An Analysis Of The Artistic Characteristics Of The "Crying Marriage Song" Of Tujia In The West Of Hunan Province

Wedding lament is one of the wedding customs in the Tujia minority of western Hunan. Frequently appeared in several minorities, the wedding lament in Tujia Minority is the most typical one which shows the Tujia females' intelligence and true feelings. Special in style and complete in content, it has great value in musical art and history. The wedding lament describes a tragedy in which the Tujia female can't pursue the freedom during the feudal times and expresses a kind of feelings when Tujia female are reluctant to leave their relatives. From ancient times, people's marriage has been in the charge of their parents. In pursuit of free marriage, the Tujia female use the wedding lament to cry out their bitterness about the unhappy fate under the ancient marriage system. There is a gathering place in the west of Hunan Province, named Tujia-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Xiangxi. Here, Tujia minorities enjoy their life and breed the distinctive history, economy, lifestyle, religion and customs of the Tujia Minority, which adds to a splendor of the wedding lament. Different from the ordinary wedding lament, the wedding lament of western Hunan has some musical characteristics influenced by the special geographical environment, social economy, history, culture, religion and belief. It not only presents the whole marriage process of local Tujia minorities, but also delivers the Tujia females'sincerity, kindness and beauty by singing. By one's mother's or senior female's oral instruction, the wedding lament of western Hunan passes down from generation to generation as a particular musical culture. The wedding lament differentiates for the oral instruction, a lack of literary records and the performer's improvisation. But the basic process does not change. Surrounded by the winding mountains, the western Hunan's contact with the outside world is relatively rare, better preserving the wedding lament in this area.As a Tujia minority girl in Guzhang County of the western Hunan, the author grasps the preliminary understanding of the wedding lament by collecting information and fieldwork. Based on this, the author chooses it as the topic of the thesis, aiming at a better penetration and inheritance of the musical culture of the author's minority. With a sense of mission, the passion for the local music and the willingness of contributing to Tujia musical culture, the writer analyzes the wedding lament of the western Hunan from several parts, such as its origin, musical characteristics, its relationship with the folk music and so on.In this way, the wedding lament is presented vividly and specifically, making its charm better and deeper understood by people.