Year: 2006

Sort: Folk Music

Area:ChongqingMunicipality

Serial No.: Ⅱ-15

Declarer: Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing Municipality

In Tujia dialect, "luo'er", "luo'er luo", "luo", as exclamations, are used very frequently in local folk songs. Hence, there comes the Luoer Song. The melody of the Luoer Song is very simple, always stays within an octave and has seven words to each sentence of the lyrics, a style known as Qi-yan. The straightforward lyrics reflected the life, custom, emotion and religious belief of Tujia people, and comprehensively recorded the process of local culture.

Shizhu County, lying in the mountainous border area of Sichuan andHubei Province, is the home of theTujia ethnic minoritygroup. Due to the difficult terrain, as well as the ancient dynasties' ban on outward transportation, the unique Tujia culture has been very well preserved. This year, the Luoer Song of the Shizhu Tujia is applying for the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in the hopes of saving the fading folk song.