Yi Mourning Ballads

Yi Mourning Ballads

　　"Yi Mourning Ballads" refer to songs in which the relatives of the deceased lament their loss through chanting and singing. In the Yi language, these are called "E," meaning "funeral dirges."

　　These songs have existed among the Yi people for thousands of years. A Yi proverb says, "No matter how distant the kinship, when the cries of mourning are heard, they will come running." They are an essential part of Yi funeral customs, and wherever Yi people live or settle in communities, "E" can be found.

　　Yi Mourning Ballads occur in specific spatiotemporal contexts, featuring sorrowful lyrics and emotionally painful music. They provide authentic and rich material for social sciences such as folklore, and hold enduring humanistic value.

　　[Origin Period]

　　The Yi Mourning Ballad "E," if traced back to its essential meaning of "funeral lamentation," is a true expression of human nature and genuine emotional release. As the literature states: "All sounds originate from the human heart; emotions stirred within take form in sound." "When words are insufficient, one sighs; when sighing is insufficient, one chants." Therefore, "E" is as ancient as the history of the Yi people’s survival and reproduction.

　　As part of the funeral process and ceremonial procedures, it likely emerged during the clan society period. Following its formation—especially during the rise of patriarchal systems with their emphasis on "ritual etiquette," "established codes," and "hospitality for guests"—the mourning ceremony took shape. In this sense, Yi Mourning Ballads "E" originated in primitive times, developed during the transition from matriarchal to patriarchal Yi society, and can be traced back thousands of years.

　　[Distribution Area]

　　Ningnan County is located in the southeastern part of Liangshan Prefecture, 129 kilometers north of Xichang, bordering the Jinsha River to the south across from Yunnan Province, and 400 kilometers from Kunming. It administers 6 towns and 19 township-level administrative regions, covering an area of 1,666.6 square kilometers with a total population of 183,000. The county is home to nine ethnic groups, mainly Yi and Buyi. Yi people are concentrated in the mountainous townships around the county seat, occupying eight and a half ethnic townships where many ancient and outstanding ethnic customs, music, and cultures are still preserved.

　　Ningnan enjoys long hours of sunshine throughout the year, abundant light and heat resources, sufficient annual rainfall, and minimal seasonal temperature variation. Its typical subtropical climate makes it a production base for high-quality crops, a pearl on the banks of the Jinsha River.

　　Yi Mourning Ballads are found in Yi-inhabited areas of Ningnan County and neighboring counties such as Puge, Butuo, Huili, Huili (Yunnan), and Qiaojia County in Yunnan Province, being most fully preserved in Qiluogou Township of Ningnan County.

　　[Basic Content]

　　Yi Mourning Ballads consist of two parts: melodies and lyrics. Melodies vary by region and are freely adapted according to local customs, but all express inner sorrow. The rhythms are slow, beats flexible, emotions sorrowful, and tones plaintive, with cries, sobs, and wails accompanying the sung lyrics.

　　When chanting, great attention is paid to kinship titles. Based on the chanter's genealogical relationship, closeness, and seniority relative to the deceased, the chanter uses specific terms for the deceased from their unique perspective. The very first line often begins with the specific title for the deceased. For instance, if the deceased is the chanter’s mother, sisters, female cousins, maternal uncles, their brothers, or their peers, the term used is "A’mo"; if the deceased is the father, paternal uncles, or their peers, the term is "A’da"; if the deceased is an older brother, sister, or their spouses, it is "Wu’zha"; for younger brothers, sisters, or their peers, it is "Li’zha"; if the chanter is female and the deceased is a brother or his peers, the term is "Mu’re"; if the chanter is male and the deceased is a sister or her peers, it is "A’li’mo" or "Ni’zha"; if the chanter is the mother-in-law and the deceased is a daughter-in-law or her peer, it is "A’bo’pu"; if the chanter is an aunt and the deceased is a nephew or his peer, it is "A’bo’ji"; if the chanter is a maternal uncle and the deceased is a daughter-in-law, niece, or their peers, it is "A’mo’li"; if the deceased is a nephew or his peer, it is "A’mo’re"; if the chanter is a grandparent and the deceased is a grandchild or their peer, it is "A’er"; if the chanter is an uncle, aunt, or their peers and the deceased is a nephew or niece or their peers, it is "A’yi"; if the chanter is a cousin and the deceased is a female cousin or her peer, it is "A’mi" or "A’ran"; if the chanter is a female cousin and the deceased is a male cousin or his peer, it is "A’bo’re." Since Yi tradition holds that "the land is forever connected, and all people are kin," relationships can always be traced, and even non-immediate relatives are addressed using generational kinship terms.

　　Lyric content mainly includes: grief over losing loved ones, descriptions of the deceased’s illness and death, reminiscences of the deceased’s life, their hard work in managing the household and raising children, tributes, and hopes for protection. For example, one "Cry for Mother" goes: "The trees you planted on the mountain have grown into a forest, the yams you sowed have turned into pickles. Oh Mother, your children are now orphans, their hearts shattered. You have become clouds, you have become wind; the wind is cold, the clouds are dark." This is an "E" with an on-site recording (included in the Liangshan Folk Song Collection), interspersed with intermittent sobs and cries. This offers just a glimpse.

　　The content of "E" is very rich, with variations depending on the relationship and emotional ties between the chanter and the deceased, such as parents, elders, siblings, the elderly, or children.

　　[Basic Characteristics]

　　1. Specific Spatiotemporal Environment and Performers

　　Yi Mourning Ballads are only chanted when a loved one dies, during the period from the cessation of breath until burial or cremation, by the deceased’s relatives and visiting family and friends.

　　2. Specific Chanting Content

　　The lyrics all convey sorrowful, condolence-related content associated with death.

　　3. High Degree of Improvisation

　　Yi Mourning Ballads involve a high degree of improvisation. Based on the basic melody, traditional lament lyrics, and fixed kinship titles, the content varies with the chanter’s linguistic skill and ability to improvise. Ordinary chanters may rely on traditional lines, while more eloquent individuals often improvise around the sorrow of death, leaving listeners silent yet moved to tears.

　　4. Musical Value of Sorrowful Narration

　　The sung melodies are mournful, low-pitched, slow, with free rhythms and drawn-out tones, often accompanied by cries, sobs, and lamentations.

　　[Basic Value]

　　1. Yi Mourning Ballads hold anthropological, folkloric, and sociological value.

　　The historical and cultural connotations of Yi Mourning Ballads "E," the spatiotemporal and humanistic contexts in which they exist, and their lyrical content all offer significant research value for the aforementioned social sciences.

　　2. Yi Lament Songs Are a Popular and Authentic Record of Life

　　Life and death are the laws of nature, as well as an inevitable process in the survival and reproduction of every individual and every ethnic group. Each “E” song sings of one subject, and over the centuries, the “E” songs have become an authentic record of a people’s “life.”

　　3. Yi Lament Songs Possess Timeless Humanistic Value

　　The human qualities of truth, goodness, and beauty are eternal, so the content and essence of “E” will never vanish.