MCLC: Pamir Kyrgyz song conference

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Bruce Humes <xumushi at yahoo.com>
Subject: Pamir Kyrgyz song conference
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Source: http://www.bruce-humes.com/?p=7098

Just a few weeks after 40 Uyghur masters of the rhymed epic tales known as
dastan gathered in Hami to stage and talk about their threatened art form
(Dastan Training Session), some 60-plus performers of traditional Kyrgyz
songs have gathered for a similar get-together in Xinjiang’s Akto County (阿
克陶县) bordering on Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

According to the article (约隆歌) re-published on the China Ethnic
Literature 
Network, there are a large variety of these songs known as 约隆歌 ("Yuēlóng
gē" in Chinese, and "ïr" in Kyrgyz, I think), including those reserved
just for a man or a woman, satirical ones, or to welcome a guest. Similar
renditions can also be found among other nomadic peoples of Central Asia
such as the Kazakh, Altai, Tuvan and Khakas.

This traditional Kyrgyz musical form was designated an Intangible Cultural
Heritage by China in 2008, and more than 800 songs have reportedly been
collected in the Pamir region to date.