Original ecology folksongs, myth, and showbiz: a case study of musical sustainability among the Bulang ethnic group in Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT

This study explores a community-based cultural protection project among the Bulang ethnic group in several villages located in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, southwest China. In 2008, ‘Bulang’s traditional singing and instrument playing’ (Bulangzu tanchang) was listed for protection under China’s intangible cultural heritage regulatory measures. This study documents Bulang musical heritage, explores the link between mythology and music, and analyses whether modern social changes endanger musical traditions or give rise to new aesthetics. It adopts an ethnomusicological perspective, focusing on sustainability amid the commodification of ethnicity for showbiz through staged performances for tourists. The fieldwork ranges from virtual digital spaces to the established ethnographic technique of participant observation. Fieldwork in Menghai village examines how the Bulang people represent themselves in media, stage performances, and popular music, negotiating and reshaping their musical identity. This study emphasises the relationship between the stage performances of ‘original ecology folksongs’ in media and the sustainability of Bulang music, with insights for the politics of intangible cultural heritage.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnomusicology
• intangible cultural heritage
• musical sustainability
• original ecology folksongs
• Bulang
• ethnic minorities of Southwest China

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all the Bulang people I met in Xishuanbanna during my field trip and, in particular, to the folk musicians and cultural bearers who participated in my investigation: Ai Wen Lun, Ai Sai Zhan, Yu Kan La, Yu Kan Bao, Ai Di, Yu Wang Kan, Ai San Dan, Yu Bu Yue, and Ai Sai Yao. I also thank Zhang Hai, He Hua, Wenqiu Chen, and Luca Gambirasio for their expert advice and information.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 On the role and position of individuals in musical ethnography, see Ruskin and Rice (2012) and Stock (2001).

2 During our fieldwork in Manxi village, Zhang Hai and I compiled a comprehensive audiovisual inventory of the entire repertoire of folksongs of the Bulang people. For this purpose, we created an audiovisual database consisting of 19 concept films showcasing the performance of each folksong, accompanied by interviews with the musicians explaining their functions and meanings. Backup copies of these concept films are stored in the audiovisual archive of the Institute of Anthropology at Yunnan University in Kunming, with the aim of contributing to the preservation of Bulang musical heritage. Additionally, an online database with an interactive map featuring these 19 concept films is available online on my website https://www.leonardodamico.net/research-projects (accessed 25 February 2024).

3 For further details about this documentary, visit the website https://bulangmusic.wordpress.com (accessed 25 February 2024).

4 Most Chinese government departments and public sectors have used ‘nationalities’ in English translations of the term minzu (coined around 1895 as a Chinese equivalent of the Japanese neologism minzoku) instead of ‘ethnic group’ or ‘ethnicity’ (Yuan 2015).

5 The ‘Ethnic Classification Campaign’ (minzu shibie yundong) initiated during the 1950s was a political scheme by the central government aimed at consolidating the concept of a unitary multinational state (tongyi de duominzu guojia). This campaign identified 56 ethnic groups primarily based on such commonalities as language, territory, economy, and psychological traits reflecting shared culture (Harrell 1995). According to this ethnic classification, minzu were construed as historically formed communities of shared culture, language, and economy, following Stalin’s definition of nationality (Dillon 2017). For further insights into the minzu shibie undertaken in Yunnan in 1954, see Ma (2017), Mullaney (2010, 2019), and Yang (2009).

6 There is a substantial and growing body of literature on ethnic tourism in China and its impact on the commodification of ethnic minorities in the country (Bruckermann 2016; Chio 2014; Cornet 2009; D’Amico 2023; Donaldson 2007; Eberhard 1982; Fraser 2020; Ingram and Wu 2017; Lau 1998; Li 2004; Li and Hinch 1997; Oakes 1992, 1997, 1998, 2006; Rees 1998; Sofield and Li 2007; Su 2019; Swain 1989; Walsh and Swain 2004; Yang and Wall 2008, 2009).

7 The goblet single-headed drum, called keng in Bulang and xiangjiaogu (‘elephant-foot drum’) in Chinese, is used to accompany the ritual dance (zaibeng) during religious festivals (‘beng’ means ‘playing drums’). The ‘elephant-foot drum’, widespread in the Xishuangbanna and Dehong regions, is not unique to Bulang musical culture but it might have been borrowed from the Dai people.

8 The li is a mythical animal with a horn analogous to the rhinoceros. However, according to another interpretation (considering that the rhinoceros inhabits only sub-Saharan Africa), it could refer to a tropical bird called the rhinoceros hornbill, which lives in the forests of Southeast Asia and is the protagonist of some Dai legends prevalent throughout Xishuangbanna (Miller 1994).

9 The ethno-scientific approach in ethnomusicology involves recognising an ‘ethno-theory’ of music, which refers to an implicit music theory or native conceptualisation of music that can be revealed through the acquisition of the local vocabulary (see Zemp and Malkus 1979).

