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VOL. 2 BRITISHJOURNALOFETHNOMUSICOLOGY 1993
Lisha Li
1 Introduction
The Manchu form one of the largest minority groups in China. They were the
ruling people during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the last dynasty in China.
The Manchu originated in Manchuriaand now live in many areas of China,
particularlyin the north. The Chinese language began to be widely used by
Manchu people only from the beginning of this century. Manchu folk songs
collected so far can be classifiedlinguisticallyinto threecategories:1. Manchu;2.
Chinese; 3. a mixtureof Manchuand Chinese. The musical difference between
the first and second categories is quite large. Some of the songs with Chinese
lyrics are very similar to Chinese folk songs. Generallyspeaking, however, the
first category of Manchu folk songs have retainedmore of their own musical
characteristics.Of those Manchu songs known to me, 75% belong to the first
category.Thereforethe analysisin this paperis based on the first categoryof folk
99
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100 BritishJournalofEthnomusicology,
vol.2 (1993)
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 101
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102 BritishJournalof Ethnomusicology,
vol.2 (1993)
has three souls: the or~n (the soul of life), given by the God of Life, which will
leave the body after death;the hani (the soul of thinking),which can leave the
body temporarilyduring sleep and communicatewith spirits or souls of others;
andthefajaku (the soul of rebirth),given by the God of Rebirth,which will leave
the body afterdeathandenteranothernew-bornbody (Ling 1934:102-3).
Duringthe process of traininga new shaman,the learnershouldprojecther or
his soul, in trance,at least three times into the differentregions of the cosmos.
Only when the learneris able to do this can she or he become a shaman. An
experiencedshamancan projectheror his soul moreoften andinto morelevels of
the cosmos: five, seven or nine times and five, seven or nine levels, dependingon
technique.
Odd numbersalso appearin many other cases among different groups, for
examplein the design of shamaniccostumesanddrums(see Dolgikh 1978 for the
Nganasanshamanicdrumsandcostumes,Czaplicka1914 for some othertribesin
Siberia and Li 1992 for the Manchu drums). It is not difficult to see the
significance of certain numberssuch as 3, 5, 7 and 9 which are related to the
cosmos levels. Many shamans whom I met in Manchuria stated that these
numbers are cosmic numbers.The explanationreflects the strong influence of
shamaniccosmology on people.
's`? ?1
i~
"il .,..
.u
"'
n I-?R~,?''
)1 ~k~:?i
"i`
f.
'lie~P~~?L?i*~S~~ i~?r
i \ ,u
r Pt~
?.*?C! ?
Iltx?S~E~r?. .
Is '"'?Y;r 'i
? ~t~ lu
.` i
?'II
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 103
Even numbersare not used very often, but they have meaningsas well. They
are usually linked with the middle and lower regions of the cosmos but not the
upper region. In particular,in some cases they are related to evil spirits. For
example(Eliade 1964: 277):
Since odd numbersare used more frequentlythan even ones and have more
significance in Manchu music, discussion in this paper concerns odd numbers
only. The aim here is to demonstratehow these mystic numbersembodyreligious
thought and play an active role in structuringmusical patterns and musical
performancesin correspondencewith culturalpatternsandbehaviour.
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Fig. 2 Typicalrhythmicpatternsof drummingin Manchurituals.(Collectedby the auth
1982-92; afterLi 1992.) The notation indicatesforms of the Old Three-accented
Patternsappearingin otherpatterns. ,.
The Old Three-accented Patterns
2 3 1
2 3
I 2 3
n~n inn n
J"5 •(1+1+3)
2 ."•.• 3 4
? i" C (3+1+1)
" ~'•
"• "
The Seven-accented Patterns
2 3 4 5 6 7
?
i xI
,
xI J]
i(1+1+1+1+3)
1 3 4 5 6 ,•
7
S
ix K
,(3+3+1)
•x
.-
The Nine-accented Patterns
2 3 4 5 7 9
. _ ._ . . ._ __ _ J . 2 (3+1+1+1+1+1
S3 4 5 6 7 8
_
_(3+3+3)
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 105
6Some of the rhythmicpatternsused in the ritualsof other peoples in North Asia have
similaritiesto those of the Manchu.This may supportthe hypothesisthatreligiousmystical
numbersplay an important rolein formingrhythmicpatternsin Manchupractice.Forexamples
see Li 1992.
7 See Section1 andfootnote1 forthesourcesof thefolksongsthatI analysed.Thesamesources
wereusedforfigures8, 9 and10.
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106 vol.2 (1993)
BritishJournalof Ethnomusicology,
Song I t - ----
--? --Tj--B - .. .. ---
I<- . . . . ... . .. . . .. ... .
