The Dong are a singing people with a heritage steeped in history and legend, having
lived for centuries in southern China maintaining a rich singing tradition. As
mainstream Chinese culture pervades the community, a project has been launched
to record and preserve their music, using the compact, portable USB audio
interface, iD14 from Audient as an integral part of the recording setup.
“As young people leave Dong villages to find work in bigger cities, traditional Dong
song is at serious risk of extinction,’ explains Noah Krieg, a cultural anthropologist
with a background in pro audio sales, who has undertaken this extraordinary
project. Joining with local musicians and singers with support from concerned
international partners, he aims to record the traditional Dong songs in audio form,
and make them accessible to the world.
Rice sustains a person’s life and singing opens a person’s heart.
– Dong Proverb
Krieg is in the ideal position of being immersed in the community, having moved to
a Dong village upon completion of graduate studies in Dong culture at Hunan
University last year. Currently a grass roots endeavour, he anticipates this to be a
long term project that will gain traction and support as recordings start to be
collated. “We will work with the local government to publish and distribute these
songs throughout the Dong areas and online to be enjoyed by locals and visitors
alike,’ he continues.
Krieg is also keen to give some of the recordings a more modern twist. “We will
work with the raw audio and integrate modern musical elements to make the Dong
songs more accessible for a generation of ethnic Dong who might feel the
traditional music is out of touch.’
Traditionally, song has been integral to every aspect of Dong life: singing at meals,
singing in courting, and especially singing for education. The entirety of Dong
history, legends, moral teaching, and folk religion practices has been passed down
from generation to generation orally through song.
Singing resolves unhappiness and laughter resolves worry.
– Dong Proverb
Legend has it that long ago the Dong were unable to sing. When a villager named Xi
Ai heard a mountain bird tell of a singing tree in heaven, he decided to go up and
steal some songs which grew as fruit on the tree. The songs were taken back to the
village and planted in the ground, where they grew up into a new singing tree. The
Dong people gathered with the mountain birds to learn the beautiful songs, and ever
since the sound of singing has filled the hills where the Dong people live.
Check back with Audient to find out how the project is progressing, or pop over to
Soundcloud now to listen to some of the initial recordings, here.