Quick Answer
Salar (撒拉族, Sālāzú) folk songs include the Salar-language love song known as yur (玉尔, yù’ěr), along with lullabies, children’s songs and work calls. Salar singers also take part in Hua’er (花儿, huā’ér), a tradition shared across northwestern China. Xunhua in eastern Qinghai is a major centre for the repertoire.[1][2][3]
- Yur: Extended lyric songs in Salar can tell a story or convey feeling through metaphor.[1][2]
- Hua’er: Singers use established tunes, often with Chinese words, and can improvise verses.[1][3]
- Other songs: The Xunhua inventory documents lullabies, children’s songs and work calls.[1]
A recording’s title, language and setting help identify the genre.[1][2]
One story in the Xunhua record unfolds through a man and a woman singing in turn. Another kind of piece accompanies a job such as threshing. The same inventory puts both under Salar folk songs. Listening for what the voices are doing helps explain the range behind the label.[1]
What the Xunhua Repertoire Includes
China’s national inventory records Salar folk songs under an entry submitted by Xunhua Salar Autonomous County in 2014. Its geographic account also names Hualong in Qinghai, Jishishan in Gansu and Yining in Xinjiang. Xunhua gives the entry a home and an institution responsible for safeguarding it, while the practice extends into several Salar communities.[1]
The inventory groups songs by subject and musical characteristics. Alongside love songs, it names children’s pieces and work calls for jobs including pounding earthen walls and threshing. The latter are associated with the work being done. They give the listener a different context from the verses of a love song or the setting of a festival. For the geography and language behind those connections, see Salar culture for more background.[1]
How Salar Yur Tells a Story
Yur is the term for Salar-language love songs in linguist Arienne M. Dwyer’s fieldwork. The national inventory describes the genre as extended lyric verse with features of both narration and song. In its description of the piece written 《阿姑尕拉姬》, male and female singers alternate as they tell a tragic love story. The exchange of voices is part of how the story unfolds.[1][2]
Dwyer’s work describes indirect language in the songs and gives examples such as peonies and millstones appearing in metaphor. She also records social restrictions around where and in whose presence some singers would perform the songs. These observations give the imagery a context. A flower in a verse can let a singer allude to feelings that a direct statement would make explicit.[2]
Where Hua’er Fits
Salar singers are among the participants in the broader tradition of Hua’er songs. UNESCO describes familiar tunes and the improvisation of lyrics within established forms. The Xunhua inventory says Salar Hua’er is commonly sung in Chinese and also records Salar-language and multilingual examples. The language of a particular performance is therefore one clue among several.[1][3]
A tune name can give a more specific clue. The national profile of singer Han Yingde names Salar Zhiling (撒拉直令) and Shuihonghua Ling (水红花令) among the tunes he performs. That specificity is useful when a recording is labelled only “Salar song.” The title of a tune, a description of the form and the words being sung can help identify what a listener hears.[1][4]
What Singers Pass On
Han Yingde’s heritage profile says he began learning by imitation at twelve and studied with two singers. It records his 2011 recording titled 《撒拉尔之歌》 and his teaching of children’s rhymes to a young performers’ group.[4]
A teacher can model the sound of a line. A recording preserves a performance that can be heard again. A youth group gives a piece another occasion on which to be sung. As with other Chinese folk songs, the people and occasion named with a performance are useful parts of its record.[4]
FAQs About Salar Folk Songs
Are Salar Folk Songs Always Sung in Salar?
The love songs called yur are documented in Salar. Salar Hua’er is often sung in Chinese, with Salar and mixed-language performances also recorded.[1][2]
What Is the Difference Between the Two Heritage Listings?
The Xunhua submission for Salar folk songs entered China’s national inventory in 2014. UNESCO inscribed Hua’er, the shared regional tradition, on its Representative List in 2009.[1][3]
Источники
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. National inventory entry for Salar folk songs
[2] Arienne M. Dwyer. Syncretism in Salar Love Songs
[3] UNESCO. Hua’er on the Representative List
[4] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Salar folk song bearer Han Yingde