Materials
folk songs
ICH Materials 268
Audios
(51)-
Hò khuyên (Singing for confidence between men and women)
Since ancient times, the Nùng ethnic minority regarded folksongs as confidence, a means of communication and love expressions, and the vibration of the heart. In singing, they can express their thoughts and feelings at anytime and anywhere. Hò khuyên is sung to the tune of Hèo Phươn, a typical Nùng An folk song. Hèo Phươn is sung based on a pair of poems, each pair has two sentences and each sentence has ten words. When singing, each part for men or women has two people— one bass voice and one high voice. They sing in harmonious and romantic parts. Words of the ancient songs are full of overflowing, profound, lyrical, yearning, and loving words.
Viet Nam 1970 -
Barsāti
Barsāti means “rain song.” This genre is associated with the monsoon and often expresses longing for an absent husband. It was sung to ease the labor of transplanting rice. Bent over in cold muddy water, women passed the time chorusing such songs. Here, the woman confides in her husband’s sister of a pain in her side, and a Vaid healer is brought from Mandi. However, her yearning is so intense that she feels she will die without her Ranjha(“true love”), referring to the tragic Punjabi folk epic of Heer Ranjha. The lead singer here is Urmila Rana. This song was recorded in the field. The sound of splashing water and other sounds from the field provide an authentic context. Recorded and collected by Kirin Narayan
India 1991 -
Ứ noọng nòn (Lullaby)
The lullaby Ứ noọng nòn is popular kind of folk music at any place where Tày-Nùng ethnic minorities reside. The lullabies are often subtle and funny, so they are suitable for children. The songs reflect the lifestyles of living in a water rice civilization. Themes include a mother working in the fields, catching fish, etc. Most songs of Ứ noọng nòn have verses of five words.
Viet Nam 1970 -
Tika Bhairab Jaatraa
The Tika Bhairab jaatraa is held annually in Lele village, in the Lalitpur District, in the Kathmandu Valley. The god Tika Bhairab is believed to be a protector from evil and misfortune for all inhabitants of the valley. The festival starts with the worshipping of the god, followed by feasting, playing folk music, and singing traditional songs. The festival continues through the night.\nThe people believe that if they remain awake all night, they will receive the god's blessing.
Nepal 1905 -
Hà lều (A patriotic song)
In the folksongs of Tày-Nùng in Cao Bằng, Hà lều (also called as Lượn Phủ) of the Nùng Inh people are the most attractive melodies. Hà lều is often sung during fun activities, but most commonly on the occasion of January and February—the season of festive singing—the season of lồng tồng. Hà lều is sung in pairs by alternating two men and two women. When one side stops, the other side responds immediately. If both sides respond well without interruption, the song will be very smooth. With Hà lều, we can hear that one sings with a low voice, and the other sings with a high voice, and one waits for the other person for a harmony. This is a unique feature in comparison with many other folk songs. The lyrics of Hà lều usually use a style of a seven-seven word meter poem; the fifth syllable of the second sentence must rhyme with the last syllable of the first sentence. This type of rhyme finding is a typical characteristic of Hà lều.
Viet Nam 1970 -
(Opening the door to offer flowers) - Singing with pí lè accompaniment
According to the census data in 2009, the Tày ethnic minority in Vietnam had a population of over 1.6 million, making it the second most populous group in Vietnam, mostly residing in the provinces of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng. the Tày people have a rich treasure of folk culture and folk songs that are performed in rituals and daily activities. Mở cửa dâng hoa (Opening the door to offer flowers) is a song sung during the wedding ceremonies. The song’s content is to remind the couple to live well and desire a life of peace and happiness.
Viet Nam 1970 -
Bụt lằn (expressing spring scences)
According to the census data of 2009, the Nùng ethnic minority had a population of 968, 800 people and was the seventh most populous group in Vietnam, who mostly live in the provinces of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng. The Nùng people have a rich treasure of folk culture and folk songs imbue with their group. Bụt (the Goddess of Mercy) is one kind of religious rituals of the Nùng people. In everyday life, the Nùng people believe that men have thirty hồn (souls) and women have forty vía (vital spirits). Hồn vía are associated with body. When the Nùng deal with difficulties, the soul and vital spirits escape from the body, making the body ill. If the soul and vital spirits leave the body for a long time, the person will be severely ill or die. At the beginning of spring, the Nùng people often worship for vital spirits at home. This worship includes twelve phases with singing meaningful lyrics. The singing melodies have many pitches—low, high, deliberate, strong, enthusiastic, passionate tunes, etc.—bringing deep emotions to people’s hearts. The song “Bụt lằn” (Expressing spring scenes) with lyrics on plants, flowers, and animals, paints a natural scene that is fervid and harmonious with the thoughts and feelings of the people, evoking a sense of honesty, talent, and intelligence.
Viet Nam 1905 -
Đò đưa (on boat)
Đò đưa is one of a few folk songs that was influenced by Ca trù and then became a Ca trù song for entertainment. A late Ca trù folk artist, Đinh Thị Bản, said: “This is a favourite song, sung when mandarins were on a boat on Hồ Tây Lake in Hanoi in the past”.
Viet Nam 1982 -
Chudka Song of Gurung
Chudka are short phrases of folk songs sung by people from the Gurung community of the western hills. Chudka songs are usually sung during Dashain, Tihar, Purnima and Tamu Lhosar. At the beginning, the tempo of the song is slow. It gradually rises until the end. Prayers to gods and goddesses along with well wishes for festivals and daily happenings are expressed.
Nepal 1905 -
Sang sa (Solo of the tính tẩu lute)
According to the census data of 2009, the Thái ethnic minority in Vietnam had a population of about 1.5 million people, making them the third populous group in Vietnam, mostly residing in Sơn La and Điện Biên provinces. Thái people have a rich treasure of folk culture such as myths, poems, hát khắp folk songs, xòe dance, and bamboo pole dance. The tính tẩu is a typical musical instrument of Thái people. The tính tẩu is used to accompany the ritual singing, especially in the Then ceremony of the ethnic minorities like the Thái, Tày, and Nùng. In addition, the tính tẩu is also used to accompany love-exchange songs and the xòe dance of Thái people. The tính tẩu is a plucked stringed instrument made up of a head, neck, resonator, surface, bridge, and strings. The neck and the head are made of a piece of wood with a total length of about eighty to ninety centimeters. There are two tuning pegs. The round and thick resonator is made from the cover of an old gourd. The instrument surface is covered with bamboo. The bridge is a piece of bamboo with grooves for the strings to fall into. The tính tẩu has between two and three strings depending on each region and on musical functions.
Viet Nam 1964 -
Kaura Song of Magar
Kaura songs are traditional folk songs sung by people from the Magar community of the mid-western and western hills. They are sung during Dashain, Tihar, and Chandi Purnima. The tempo of the song is slow at the beginning and gradually moves up to medium or fast beat. Kaura songs are sung in a question-answer form.
Nepal 1905 -
A Slender and Beautiful Brown Horse, Nariin Saikhan Kheer
Mongolian folk songs are divided in three different categories, such as long songs, short songs and the authors’ songs. Folk songs are shorter than other forms of expressions with average durations of one to five minutes, but there is a high volume of them. Thus, restoring, categorising, and digitising folk songs were the most time-consuming tasks compared to others. Within the framework of the project, just under forty-eight hours of songs were restored and digitised.
Mongolia 1905