Uygur Meshrep lives on in desert oasis, and through new bearers
Print Edition
IN the deserts and river valleys, a Uygur tradition known as Meshrep continues to shape daily life in many parts of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The tradition appears in villages, towns and city neighborhoods across the Tarim Basin and the Tianshan valley.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed Meshrep on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2010.
Meshrep brings together music, dance, storytelling, oral literature, games and shared meals. It also serves as a gathering where community members learn customary rules and resolve disputes through a host who leads the event.
A full Meshrep includes Uygur muqam music. Musicians play long melodies while people rise to dance in groups or pairs. Others recite lines of folk poetry or take part in games between rounds of music. Anyone may join.
“All Uygur people are the practitioners of Meshrep,” the UNESCO notes.
The participation makes Meshrep a shared cultural experience rather than a performance with a fixed audience.
Meshrep takes place in many settings. Some gatherings happen after harvest. Some mark weddings or festivals. Others reflect seasonal changes such as the arrival of snow or the return of spring.
The location also changes. People gather in courtyards, orchards, village squares or open fields. The form remains flexible and depends on the community needs.
In recent years, local cultural groups and institutions have launched training programs and documentation projects. By 2022, 483 representative bearers had been recorded in official safeguarding reports submitted to the UNESCO.
New Meshrep clubs and folk associations now organize workshops and community events. County-level cultural centers have also added rehearsal rooms and recording facilities.
The steps support bearers who teach young learners traditional music, dance and narrative forms.
Meshrep also appears in outreach programs outside Xinjiang. Lecturers and scholars have held courses in universities across China on Meshrep.
Students watch archival recordings, learn basic rhythms and study the cultural context. The classes help younger audiences understand Meshrep as a social practice rather than a stage show.
County cultural teams sometimes bring Meshrep to cities during cultural exchange events. Some groups also share short videos online to reach audiences who may have never seen a Meshrep gathering.
Alongside these efforts, a related local form known as Qorikum Meshrep has drawn attention for its desert-oasis setting.
Qorikum means “water in the desert.” In this tradition, performers gather around water sources in sandy areas. The practice was listed in China’s first national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008.
In Aksu City’s Kartal Town, Qorikum Meshrep continues almost every day. Many residents take part or stop to watch.
One of the people involved is Turghun Dawut, who was born in Kartal. He has devoted many years to the protection and transmission of Qorikum Meshrep.
In the rehearsal room of the local cultural station, Dawut plays the qalun, a multi-stringed instrument. His students dance beside him as the melody rises and falls. Their steps follow the rhythm of the Meshrep tunes. Their laughter mixes with the sound of music.
Dawut guides them and shows them how to improvise within traditional patterns. The room often fills with people who come to observe or join in.
“When I play, I feel I pass on the voice of our land. When they dance, they carry the rhythm of our history,” Dawut told Worker’s Daily.
Dawut first became interested in music at age 11. He recalled hearing a neighbor play an instrument. He followed the sound and began to hum along.
He later tried to make a simple instrument of his own. He played it while herding sheep.
He sometimes became so absorbed that he forgot to return home for meals.
Over time, he learned to play more than 10 Uygur instruments, including the qalun, Dolan rawap and hand drum.
In 2008, Dawut joined the Kartal Town cultural station. He studied under a recognized bearer of national-level intangible cultural heritage.
Dawut took part in research and documentation of Qorikum Meshrep. He witnessed the form’s inclusion in the national heritage list. He has since continued to teach and perform.
Dawut and his team also work on stage adaptations. Many young audiences have limited knowledge of traditional Meshrep structures, so the team created a three-part narrative framework.
They produced “Spring Meshrep,” “Meshrep in Memory” and “Harvest Meshrep.” The productions use muqam music, folk dance, singing, storytelling and games to present scenes that reflect earlier ways of life — pastoral work, hunting and farming — as well as present-day community life.
Through these scenes, audiences from different backgrounds can understand the setting in which Meshrep grew.
His student Turehan Musa began learning Qorikum Meshrep in 2019. She has performed in many events and traveled to various stages with the team.
Musa said the experience motivated her to continue practicing and to take part in future performances. She hopes to contribute to the transmission of the tradition.
Dawut remains active in local safeguarding efforts. He leads rehearsals, records melodies and trains young players in technique and style.
He also helps organize community Meshrep gatherings in desert-oasis areas during festivals or holidays. These events attract visitors and residents.
Some join the circle dance. Others watch while holding cups of hot tea. Children sit near the musicians to see how the instruments work. Such scenes show how Meshrep continues to link generations.
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