Study On Ritual Music Of Han Army Of Eight Banners Shamanic Smudging In Jilin Area

Shamanic smudging of Han Army of the Eight Banners(HAEB)is a folk belief of HAEB people in Jilin area.The ritual music is an important part of the custom.In this paper,I firstly make a general diachronic review of their historical significance and social status of HAEB in the Qing Dynasty,with the theory and methods of ethnomusicology,history,folklore.And the synchroneity between the ethnic origin of HAEB descendants and current living conditions in Jilin area is analyzed.Secondly,the ritual process and the use of music in HAEB Shaman smudging are described in detail based on the records of three ritual music cases initiated from the same family during the past 40 years since the reform and opening up.The changing tracks of the ritual music in concept,function and form are explored by putting them in the specific temporal context.Thirdly,the whole picture of ritual music in HAEB Shamanic smudging is interpreted combined with their ritual background according to three types,drum music,divine song and spirit release.The individuality and commonness of ritual music and their function in Shamanic smudging are summarized.Lastly,through a thorough analysis of man and ritual in HAEB Shamanic smudging from Jilin area,the cultural connotation of ritual music is deeply explored from its appearance to the nature.I thus obtains the following three core viewpoints:(1)Because Manchu and Han people lived together since Qing Dynasty in Jilin area,the production mode,living style,and culture of the two ethnic groups are necessarily integrated after a long term coexistence.Additionally,the psychological superiority of HAEB people,they naturally seek external expression.Both internal and external factors promote the formation of Shamanic smudging among HAEB people in Jilin area.The ritual music of HAEB Shamanic smudging is characterized by its integrated pattern of the Han and Manchu beliefs,which takes the ancestor worship custom in Han as the core and the Manchu Shamanic music as its external form.(2)The basic forms of the ritual music are drum music,divine song and spirit release.Drum music creates a holly world of the ritual and freely switches among different scenes,with different drumbeats,such as one beat,three beats or five beats.Divine song is a combination of poetry and music and bridges the communication gap between man and God.Through divine song,man's "respect" for God and God's "love" for man can be achieved.Spirit release realizes the sacred experience of the meeting between man and God through poetry,music and dance.(3)Under the rational guiding of Confucian "human nature" thought,the pragmatic needs of the ethnic group from the secular view is reflected through the explicit expression of the ritual music.The pure humanity is restored by physical and mental integration of Man and God,through the completion of the whole process of the ceremony including prayer entering the Holy Land,conveying emotions and experiencing holiness.In summary,the ritual music of HAEB Shaman smudging is a unique folk art form of Manchu and Han merging culture.This ritual music allow the ethnic group to realize the pragmatic secular needs and achieve the holy longing of unity between Heaven and Human beings.