-... ,,v .---•----- ... ~-,7 -
_:i
Drum
- I - ,
Song
Drum ,, '
-
=
,
Fig. 5 Extract from Manchu shamanic song from Jilin Province, Manchuria (Li
1986)
Song • r-*-, ---- --•--' • , .• ,. -• --•--C-•-
I 2 3 I 3
__ __ J_ _ > - ____
Song
." - - -
Drum _
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 107
-.% - ~??
1 2 3 4 5
?I ~ r I ~?
I r I rl I I ~?
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108 vol.2 (1993)
BritishJournalof Ethnomusicology,
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 109
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110 BritishJournal vol.2 (1993)
ofEthnomusicology,
Fig. 8 Pitch material used in modes ofManchufolksongs (see note on following page)
notes
3 notes 4 notes 5 notes 6 notes
modes in song
kung 123 6123 6111231 6123t45
1235 6123t4 712345
1...2.35 L?12 ?4
171235
123t45
12356
shang 123 6123 56123 6123t45
6?123 6t1235
1235 1?1235
?1235 t12345
2356 23t456
chiao 235 1235 1235t?5 1112356
356 123t5 3t4567
2356
chih 561 3561. 35612
5__1_2
5.123
yu 561 5612 35612 5671t12
612 6123 56112
61235
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 111
Fig. 10
w w
I I I o lI
chih yu kung shang chiao chih yu
5 6 1 2 3 5 6
I
I NI I I
N~ I
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112 vol.2 (1993)
BritishJournalof Ethnomusicology,
Fig. II Shamanic ritual song of Shiteli clan: a song for Anba Manni (hero god
of the Shiteli clan)
(solo) (chorus)
(solo) (chorus)
I FKung chiaomode(mi)
(solo) (chorus)
SCKun yumode(la)
(solo) (chorus)
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Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 113
Fig. 12 thesamekungsystem
different tonics
different modes
different kung systems different kung systems
different tonics different kung systems the same tonic
different modes different tonics different modes
different modes
a b c d
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114 vol.2 (1993)
BritishJournalof Ethnomusicology,
1. In singing the special kind of chanting songs involving the names of the gods,
the shamanadoptsa kneelingpositionin a secretivemannerand sings very
weakly to avoid the song being heardby others. As explained by Fu Yongji, a
home shamanof Fucha clan in Ning'an, "It is disrespectfulto read the sacred
names of gods loudly. We shouldreadthem inside the heart."
2. In singing the songs which are especially for the gods living far away, such as
the God of the Sky who lives in the sky and Goddess of the earth who lives
underthe earth,the shamanadopts a very solemn manner(in a sitting position
insidetheroomfor theEarthGodanda standingpositionoutsidetheroomfor
theSkyGod)andsingsveryloudlyto makesurethatthegodscanhear.
3. In singing the songs for the gods who have come to the altar,the shamanstands
in frontof thealtarandsingswithnormalvolumein a relaxedmanner.
Both the ways of drumming and the ways of singing demonstrate the
importanceof the musical performance.The meaningand the function of music
which is related to the mystical numberscan only be presented and fulfilled
through a significant musical performancewhich is also related to the mystic
number.
Some other examples demonstratethatmusical performanceis also relatedto
certain other mystical numbers.For example, some short pieces of shamanic
songs used in ritualarerepeatedan odd numberof times-three, five, seven, nine
or more. Before singing songs to differentgods, shamansmust make a "drum-
salute"to the particulargods to whom they will sing: severalshamansbeat drums
simultaneouslyan odd numberof times towardsthe altar).
All examples analysed in this section can support the point that shamanic
thought lives behind the relationshipbetween shamanic odd numbers and the
musicalperformance.
6 Conclusion
The shamanicmysticalodd numbersareembodiedin differentaspectsof Manchu
traditionalmusic, especially in the shamanicmusic and musical performances
analysed in the paper.For example, the odd-numberedrhythmicpatternswhich
are the foundationof the Manchurhythmicsystem; the odd-numbereddominant
notes which are the basis of the Manchu melodic system; the odd-numbered
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Li: MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 115
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am gratefulto my supervisorsDr. H. LaRue,Dr. H. Morphyand Dr. C. Humphreyfor
their academic help on my DPhil study which is related to this paper; to Oxford
University, St. Hugh's College and all other trustsfor their scholarshipswhich enabled
me to do my research and fieldwork; to all the shamansand other informantswhom I
met, for theirgreathelp in providingvaluableevidence for this study;and to Dr. C. Pegg
andProfessorG. Staryfor theiruseful suggestions.
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