Mongolian Shaman Music Investigation Research

Shaman culture, as a kind of cultural vestige, can reflect the history and culture ofancient times very well. The dynamic Mongolian Shaman culture of Horqin records thedevelopment of Mongolia ethnic minority. Shamanism presents itself as tolerant, natural,comprehensive and closed, which reflects diversified cultural achievements of Mongoliaethnic minority in Horqin. Shaman music, as an important sacrificial rite in Horqin, combinesthe information about diverse ancient art, customs and religions and embodies the essence ofShaman culture.This thesis makes a close observation of the sacrificial rites of the Mongolia ethnicminority in Horqin. Based on field works in different periods of time, historical documentsand references and also relevant interviews of experts in this field and adopting the researchmethod of “outsider” and “insider” in ethnic musicology, this thesis does a research on themusical phenomena and pertinent cultural issues about the sacrificial music of Mongoliaethnic minority in Horqin. This research is conducted from the perspectives of culturalanthropology and ethnic musicology. It follows the concept of “music in culture” and “culturein music” and put this particular music in its social environment. It also draws support fromthe musical concept of “sound, concept, behavior” from the famous scholar Allan Merriamand draws on religious studies and archeology.Firstly, the research, based on systematic and precise field works, utilizes the specializedknowledge of music theory. It starts with “music ontology”, through the summarization andcomprehensive understanding of which it aims to provide an overall picture of the origin,development and changes of Shamanism and thus discover the overall development andcharacteristics of the sacrificial music of Mongolia ethnic minority in Horqin. Secondly,through analyzing the culture of mankind, it attempts to get a full understanding of the cultureof Shaman music in this area with the help of other humanities and thus reveal the underlyingfactors which influence this kind of music. Thirdly, this research also aims to testify people’ssense of belonging of their cultural identities from microscopic music ontology tomacroscopic development of cultural patterns.