Study Guide

Learn more about Arts Midwest World Fest online at http://www.artsmidwestworldfest.org

Tarim

The performers in Tarim all come from the Uygur

(pronounced wee-ghur) Municipality, where

traditional music and dance are very much alive

and part of daily life. The ensemble members

studied their instruments and dance at respected

universities such as the Xinjiang Arts Institute and

Beijing National University. The combination of

advanced study along with learning through

community and family life makes this ensemble a

truly authentic, unique, and skilled group. The

ensemble has toured throughout Australia, France,

the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Uygurs

The Uygur people mainly live in northwestern

China, in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang

(pronounced shin-jyan) Province. Because of the challenge in translating Chinese characters and sounds into the English alphabet,

Uygur may also be spelled “Uighur” or “Uyghur.”

There are approximately 9 million Uygurs in China and about 300,000 in neighboring Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The

Uygurs speak a Turkic language, a type of language spoken across Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan through the Central Asian

republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to Xinjiang Province in China. The chief Uygur

cities are Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and Kashgar, an ancient center of trade near the Russian-Chinese border.

The Uygurs are mentioned in Chinese records from the 3rd century AD. They are mainly a sedentary, village-dwelling people who

live in the network of oases formed in the valleys and lower slopes of mountain systems in western China. The region is one of the

most arid in the world, and for centuries the Uygurs have practiced irrigation to conserve their water supply for agriculture. Their

principal food crops are wheat, corn, kaoliang (a form of grain), and melons.

Muqam

The Uygur muqam are performance pieces consisting of sung poetry, dances, and instrumental sections. The lyrics for the muqam

are drawn from folk stories and religious poetry from a mystical tradition of Islam known as Sufism. The muqam is unique to the

Uygur people and has been designated by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Uygur muqam are typically performed by a small ensemble of singers, led by a lead singer, and accompanied by plucked or

bowed lutes and dap frame drums. There are twelve muqam that have become fixed and standardized by professional musicians over

time. Each of these twelve muqams consists of a main section that begins with a long free rhythm introduction, followed by pieces

with characteristic rhythmic patterns that gradually increase in speed.

References

Music of the Uyghurs

The Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang

Katta Ashula

"Uighur." Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition, s.v. (accessed November 16, 2011).

"East Asia." Lands and Peoples. Grolier Online (accessed November 16, 2011).

Tarim , 2011

China: Uygur Music and Instruments

Study Guide

Learn more about Arts Midwest World Fest online at http://www.artsmidwestworldfest.org

China: Uygur Musical Instruments

Rawap

The rawap is the most

popular instrument among

the Uygur people. It is a

long-necked lute that

typically has five strings.

Rawaps have very

distinctive snakeskin faces

and “goat horns” that

decorate the instruments.

Qang

The qanq (also spelled

“chang”) is a large

hammer dulcimer using

metal strings that are

strung across raised

bridges.

Dap

A dap is a frame drum that

is played much like a

tambourine.

Ghijek

The ghijek is a bowed

instrument with four metal

strings tuned like a violin

but played while held on

the musician’s knee.

Ancient versions of the

ghijek used between six

and ten strings made of

horse hair.

Satar

The satar is a long-necked,

bowed lute with one

melodic and eight to

twelve drone strings made

of metal.

Tambur

The longest of the Uygur

lutes, the tambur has five

metal strings and is played

using a metal pick.