admonition and advice.
Tolgau, Kissa and Dastan
Three of the six categories of dombra song classified by mode of expression: “tolgau” is the continued singing of a ballad, “kissa” is a short narrative poem, and “dastan” is a long narrative poem.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Kazakhs call dombra pieces “dombra kuy”; according to differences in musical structure and playing technique, these are further divided into two main categories, “tokpe kuy” (that is, pieces played by striking) and “cherpte kuy” (that is, pieces played by plucking).
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present modernization has had a considerable impact on the transmitted art of the Kazakh dombra, and the people who inherit and appreciate dombra singing are growing fewer; this precious ethnic art is on the verge of disappearing and urgently needs protection. Adilihan Abdulla (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Kazakh, born in May 1940, a native of Yining City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In 1959 he was admitted to the Yili Prefecture Song and Dance Theatre as a dance major. From 1960 he studied the making of the dombra under the three masters Mukatayi, Li Yanqi and Tuerxun, and took part in improving the craft of dombra making. While working at the Yili Prefecture Song and Dance Theatre he not only learned dombra making methods but also successively studied instrument making with instrument makers of the Kazakhs, Uyghurs, Han, Xibe and other ethnic groups and researched methods of singing accompaniment; apart from dombras, the Kazak, Xibe, Mongol, Uyghur, Tatar and other instruments he made won the favour of peoples throughout the country and of the peoples of Kazakhstan, Turkey and other countries and regions, and were exhibited successively in China, Japan, Turkey, South Korea and other countries. Representative inheritor of the Kazakh dombra art of the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Adilihan Abudoula 03-0887
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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