| Description |
The Dong’s grand song is a folk multipart singing a cappella that includes women’s choirs, men’s choirs and mixed choirs. Its repertory comprises genres such as ‘drum-tower’ songs, ‘imitative’ songs (in which by imitating sounds from nature performers display their vocal virtuosity), ballads, children songs, songs for the ‘dance around the drum-towers’ and ‘welcoming’ songs. The drum-tower – a landmark building of Dong villages – is the venue where rituals, entertainment and meetings are held. As such, the drum-towers are the formal locale for performances. However, at times improvised performances may take place also in cottages, on the roofed bridges, at the village gates or squares.
The grand songs usually have two vocal parts producing consonant intervals of fourth and fifth; occasionally intervals of second and major and minor thirds may also occur. Singers take turns in breathing in order to sustain the long bass part. The upper part is led by one or two singers alternatively, thus resulting in chords of three or even four parts. The voices’ timbre and intonation are extremely well amalgamated, showing the excellent creativity and skill of the singers.
The Dong people live mainly in the mountainous areas of Guizhou. They used to have no writing system and passed down their culture and knowledge through singing. As a popular Dong saying goes, “rice nourishes the body, songs nourish the soul”. The expression “nourish the soul” summarizes the effort to educate people’s sentiments and virtues. This proverb alludes to the aims and characteristics of the grand song, that is the dissemination of culture and the edification of people through recreation. The grand song is the Dong people’s “encyclopedia”. It narrates their history, extols the belief in the “unity between humanity and nature”, disseminates scientific knowledge, sings the honest love between men and women, and advocates social virtues like respecting the elders and taking good care of one’s neighbor. As such, the Dong people have no interest in seizing lost belongings, nor do they need to care about the safety of their home when the door is left open. The performance shows also the Dong’s search for the ideal of a “unity between humanity and nature”.
The music is passed down by a skilled master who teaches a group of disciples – the choir. This process gives shape to the Dong peculiar cultural milieu where everyone is put in the condition to participate in singing. At present, in all Dong villages there are various singing teams divided according to the members’ age. In addition, Dong grand song ensembles, associations for the promotions of Dong culture, and Dong song research institutes have been established in Liping, Congjiang and Rongjiang Counties. Under the guidance of these folk organizations a number of singing contests have been held, and a campaign has been launched to bring the Dong’s grand song into the classrooms. Some Dong singing masters such as Wu Pinxian (aged 62), Wu Jiaxing (aged 65) and Wu Yuzhu (aged 45) have played a key role in the teaching of this art. As a result, performance, research and transmission have been stimulated and further developed.
The grand song is a cultural form created, performed and developed by the Dong people themselves. It acts as a sign of ethnic identity, as an ‘intangible’ cultural heritage that complements the drum-towers, i.e. their ‘tangible’ cultural heritage. The Dong people are deeply aware of the historical importance and responsibilities associated with inheriting and passing down this oral tradition. |
| Social and cultural significance |
The Dong people live mainly in the mountainous areas of Guizhou. They used to have no writing system and passed down their culture and knowledge through singing. As a popular Dong saying goes, “rice nourishes the body, songs nourish the soul”. The expression “nourish the soul” summarizes the effort to educate people’s sentiments and virtues. This proverb alludes to the aims and characteristics of the grand song, that is the dissemination of culture and the edification of people through recreation. The grand song is the Dong people’s “encyclopedia”. It narrates their history, extols the belief in the “unity between humanity and nature”, disseminates scientific knowledge, sings the honest love between men and women, and advocates social virtues like respecting the elders and taking good care of one’s neighbor. As such, the Dong people have no interest in seizing lost belongings, nor do they need to care about the safety of their home when the door is left open. The performance shows also the Dong’s search for the ideal of a “unity between humanity and nature”.
The grand song is a cultural form created, performed and developed by the Dong people themselves. It acts as a sign of ethnic identity, as an ‘intangible’ cultural heritage that complements the drum-towers, i.e. their ‘tangible’ cultural heritage. The Dong people are deeply aware of the historical importance and responsibilities associated with inheriting and passing down this oral tradition. |
| Transmission method |
The music is passed down by a skilled master who teaches a group of disciples – the choir. This process gives shape to the Dong peculiar cultural milieu where neveryone is put in the condition to participate in singing. At present, in all Dong villages there are various singing teams divided according to the members’ age. In addition, Dong grand song ensembles, associations for the promotions of Dong culture, and Dong song research institutes have been established in Liping, Congjiang and Rongjiang Counties. Under the guidance of these folk organizations a number of singing contests have been held, and a campaign has been launched to bring the Dong’s grand song into the classrooms. Some Dong singing masters such as Wu Pinxian (aged 62), Wu Jiaxing (aged 65) and Wu Yuzhu (aged 45) have played a key role in the teaching of this art. As a result, performance, research and transmission have been stimulated and further developed. |
| Community |
Liping, Congjiang and Rongjiang Counties and the neighboring Dong communities in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong
Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. |
| Type of UNESCO List |
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List |
2009 |
