Tradition and Divergence in Southwestern China: Kam Big Song Singing in the Village and on Stage

Figures & data

Figure 1  Left: Map of China, showing the two provinces (Guizhou and Hunan Provinces) and one autonomous region (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) where most Kam people reside (major cities are also marked). The general area of Kam residence is indicated with an arrow. Map by Wu Jiaping. Right: Map showing Northern and Southern Kam dialect regions (shaded pale grey); the approximate area containing big-song-singing villages is shaded in dark grey and indicated with an arrow (adapted from Edmondson & Solnit 1988b, p. 21).

Table 1  An overview of the major aspects that differ between village and staged big song singing. The left column lists the aspects that differ between the two performance formats; the centre and right columns give one example of this difference in relation to each of these aspects.

Aspect	Village big song singing	Staged big song singing
Repertoire	Only local repertoire performed.	Songs performed mainly drawn from a recognised ‘staged’ repertoire which always features songs from various areas; local repertoire only occasionally performed.
Transmission format	Single-sex groups learn together during the year, and form important social bonds.	Groups (single-sex or mixed) learn together in the lead-up to specific performances, social bonds may not always be established and group membership often differs with each performance.
Performance format	Usually sung in the dare low or other important public space, and can take place even if only singers are present (i.e. no non-singing audience attends).	Usually performed on a stage and towards an audience, the members of which only listen and do not sing.
Musical structure	Each group uses a unique melody (in Kam, sor (‘melodic habitus’)) for singing all the songs in each category of big song.*	Songs often sung with standardised melodies that have often undergone ‘artistic processing’ and are similar to the versions performed by local professional performance troupes.
Lyrical structure	In Sheeam, songs with meaningful lyrics considered most important in performance.	Meaningfulness of lyrics almost never considered important.
Aesthetics	Usually sung at a relatively low pitch.	Sung at a relatively high pitch.
Criteria for group membership	Group formed amongst people sharing clan or friendship ties, or amongst people resident in one area of a village. Participation in the group indicates respect for others and community-mindedness.	Singers selected according to the requirements of the particular performance situation, but selection invariably based on singers’ ages and physical appearance.
Decision-making and direction within group	Consensual amongst group members.	Depends on location for performance, but even staged performances within the village may be wholly directed by outsiders.
Intended audience for performance	Kam villagers; in exchange of big song, the main audience is the group of singers seated opposite.	Both Kam and non-Kam. However, decisions made concerning many aspects of performance indicate that main audience is expected to be non-Kam.
*The big song category known as ga sor is one exception to this rule: each of the songs in this category has a unique melody which only occasionally resembles the melody of other ga sor.