Grand song of the Dong ethnic group | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

A popular saying among the Dong people in Guizhou Province in southern China has it that ‘rice nourishes the body and songs nourish the soul’. Their tradition of passing on culture and knowledge in music is exemplified in the Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group, multi-part singing performed without instrumental accompaniment or a leader. The repertoire includes a range of genres such as ballads, children’s songs, songs of greeting and imitative songs that test performers’ virtuosity at mimicking the sounds of animals. Taught by masters to choirs of disciples, Grand Songs are performed formally in the drum-tower, the landmark venue for rituals, entertainment and meetings in a Dong village, or more spontaneously in homes or public places. They constitute a Dong encyclopaedia, narrating the people’s history, extolling their belief in the unity of humans and nature, preserving scientific...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: China
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: China
Countries: China

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid23902a42-b2f1-494d-ae8c-cb341913053c

ich_public_ref202

inscription_year2009

title_enGrand song of the Dong ethnic group

title_frLe grand chant du groupe ethnique Dong

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesCN

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/00202

concepts_primary_namesChoir singing, Polyphonic singing, Vocal music

concepts_secondary_namesCostumes, Dance, Emotions, Folk literature, Instrumental music, Moral values, Oral tradition, Poetry, Social values

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/01127-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyrightMinistry of Culture, 2008

main_image_authorLu Xianyi

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/iaHRfLb2oOk

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Choir singing Polyphonic singing Vocal music Costumes Dance Emotions Folk literature Instrumental music Moral values Oral tradition Poetry UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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