Xieqin
01 · Historical Records
The melodies of Nima Township Xieqin can be traced back to the salt-carrying and grain-carrying life of the herders of northern Tibet more than a thousand years ago: the ancestors drove their yaks to the salt lakes of northern Tibet to fetch salt and to the farming areas of southern Tibet to carry grain, and the salt songs and grain songs they sang on the way, together with the sheep-shearing song sung while shearing wool, the milk-churn song sung while making yogurt, the mountain songs praising the scenery, and the herding songs praising fattened cattle and sheep, gradually merged into the repertoire of Nima Township Xieqin.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The traditional song-and-dance “xieqin” transmitted in Nima Township, Bange County, was distilled and created by the herding masses of northern Tibet in the course of production and life. The songs in xieqin derive from a number of different songs of more than a thousand years ago: the salt songs of the ancestors fetching salt in northern Tibet, the grain songs of those carrying grain in southern Tibet, the sheep-shearing song, the milk-churn song sung while making yogurt, the mountain songs praising the scenery, and the herding songs praising fattened cattle and sheep. The traditional lyrics of Nima Township Xieqin number more than a hundred; there are more than twenty melodies, which can be combined into more than twenty dances. Examples include “Nobu Dingchao”, “Gudong”, “Bazha Xiaguo”, “Zhuodongni” and “Oruo Xiachu”. When Nima Township Xieqin is performed, the dancers form a circle, a crescent or a straight line. The dance movements are all determined by the content, characteristics and rhythm of each song; the movements are bold and unrestrained, and the steps are light, quick and powerful, full of the flavour of the dance of the herders of northern Tibet. In the dance, although the movements of men and women are the same, the movements of the women are small, reserved and soft, while those of the men are stirring, unrestrained, free and easy. The broad herding masses of northern Tibet express through the performance of Nima Township Xieqin their love of and their longing for a good life.
Circle, crescent and line
Dancers stand in a circle, a crescent or a line, the movement set by each song's words and rhythm, rough and bold with light, forceful steps.
A hundred texts, twenty melodies
Its hundred-odd traditional texts and twenty-odd melodies combine into twenty-plus dances drawn from pastoral work and the grassland landscape.
How men and women differ
Men and women perform the same steps, but the women's movement is small, reserved and soft while the men's is exultant and free.
Named songs and dance sections
Named pieces such as Norbu Dintrog, Guding, Bazha Xiaguo, Zhuodong Ni and Orruo Xiachu each carry their own text and movement combination.
Enwa and the Nima township troupe
Born in Baingoin in 1965, Enwa leads the local troupe, studies the dance's music and movement and teaches it to herders and schoolchildren.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Nima Township Xieqin is transmitted in the herding area of northern Tibet around Nima Township, Bange County, Nagqu City; the performing troupe is made up of local herders, and the dancers form a circle, a crescent or a straight line. The traditional lyrics number more than a hundred, and there are more than twenty melodies which can be combined into more than twenty dances, such as “Nobu Dingchao”, “Gudong”, “Bazha Xiaguo”, “Zhuodongni” and “Oruo Xiachu”. Bange County lies on the northern Tibetan plateau between Namtso and Siling Co; pastoralism is the main livelihood of the local people. The repertoire and dance sections of xieqin also revolve mostly around pastoral work and the scenery of the grasslands, and it is a song-and-dance piece that herders perform repeatedly during herding breaks and at festive gatherings.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Xieqin · Xieqin.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Enwa (as recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): male, of Tibetan ethnicity, born in August 1965, a native of Bange County, Tibet Autonomous Region. He has loved dance since childhood, learned the lyrics and dance movements of Nima Township Xieqin from the elders of his family, and is the lead dancer of the local Nima Township Xieqin troupe. His steps are bold and his movements are intense and unrestrained. Representative inheritor of the fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project Xieqin (Nima Township Xieqin). He has led performing troupes to take part in performance competitions and win awards many times. He has devoted himself to long-term study of the dance music and movements of Nima Township Xieqin, and has carefully taught them to the local herders and students.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Suo Langciren 03-0946
- Ciwangdanzeng 03-0947
- Enwa 05-2277
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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