The Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Minority – or the Grand Chorus, as we will call it here, though the Dong themselves call it Ga Lao ("Grand Tradition") – is the generally accepted title used by outsiders to describe the folk-song traditions of China's Dong ethnic minority. The Grand Chorus is performed entirely without the aid of musical instruments; it is what one would call a cappella in the West, to use the now popular Italian term, whose root is of course "chapel", but in a very particular sense: the small, semi-secluded room in a church, or at royal court, where the performing choir was located. In addition, the Grand Chorus is performed – sometimes even in groups that number the hundreds – without the benefit of a conductor, which is all the more impressive given the complex structure and the rapid changes in cadence of the Grand Chorus.
But the Dong people's Grand Chorus is much more than just an a cappella performance of folk songs – the songs of the Grand Chorus are intimately linked to all aspects of Dong culture, from the loftiest to the most mundane. The Grand Chorus, which also rests entirely on an oral tradition (indeed, the language of the Dong lacks its own orthography, or method of representing language sounds in written form), has traditionally been the Dong people's sole method of transmitting their culture down the ages; all of the "stories" of Dong culture, from creation stories to stories of kindness, sincerity, friendship, love, social harmony, respect for nature, respect for one's ancestors – in short, all of the stories deemed worthy of being remembered (not surprisingly the Grand Chorus has been called 'An Encyclopedia of Dong Social Customs') – are preserved in the songs of the Grand Chorus. As might be expected, elderly Dong singers are revered in much the same way that prize-winning writers and historians are revered in Western culture, for they are truly the guardians of Dong culture. Curiously, jealousy, distrust, strong feelings of dislike and dishonesty – in all its forms, from lying to cheating to stealing – seem to have been chastised from Dong social life, judging from the songs of the Grand Chorus, as if the aim of Dong social organization has been one of instilling a sense of communality in the group rather than one of celebrating the capriciousness of the individual.
But the Dong people's Grand Chorus is much more than just an a cappella performance of folk songs – the songs of the Grand Chorus are intimately linked to all aspects of Dong culture, from the loftiest to the most mundane. The Grand Chorus, which also rests entirely on an oral tradition (indeed, the language of the Dong lacks its own orthography, or method of representing language sounds in written form), has traditionally been the Dong people's sole method of transmitting their culture down the ages; all of the "stories" of Dong culture, from creation stories to stories of kindness, sincerity, friendship, love, social harmony, respect for nature, respect for one's ancestors – in short, all of the stories deemed worthy of being remembered (not surprisingly the Grand Chorus has been called 'An Encyclopedia of Dong Social Customs') – are preserved in the songs of the Grand Chorus. As might be expected, elderly Dong singers are revered in much the same way that prize-winning writers and historians are revered in Western culture, for they are truly the guardians of Dong culture. Curiously, jealousy, distrust, strong feelings of dislike and dishonesty – in all its forms, from lying to cheating to stealing – seem to have been chastised from Dong social life, judging from the songs of the Grand Chorus, as if the aim of Dong social organization has been one of instilling a sense of communality in the group rather than one of celebrating the capriciousness of the individual.
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