10 The name of the tune refers to Jingmai Mountain, one of the six ancient tea mountains on the western side of the Lancang River in Yunnan.

11 The terms gao diao (高调) and di diao (低调) refer to ‘high tone’ and ‘low tone’, respectively. The Chinese Mandarin name for ‘tune’ is diào (调)—a term that in recent decades has also come into use among Bulang musicians, perhaps because of the influence of Han scholars—whereas in Bulang language, it is ka (佧)—a term meaning ‘road’. Originally it referred to suo tunes (and remains in some tune names such as kading and katian).

12 Primary orality refers to direct communication ‘from mouth to ear’, passed down from teacher to student and across generations. Secondary orality, often supplementing or supplanting primary orality, involves communication through audio recordings, videos, and increasingly, digital social media platforms.

13 In Xishuangbanna, ethnic groups are showcased in ‘cultural villages’, like the Dai village of Mengjinglai in Daluo town. These villages resemble theme parks, exhibiting typical artefacts, crafts, life-size models of rural homes, and cultural performances, catering to urban Han tourists (D’Amico 2023; Graburn 2015; Oakes 2006; Yang 2011a, 2011b, 2011c, 2016b).

14 While the Han Chinese were distinguished as the most advanced, ethnic customs rituals, religions, and arts were documented and presented as visible signifiers indicating the backwardness of minorities (Blum 2001; Gladney 1994; Li 2013).

15 Interview translated from Bulang to English by He Hua.

16 https://ich.unesco.org/en/state/china-CN?info=elements-on-the-lists (accessed 30 January 2024).

17 The video of the show is available online on CCTV’s website: https://tv.cctv.com/2017/04/14/VIDEHovPmQ8qhN59wCm9VQ1X170414.shtml (accessed 30 January 2024).

18 The Chinese term renao, meaning ‘lively’ or ‘bustling’, was used by Bulang singer and ethnomusicologist He Hua (personal communication, 2023) to describe the TV performance of that song.

19 In an interview with the China Radio International (CRI), Ai Waluo stated: ‘Now our Bulang people only use sanxian [ding] to sing, but it is a little monotonous, so I bought a set of drums, tambourines, and guitars for more than 50,000 yuan and added them to the traditional Bulang people’s playing and singing’ (http://news.cri.cn/20160928/9a3eeed4-89a1-ae94-e293-5c6581c0d2b6-2.html, accessed 30 January 2024). This statement raises question about the role of innovators within a musical tradition and whether their innovations are accepted by the local community (Ruskin and Rice 2012).

20 The documentary Bulang Songkran Festival by Zhang Hai is available on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/852707654?share=copy (accessed 30 January 2024).

21 Videoclip on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVNFFQAHNVc (accessed 30 January 2024).

22 Interview from the documentary A Beautiful Bulang Flower by Sam Debell: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVNFFQAHNVc (accessed 30 January 2024).

23 Video clip on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkemtn2ZFFo (accessed 30 January 2024).

24 Puman’s producer Sam Debell texted me the following: ‘The name that Yan Saizhan [Ai Sai Zhan, A/N] called it was 美丽的布朗花 [Měilì de bùlǎng huā, Beautiful Bulang flower, A/N] which is the name on Puman’s album, but it didn’t translate well into English so that was the name that DJ DSK came up with for his original 7-inch remix of the track that attracted Entourloop’s attention. I think the presentation of the final product was more down to Entourloop and since it’s not an ethnomusicological release but a hip-hop release I guess they weren’t really aware enough or felt the need to specify details that they wouldn't think their audience would care about. Also there is a case of the information going through several groups of people before them. As for the featured folk musicians they will get the income from the publishing such that it is and some performance opportunities with Puman’ (WeChat, 3 March, 2023).

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Leonardo D’Amico

Leonardo D’Amico is an independent scholar and former postdoctoral researcher at the University College Cork, Ireland. His research fields include African diaspora and Colombian music, music and storytelling in West Africa, minority music in Southwest China, and audiovisual ethnomusicology. He holds a Ph.D. with honours in musicology (2012) from the University of Valladolid. He taught ethnomusicology at the University of Siena, University of Siena in Arezzo, University of Ferrara, Conservatory of Brescia, Conservatory of Mantua (Italy), and Yunnan University in Kunming (China). He held the position of chair of the Italian Committee of the ICTM (2002–2012) and is chair and co-founder of the ICTM Study Group on Audiovisual Ethnomusicology. D’Amico has published the following books: Folk Music Atlas: Africa (1998), Cumbia: La musica afrocolombiana (2002), Filmare la musica (2012), Griot: Il maestro della parola (2014), Musica dell’Africa Nera (2004) with A. Kaye, and Audiovisual Ethnomusicology: Filming Musical Cultures (2020). He is the founder and director of the Ethnomusicological Film Festival ‘Immagini & Suoni del Mondo’ in Florence, Italy.