Ancient songs of Miao Nationality

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Miao ancient songs

Applicant: Taijiang County, Guizhou Province

Item No.: 1

Project No.: I - 1

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Guizhou Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Taijiang County, Guizhou Province

Protection unit: Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Taijiang County

Introduction to Miao ancient songs:

Applicant: Taijiang County, Guizhou Province

Miao people are distributed in several provinces in Southwest China. According to the dialect division, it can be roughly divided into Xiangxi dialect area, Qiandong dialect area, Sichuan Yunnan Guizhou dialect area. The Qingshui River Valley in Southeast Guizhou is the largest inhabited area of Miao Nationality in China, including Kaili, Jianhe, Huangping, Taijiang, Leishan, Danzhai, Shibing, Huangping, Zhenyuan, Sansui, Sanjiang in Guangxi and Jingxian in Hunan. In this vast Miao inhabited area, there is a kind of poetic myth with creation as the main content, commonly known as "ancient songs" or "ancient songs and ancient words".

The contents of Miao ancient songs are all inclusive, from the birth of the universe, the origin of human beings and species, the creation of heaven and earth, the torrential flood in the early period of the people, to the great migration of the Miao, the ancient social system and daily production and life of the Miao, and so on. They have become the summary of the ancient myths of the Miao.

Most of the Miao's ancient songs and myths are sung in drum festivals, weddings and funerals, family gatherings and festivals. The singers are mostly middle-aged and old people, witches and singers. Banquet is an important occasion for singing ancient songs. Miao's ancient song and word myth is a nation's spiritual memory, an encyclopedia and "classic" of Miao's ancient society. It has many values in history, ethnology, philosophy, anthropology and so on. Today, these ancient songs and myths are still popular among the people.

However, due to the impact of modern culture and market economy, Miao ancient songs are on the verge of being lost. Taking Taijiang as an example, among the 130000 Miao compatriots in the county, few can sing complete ancient songs. At present, only more than 200 people can sing some incomplete ancient songs, and they are all middle-aged and old people. The old people who inherit more ancient songs are old. If we do not pay close attention to rescue and protection, the national treasure of Miao ancient songs will eventually disappear in the world.