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"The Voice of Dong" has collected outstanding videos featuring Dong Grand Songs and plays them in a "cloud exhibition hall." These high-quality videos combine Dong song culture with modern new media, allowing more people to learn about, appreciate, and spread Dong Grand Songs.
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Yanmei: Uncle, how do we sing springtime songs in Dong Grand Songs?
Uncle: January, February, mist shrouds the mountains; suddenly it’s autumn and winter. The chirping of cicadas in the deep mountains reminds me of our past. A chill sweeps through my heart, hard to calm for a long time.
Yanmei: And how do you sing this one? Entering the springtime of February, hearing the cicada cry for its mother… nen a nen a nen, nen nen nen nen… um ai.
Yanmei: The song means that when spring comes, hearing the sounds of cicadas and birds in the mountains reminds the people that it’s time to start spring plowing, doesn’t it?
Uncle: Yes, springtime marks the start of plowing, tilling the fields...
Chorus: Entering the springtime of February, hearing the cicada cry for its mother… nen a nen a nen, nen nen nen nen… um ai.
"Dong Grand Songs: The Singing of Cultural Bloodlines"
This video is a deep dive into the essence of Dong culture in Guizhou villages, focusing on the inheritance and charm of Dong Grand Songs, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In the Dong villages of Guizhou, the Dong Grand Song is like a flowing cultural bloodline in the river of history, nourishing generations of Dong people.
“The work is based on real events in our village. I formed a Dong Song Masters Team, a Drum Tower Choir, a Youth Singing Team, a Lusheng Team, and a Dong Flute Team in the village. While filming, I also purchased pipa, niutouqin, and lusheng for the villagers to learn Dong songs. As a returning young person, I was full of enthusiasm. But one day, I realized that no young people were inheriting our hometown’s culture, and I faced the same situation as my peers who had left to work elsewhere.”
The video tells the story of a girl who loves Dong songs but must leave home to work when she grows up. From a young age, she learned Dong songs from the song masters and loved her hometown, practicing daily at the drum tower, hoping to become a cultural inheritor for the village. However, times have changed—knowing Dong songs is no longer a source of pride for her parents. Her father’s lack of understanding and her mother’s helplessness force her to leave her hometown for work.
She says: “Dong culture needs young people to carry it forward.”
"Preparing for the Song Festival"
This work was created on the eve of the 17th Guizhou·Congjiang Dong Grand Song Festival in 2024. It mainly depicts the young female singers of Toli Dong Village in Gaozeng Township learning and practicing songs with the elder song masters in the drum tower. They are preparing to participate in the Hundred-Village Singing Competition for the preservation, protection, and development of Dong Grand Songs.
The video showcases the lively and heartwarming scenes where song leaders and singers, upon singing incorrect tones or lyrics, are immediately corrected by the song masters and elder singers around them. It reflects the collaborative spirit of the Dong Village people and their positive attitude toward working together. It also presents the harmonious lifestyle of the Dong people to the audience, highlighting the practical significance of preserving and developing Dong culture.
Creator: Liang Xinping
Actors: Toli Young Women’s Singing Team
Participating in the Congjiang Dong Grand Song Festival is a profoundly moving experience. The Dong Grand Song is the heavenly music passed down through generations and is recognized as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage. At the festival, men, women, and children wear brightly colored traditional clothing and use their melodious singing to showcase their daily lives and customs.
The multi-part Dong Grand Songs, performed a cappella, are harmoniously captivating. Sometimes they resemble the calls of countless birds, crisp and melodious; other times, they roar like the winds through the pines, grand and majestic. The audience is immersed in this enchanting musical ocean, their faces filled with awe and admiration. This is not just a music festival; it is a fascinating journey into the depths of Dong culture, leaving an unforgettable impression.
Yanmei: Auntie, do we have songs about rain?
Auntie: Heavy rain, lighting a fire to keep warm, hardships of the cattle herders in the mountains.
Chorus: Heavy rain, lighting a fire to keep warm, hardships of the cattle herders in the mountains.
Yanmei: What does the song mean?
Auntie: Whether it’s windy or rainy, the hardworking people labor from sunrise to sunset without rest.
Yanmei: When it’s windy and rainy, as children, we could hide indoors, but outside, our parents and elders worked hard for us. As their descendants, we must remember their nurturing love.
Chorus: Heavy rain, lighting a fire to keep warm, hardships of the cattle herders in the mountains.
The Dong people are an ethnic group without a written language. They pass down their culture orally and through memory. Dong Grand Songs are a vital part of Dong culture, including labor songs, road-blocking songs, ancient songs, moral songs, ceremonial songs, love songs, niutouqin songs, pipa songs, stepping songs, toast songs, children’s songs, house-building songs, and funeral songs. These songs play an important role in various activities of the Dong people. During collective performances, the multi-part harmonies of the Dong Grand Songs can sound as powerful as a flood, grand and awe-inspiring.
To ensure the transmission of this heritage, I learned Dong songs from my grandmother and mother and taught them to my children, passing them down from one generation to the next.
Dong Wine Songs are a category of Dong Grand Songs often sung at wedding ceremonies, monthly gatherings, or other festive occasions. They encourage drinking and liven up the atmosphere. Their melodies are rich, with broad themes that include ancient songs on historical subjects, songs of gratitude and praise for hosts, and clever, question-and-answer songs.
During a wine-singing session, male and female groups usually take turns singing. The women start by offering toasts and singing, followed by the men, creating a lively banquet atmosphere. Dong wine songs are not only a form of music but also a vital cultural element reflecting the Dong people's lifestyle and social customs.
This song belongs to the Dong labor song "Fish-Catching Song." Dong labor songs are usually sung during work to boost the morale of the laborers and improve productivity. The melodies are powerful and rhythmic, full of infectious energy, vividly portraying the scenes and atmosphere of labor.
Dong labor songs not only reflect the Dong people's love of work and positive attitude toward life but also embody their spirit of unity and collaboration during labor. As an important part of Dong musical culture, labor songs serve as a way for the Dong people to pass on their music traditions and gain spiritual encouragement and joy in their work.
Dong Grand Songs Audio Sources
We have collected the playlist links of Dong ethnic grand songs from various music platforms, preserving the cultural memory in a modern way. These playlists include hundreds of Dong ethnic grand songs created and performed by Dong ethnic choirs, student and bands, providing a comprehensive and rich music treasury for those who want to learn about or listen to Dong ethnic grand songs.
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Dong Grand Songs (NetEase Cloud Music):link
Guizhou Dong Grand Songs Series (NetEase Cloud Music): link
Dong Grand Songs ‖ World Intangible Cultural Heritage ‖ Chinese Musical Heritage Collection (NetEase Cloud Music): link
Dong Grand Songs (KuGou Music): link
Dong Grand Song Collection (KuGou Music): link