Sgrol dkar skyid: Sitaigou Village Tibetan Collection

The World Oral Literature Project is pleased to host the collection of Sgrol dkar skyid. Details of the full collection can be browsed on DSpace@Cambridge by clicking here.

This collection contains one debating song, one milking song, one wedding song, and five folk songs recorded by Sgrol dkar skyid in the Tibetan village of Sitaigou, Tanshanling Town, Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province.

Collection Details:

Collection: Sitaigou Village Tibetan Collection
Collector: Sgrol dkar skyid
Date(s): 2008
Language(s): Amdo (A mdo) Tibetan

1. Debating Song
This song encourages guests to sing and is sung at such celebratory gatherings as weddings or New Year parties. It may also be sung on rainy days when people cannot go outside to work.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

2. Folk Song 1, 'Respect Your Father'
This song states that people should respect their parents and is usually sung during celebrations for the New Year and when renewing the Lab rtse.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

3. Folk Song 2, 'Sun, Moon, and Star'
This song says the world is peaceful and the grassland and the mountains are beautiful. People sing this song during the New Year.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

4. Folk Song 3, 'Auspiciousness'
The meaning of the song is if people wish for a happy future, they will get it. People sing this song at celebratory gatherings.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

5. Folk Song 4, 'Paean'
This song praises local rivers and mountains. This song is usually sung at celebratory gatherings such as those held during the New Year or when renewing the lab rtse.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

6. Folk Song 5, 'Sun'
This song describes the sun’s passage across the sky over the course of a day. People sing this song in the mountains when they go to herd. Sometimes people sing this song during New Year gatherings.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

7. Milking Song, 'Yellow Cow'
This song is sung while milking. The singer praises the animal she is milking. In the first few years of the twenty-first century, people still sang this song whilst milking, but by 2008 the song had become very rare. Young women are typically sent to school and do not learn such songs.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]

8. Wedding Song, 'Liquor Song'
This song explains to the bride that she must leave her family and wishes her good luck in her future home. People sing this song during weddings when the bride’s aunt decorates the bride.
[Archive] [Listen to audio]