In the middle of the green mountains, a stream runs through the village, and the drum tower in the village stands tall, and a song is heard from a distance. This is an ordinary night in Zaidang Village, Zhima Town, Rongjiang County, Qiandongnan, Guizhou Province, where people who work for a day often get together and gently sing ancient songs, turning into nocturnes, reverberating under the stars to achieve a warm night.
What the villagers are singing is one of the national intangible cultural heritage, the great song of the Dong nationality. Popular in the southeastern region of Guizhou and parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Dong Song was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Dong women practice Dong songs around a campfire. Respondents provided
Ancient ballads are sung softly
The Great Song of the Dong Nationality originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and has a long history. As a derivative of the life of the Dong people, sung by the Dong people who are born with a good voice, as few as three people, more than hundreds of people, the Dong big song records history with sound, creating a multi-voice, a cappella harmony, in the village, generally divided into different song teams by gender and age, of which the female song team is the majority.
Yang Changzhen is the inheritor of the Dong national song of Zaidang Village, Zhima Town, Rongjiang County, and her mother-in-law Hu Guanmei is the national inheritor of the world intangible cultural heritage. "My mother-in-law is 68 years old, she has been teaching songs in our village for more than 40 years, and her students have accumulated more than 600." Yang Changzhen said that since he was three years old, he has been in contact with the great songs of the Dong people and learned the great songs of the Dong people, which were also taught by Hu Guanmei.
Yang Changzhen, the inheritor of the Dong great song of the Dong ethnic group in Zaidang Village, Zhima Town, Rongjiang County. Courtesy of respondents
Yang Changzhen is 41 years old this year, when she was a child, the village was not yet connected to electricity, people can only light oil lamps at night, with the help of dim lights. It was in front of the faint light that she and several children in the village followed Hu Guanmei to learn the great song of the Dong people. "This is my most cherished memory from my childhood, and I still remember it vividly, and when I think of that moment, my heart is particularly warm," she said. ”
Hu Guanmei, a national non-hereditary inheritor. Courtesy of respondents
"Wherever there is a drum tower, you can sing Dong songs." The great song of the Dong people not only undertakes the function of entertainment, but also is the encyclopedia of the Dong people, carrying the most traditional education methods of the Dong people. Yang Changzhen said: "We grew up in an environment full of Dong songs, and in our village, we can't sing Dong songs, it is difficult to marry out." ”
For the Dong people, the Big Song of the Dong People is life, and music has been integrated into the genes. Yang Changzhen introduced: "We sing almost every day, I don't sing a day will feel that everywhere is wrong, and in our songs, there will be some principles of doing things, our children learn from an early age, and they are educated in songs." ”
The Dong great song was once called the highest and oldest "Acapella" (that is, a cappella) in the world, because the Dong people are the only ethnic group without writing, and the reason why their culture can continue to this day is to rely on the oral transmission of this Dong great song, and people rely on the beautiful singing voice to pass it on from generation to generation. Yang Changzhen was passed down in this way, and so was Hu Guanmei.
Hitch a ride on the Internet
In recent years, as more and more young people have gone out to work, there have been fewer songs in the villages. As the inheritor, Yang Changzhen used another method to transmit the song to a farther place. "We created several chat groups to record the great songs of the Dong people and share them in the group, so that young people who work abroad can also learn." Yang Saidzhen.
Digital tools provide a new possibility for the development of the Dong nationality song, with the outflow of population, part of the traditional culture of the village is being dissolved by modern civilization, which has also become a problem in Yang Changzhen's heart. She said: "I hope that the Great Song of the Dong Ethnic Group can be passed on forever, and even now, more young people need to join." Many young people who go out will come to contact me and take the initiative to ask for study, which also makes me very moved. ”
With the help of the Internet, Yang Changzhen achieved the purpose of inheritance, and she took over hu Guanmei's mission to become a new generation of non-genetic heirs. She said: "In the past, we could only pass it on by word of mouth, and we had to be very careful and memorize it repeatedly to learn a song, but now we have a recording. ”
After all, the Internet is a means to ensure communication, Yang Changzhen said, the most important thing is that everyone gets together and learns to recite the Great Song of the Dong people. She told reporters: "Every night, after we are busy with the things at hand, we will gather a group of people in the drum tower, we practice the Dong song under the lamp, according to the sound conditions, divide the high and low sound areas and practice repeatedly, so that learning songs is the most well remembered." Yang Changzhen said that every time he gathers with everyone to sing in the drum tower, it is the happiest time of the day, and he can relax and devote himself to the song and feel the rhythm of music and beat.
