Chen Sihua: Yulong Naxi Collection
The World Oral Literature Project is pleased to host the collection of Chen Sihua. Details of the full collection can be browsed on DSpace@Cambridge by clicking here.
This collection contains three chants, three folk songs, three funeral songs, two instrumentals, five love songs, two paeans, two weddings songs, two welcoming songs, and two working songs that were collected by Chen Sihua in various locations in Yulong County, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province, PR China.
Collection Details:
Collection: Yulong Naxi Collection
Collector: Chen Sihua
Date(s): January 2008
Language(s): Naxi
1. Yulong Chanting 1, Congbaitu
The vocalist is a dongba religious specialist, and his grandfather, also a dongba, taught him this chant. This chant describes the formless earth immediately after its formation.
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2. Yulong Chanting 2, Sumigu
The vocalist is a dongba religious specialist, and his grandfather, also a dongba, taught him this chant. This chant is performed after a family member has been cremated, in order to purify living family members.
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3. Yulong Chanting 3, Niwaogao
The vocalist learned this chant when he was very young. The chant is thought to be very old, and to have originated at an unknown time when Tibetans, Bai, and Naxi were a single ethnic group.
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4. Yulong Folk Song 1, Aolealea
This song describes the various allotted places where specific family member should sit around the fireplace, for example, females sit on the left and males on the right.
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5. Yulong Folk Song 2, Hoahliu beng
The singer learned this song when he was a teenager from his fellow villagers. This song is sung when ploughing and consists of vocables and instructions to the bull that is pulling the plough.
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6. Yulong Folk Song 3, Gow Qin Bei
The singer learned this song from her father, and remembers hearing it from her grandmother when she was a child. Elders sing this song to educate youths about the changes that take place throughout life.
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7. Yulong Funeral Song 1, Kaicuo
The singer learned this from her teacher Aohua when she was twenty years old. The song is thought to originate at the time when Pumi people and Naxi battled. The song is sung at funerals to open a road to the afterlife to the deceased.
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8. Yulong Funeral Song 2, Ren melcuo
This funeral song is only sung for people over the age of sixty who die a natural death, and wishes them a good next reincarnation.
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9. Yulong Funeral Song 3, Mu Zei Bei
The singer learned this song from her aunt. This song is sung to comfort people who have been orphaned, and cannot be sung to others.
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10. Yulong Instrument 1, Shiveshou
This instrument is played when people are relaxing together.
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11. Yulong Instrument 2, Kong Kong Kai
Her elder brother taught her how to play the jaw's harp, which people typically play when relaxing together.
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12. Yulong Love Song 1, Tong Lei Beng
The singer learned this song when he was fifteen years old. Young people typically sing such songs while herding or picnicking in the mountains outside the village. This song describes the situation of a man remarrying, a common phenomenon in the past.
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13. Yulong Love Song 2, Weimedao
In this love song, each singer describes the growth of a flower that they wish to give to their lover.
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14. Yulong Love Song 3, Byenebanben
The singer learned this song from her mother when they slept together in the evenings. Her mother, in turn, learned it from her mother in the same way. Young people typically sing such songs while herding or picnicking in the mountains outside the village. The singer describes her desire to meet her lover.
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15. Yulong Love Song 4, Tong Lei Beng
The singer learned this song from his aunt when he was approximately fifteen years old. Young people typically sing such songs while herding or picnicking in the mountains outside the village.
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16. Yulong Love Song 5, Saowao Baoseiba
The singer learned this love song from her grandmother while they were farming together. The lyrics state that though there are many beautiful flowers, the most beautiful is the peony, and though there are many handsome boys, the most handsome is the singer's lover.
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17. Yulong Paean 1, Didu Juziyi
The singer learned this song from her elder brother Dong Cai when she was ten years old. This song may be sung at any celebratory gathering and describes the excellent local living conditions by stating that locals eat only meat and drink only milk.
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18. Yulong Paean 2, Saowa Geibole
The singer learned this song from her teacher He Wenguang during her school holidays. This song is typically sung at celebratory gatherings, and encourages Naxi people to help one another.
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19. Yulong Wedding Song 1, Weiweigewg
The singer learned this wedding song, which praises deer, from his uncle.
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20. Yulong Wedding Song 2, Daijigulu
The singer learned this song from his father when he was a child. This song is sung in the bride's home the night before she departs to live in her husband's home. The lyrics state that although Mt. Aonaju is very small, it is very beautiful, and though a wedding may be short, it may still be very enjoyable.
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21. Yulong Welcoming Song 1, Naxi Yogo Xiugaomo
The singer learned this from her grandfather Weifushui, who taught her in the evenings before she went to sleep. The song welcomes guests and expresses good wishes for them.
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22. Yulong Welcoming Song 2, Heijuhuoni Leyouna
The singer learned this song from her elder brother Dong Cai one evening after supper. This song is typically sung when Naxi gather for a picnic on the eighth day of the second lunar month, and welcomes guests to the celebration.
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23. Yulong Working Song 1, Xiduobei
The singer learned this song from her aunt Webodi one year during New Year celebrations, and the singer's grandmother stated that her grandmother had been able to sing it. This song is sung when planting rice, and encourages people to work together.
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24. Yulong Working Song 2, Geduobei
This ploughing song praises fields and the beasts of burden that work in the fields, saying that even though bulls only eat grass, they work hard and never get tired. Such songs were no longer sung in the early twenty-first century.
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