Buyi Bayin is a kind of ritual music used in weddings, birthday greetings, new residences, and other festive occasions, which is popular in Ceheng County, Anlong County, Southwest Guizhou, and the Buyi villages along the Nanpan River in Xingyi City. Because it is played by eight musical instruments, namely Niuguhu, Huluhu, Cigu, Xiao tube, Xiaoma gong, Xiao cymbal, Baobao gong and Yueqin, and speaks and sings in Buyi language, the local people call it "Eight Tones". In the 1980s, in order to distinguish itself from other ethnic groups, the data collection workers of Quyi Music Integration put the word "Buyi nationality" before the word "eight tones", which was also called "Buyi nationality eight tones sitting singing" because it was mainly performed by sitting singing.
Basic musical instrument for eight tone sitting singing
Buyi Bayin, carried and accumulated by Buyi people, has become a part of Buyi culture. According to its spread area, the evolution of various dynasties and the distribution of ethnic integration, it can be preliminarily inferred that Buyi Bayin was introduced by outsiders who left their homes and merged into Buyi areas because of the garrison of officials.
From the perspective of the current distribution area of Buyi Bayin, the 674 years from the fifth year of Huangyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1053) to the fifth year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1727), when the land was changed and returned to flow, both belonged to Sicheng Prefecture in Guangxi. The local musicians and their use of music have not changed much in the change of dynasties, and according to the Pingnan Music in Zhou Qufei's Ling Wai Dai Da (written in 1178), the folk etiquette and custom of using music in the villages of various states and counties at that time, including Sicheng Prefecture, was very common, and it was universal for the official musicians to teach the local people to play music together.
Buyi Bayin may be derived from local officials' feasts and ceremonies to folk occasions. In order to meet the needs of the host family, gradually add some lucky words to get rewards. Because of the use of Buyi language to speak and sing in actual folk occasions, the Buyi Eight Tones highlight strong national characteristics.
Usually, the Buyi eight tone class is composed of 12 people who are hired to perform congratulations in the corresponding etiquette. At present, the existing playing tunes (tunes) include "Walking Tone", "Walking Tone", "Babanzheng Tone", "Passing Tone", "Babanzheng Tone", "Birthday Celebration Tone", "Welcoming Tone", "Farewell Tone", "Receiving Tone" and "Worship Tone"; The tune of singing (accompaniment) includes Zhengdiao, etc. In addition to solo ensemble, these tunes are often performed in the way of melody, speaking, singing, accompaniment, and composition of divertimento. The Buyi Eight Tones are also used in close coordination with the etiquette and customs. In addition to the general music used in marching and noisy scenes, they can only be played and rapped with specific tunes in specific etiquette and customs occasions. The tune is sung by male and female voices, most of which are improvised in Buyi.
Nanpanjiang Town Bayin Sitting Band
Buyi Bayin reflects the open and inclusive characteristics and unique cultural personality of Buyi culture, and shows the common aesthetic psychology and folk functional significance of the Buyi people. The regular ritual and custom music use and music noumenon of Buyi Bayin has a high historical value of traditional musicology for exploring the national consistency of ritual music use and the rich diversity of folk music. In recent years, Buyi Bayin has represented Qianxinan Prefecture for many times to carry out literary and artistic performances throughout the country, which has become a cultural card for Qianxinan Prefecture's external publicity.
(Editor in charge: Liu Jiangnan (intern), Zhang Wei)
