The Hezhe people call their folk songs "Marrying Lingkuo", which means minor key and small song.
Although the Hezhe people have a small population, they can sing and dance. The older Hezhe people can sing a few Hezhe folk songs. These folk songs are inseparable from their fishing and hunting production, religious sacrifices, and the process of life and entertainment. Most of these folk songs are improvised according to different environments and different scenes, and then passed down ten or ten times.
The Hezhe tribe can be divided into five categories:
First, historical ancient songs: the content has the nature of mythology, ethnic origin, etc., and very few have been handed down, which is very rare. For example, the "Migration Song", which is sung in a tune similar to the Imakan, is known as a "living fossil" that can sing.
The second is the sacred song in the ritual: mainly sung by the Shaman of the Hezhe tribe in the sacrifice ceremony, there are "Please God Song", "Ode to the God Song" and so on. The tune is relatively fixed, but each person has a personality in singing. The tunes of the sacred songs are later referenced by the Imakan art and the bonfire night dance. Its song style is not preserved much, and the next part of It is preserved in Ling Chunsheng's "Hezhe Tribe in the Lower Reaches of the Songhua River", which is extremely precious.
The third is the custom songs in life: the content reflected in the content includes fishing and hunting production, male and female love, folk customs, hometown landscapes, etc., and the proportion of such folk songs is relatively large. Its lyrics are very arbitrary, you can see what to sing, what you want to sing, and the lyrics are played to the fullest. For example, "Songhua River Meeting Love Song", "Thinking of Love Lang", "Thinking of Love Tune", etc., are all classic works.
The fourth is the reminiscence of the song: the production of such folk songs is related to the suffering experience of the Hezhe people, or to tell the history of suffering, or to criticize the bloody crimes of the Japanese Kou. These folk songs are slow and long, sad and beautiful, sound like crying, giving people a sense of depression. Such as "Past Painful Days" and so on.
Fifth, the praise songs of the new life: these kinds of folk songs were produced after the founding of New China, and the number is relatively large. Its authors include Wu Liangui, Wu Fuchang, Han Fude, Sun Yusen and so on. For example, "Green Mountains Yo Green Water", "Fishing Ballads", etc., are mostly based on the past folk songs to play and fill in new words, sing to each other, and over time it has become today's new folk songs.
Hezhe music is mainly based on the memories and oral transmission of generations of folk artists and singing enthusiasts. In the past, the production methods of the Hezhe people were mainly fishing and hunting, of which fishing was the mainstay, and the production tools were mainly simple fishing tools such as net boats, so most of the Hezhe music materials were derived from their prayer fishing, weaving nets, fishing, fishing and other lives. The rhythm of the music is simple and bright, the melody is fresh and smooth, there is a charm of going with the flow, there is a "song in the bow of the boat, singing in the waves", the tune and the basic rhythm are mostly out of the rowing action, stretching and smooth, with the characteristics of fisherman's songs, both good and catchy, easy to remember and sing.
(Image from Xinhua Net)
Source: Cultural Tourism China