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Dong preserve culture through song
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“Dage” (Grand Songs) discovered among the people of the Dong ethnic group in the 20th century proved the existence of ancient polyphony — music of multiple, independent melodies — in China, and also unveiled the rich culture of a group of people living in south China.
A saying goes that the Han people pass on their culture in books, while the Dong people pass on their culture through songs.
The ancient, complicated multi-tune songs pass through generations orally, and recount the culture and history of the group for more than 2,500 years.
The Dong people, with a population of 2.88 million, are primarily distributed in the mountainous areas in the border regions between Guizhou, Hunan and Hubei provinces, and are classified into two major groups, the northern and southern branches. The Dong people of different areas also vary considerably in customs, traditional clothing styles and the local dialects.
The Dong’s history can be traced back as far as the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The ancestors of the Dong originated from “Bai Yue,” a mixed minority in ancient China. But they didn’t call themselves “Dong” until the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Before that, they named themselves “Gan,” which came from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) from the pronunciation of their own language.
According to the 2002-04 Dong Linguistic Survey Site, a written script was worked out for the Dong language by specialized linguists called philologists on the basis of the Latin alphabet in 1958. However, limited spread and usage have meant that only a few people can use it. The Dong sometimes use Chinese characters to represent the words of their native language. Most Dong people speak their local dialects, which are mutually unintelligible with those of other areas.
Most Dong people are polytheist, traditionally believing in the spirits of souls in all natural things in the universe. Regardless of the diverse gods in different areas, the Dong hold the same reverence toward supernatural power. Each time there is a natural disaster or a person becomes ill, the Dong people assume that devils are responsible, so they will offer a sacrifice like chicken or pork to a god for relief and ask a psychic to ward the demon off.
There are influences of Buddhism and Christianity in some areas, yet not many Dong people ascribe to these religions.
Living in an area surrounded by streams and mountains, the Dong rely mainly on their own agriculture, growing many vegetables and crops such as rice, wheat, millet, maize, cotton, tobacco, rape and soybeans. They are quite self-sufficient in food production, and treat guests with their homemade food and beverages.
Their staple food is glutinous rice accompanied by peppers and pickled vegetables. Oil tea is one of their favorite drinks. The host will serve the guest oil tea together with a single chopstick. The host will keep replenishing the bowl with oil tea until the guest returns the chopstick as a signal of having finished drinking.
The Dong wear their attractive, home-woven dress to welcome guests. Men usually wear short jackets with colorful buttons, collarless skirts and turbans, while women traditionally dress in skirts or trousers with beautifully embroidered hems, coiling their hair and wrapping their legs and heads in scarves.
The gu lou, or drum tower, is a traditional architecture of the Dong people, playing an important part in their culture. It is often considered symbolic of a Dong village, and it is also the place where the Dong people entertain, socialize, greet guests, gather for important meetings and raise an alarm.
This kind of elaborate structural design is renowned for its construction without nails or rivets. The whole wooden tower is supported only by pillars and is held together with mortise and tenon joints, which bear the weight. And, of course, a big drum is set within the tower. The head of the village would beat the drum to call all the villagers together, either for important meetings or to defend the village from invasion.
Because of its special construction method, the Dong believe the drum tower embodies solidarity, harmony and luck. They often hold big events and festivals in this propitious place and pray for good luck and great success for the coming new year.
It is also a popular place for performances of the Dage (Grand Songs), with groups of Dong people singing together. The harmonious polyphonous chorus of the Dage, with different tunes going on at the same time, is striking. It is a form of folk choir without conductors or accompaniment, descending from the Warring States Period (476-221 BC).
The ancestors of the Dong minority preserved the original musical form by handing it down orally from generation to generation. They intimate sounds from nature like bird calls and buzzing, conveying their deep reverence for nature.
The Kam Grand Choir is regarded as a cultural symbol of the Dong minority and has been listed by UNESCO as a world-class intangible cultural heritage since 2009.
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