Guests from afar
The Dong world, composed of Dong songs, is warm and beautiful. Walking to the door of the Dong village, there will be a Dong girl who welcomes guests to hand the guests a barricade wine, and almost all the people in the village will go out to drink and sing with the guests. At night, the Dong people will light a burning bonfire in the center of the drum tower, wait for the guests to sit down, the drum tower will be a patchwork of Dong songs, the villagers will use different voices to show the natural harmony of multiple voices, crisp and long, so that the guests' internal organs are instantly transparent.
In recent years, with the development of tourism, more and more guests from afar have seen the style of the Dong nationality song and felt the shock of the original ecology.
"Sometimes when guests come, they will follow us to learn a few dong songs." Yang Changzhen does not hesitate to share the skills of singing, she said, guests from afar, more young people, they learn quickly, singing Dong songs is also very good. "There was a young man from Germany who was learning the Dong song at my house, he learned very quickly, he sang very well, I hope more guests will come to learn the Dong song, and then share it with people outside the village."
The original sound penetrated the mountain and pounded the eardrums, and Yang Changzhen said that it was the power that hit people's hearts, and even if they couldn't understand it, they would be deeply moved by the song. The young man from Germany, called Bunzi, lived in the mountains of Guizhou for more than four months in order to shoot a documentary on China's ethnic minorities, and after experiencing the Dong song, he once said on the social platform: "The Dong song is really good." ”
Write the good into the song
Yang Changzhen said that the meaning of the Dong nationality song is very rich, praising nature and pursuing beauty is their eternal theme. "When I work in the fields, when I cook, I will unconsciously hum." Yang Changzhen did not go out to work like many young people in the village, but chose to stay in the village, and after doing the housework, she would go to the primary school in the village and take the children of the first and second grades to learn the Dong songs together.
"It is very important at what age the Dong song is learned, and a child who learns it from an early age and a child who learns it again after becoming an adult taste different." Yang Changzhen taught the children to sing, just like her mother-in-law taught herself to sing decades ago, word by word, one tone at a time, she never lost her temper in this matter. "The children in our village also especially like the Big Songs of the Dong People, which is the innate yearning of our Dong people for music."
The children of the village sang a big Song of the Dong people. Courtesy of respondents
When working outside and encountering the sun, Yang Changzhen will gently sing praises for the sun, and when she encounters bright flowers on the mountain, she will use the Dong song to express her love for the flowers, and the tone of the Dong song contains the Satisfaction and Pursuit of a Better Life of the Dong People. Just a few days ago, Yang Changzhen created a big Song of the Dong ethnic group as a gift for the upcoming Women's Day. She organized nearly 80 women in the village to complete this women's hymn with her.
"I created it in our Dong language, and the main meaning of the lyrics is to express praise for women's labor and praise for the good life in the village." For the performance on Women's Day, Yang Has organized rehearsals for several nights for the participants, and as usual, they will present a wonderful performance in the Drum Tower that can only be seen in the Dong world.
In the drum tower, Dong women sing around the campfire. Courtesy of respondents
The moonlight sprinkled on everyone, the ethnic costumes with exquisite patterns and shining accessories looked even better against the background of the fire, the beautiful Dong songs floated in the valleys, and the women in the mountains were proud and elegant.
Beijing News reporter Chen Lu
Edited by Zhang Shujing Proofreader Guo Li