Chejiang Dong Song Group (ethnic Dong) - Heart to Heart

English lyrics translated from Dong language:
We are heart to heart when we are together.
I miss you so much, just like Bayan fish loving rocks.
(Explanation: Bayan fish is a kind of fish near Dong villages. It likes to hide behind rocks in the river.)
Sweet and love words I say half and you say half.

Hey, sister if you love me,
then please don't leave me alone.
Give me a pair of insoles to express your love.
Give me a flowery scarf to warm my heart.
Our love is deep. We are heart to heart.
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About this song:
The first half of this song is a typical "Dong's Pipa Song" while the second half is a typical "Dong's Big Song".
The Pipa is a plucked string instrument with a fretted fingerboard. The "Dong's Pipa Song" borrows the name of the accompanying instrument. Dong's Pipa song is melodious and euphonious with unique styles. It has abundant melodies and lyrics and can be classified into love song, ballata, and honoring-elders song. The love song, an antiphonal song, is often sung by Dong young people when they gather in the Dong's Drum Tower (or Moon Hall) during the slack farming season. Female singers generally use the falsetto while male singers generally use natural voice to sing this kind of antiphonal song. In this vedio clip, two young men played Dong's Pipa while the other two accompanied with Dong's Ox-leg fiddle. The ballata is generally sung by old singers in Dong's Drum Tower or in public space. Its contents is mainly about the history of the Dong people, the folk stories and significant events. The honoring-elders song is sung by the youth in public space.
The introduction of Dong's Big Song is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SZD2Is97ms
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About the Dong people's tradition:
Dong's young single girls often gather together in the Dong's Moon Hall to weave or embroider in the evening. They sing songs when they are working. Single boys will bring their musical instruments to accompany girls. If a girl loves a boy, she will bring a gourd of water to him. If he drinks the water, then it means that he also loves the girl. He will put a ancestral silvery bracelet in the gourd as a testify of his love. Then the girl will return him a pair of insoles or a scarf to confirm her love.
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Ethnic Dong's Emblem:
http://www.worldartmuseum.cn/content/413/813_1.shtml
This emblem was designed by an ethnic Dong designer. It shows a Dong's Drum Tower. There are many Drum Towers in Dong villages. Generally one village or one large family has a drum tower. Drum tower is a public place where the Dong people host guests, hold meetings, hold song parties, teach Dong history to the youth, train Big Song, and practice martial arts, etc. The Dong people use many traditional paintings to decorate Drum Tower and make it not only a public gathering place but also a beautiful artwork.
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Introduction to the Dong People:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_people
Dong's Drum Tower (侗族鼓楼):
http://images.google.com/images?q=%E4%BE%97%E6%97%8F%E9%BC%93%E6%A5%BC&btnG
Dong's Roofed Bridge (Rain-and-Wind Bridge, Flower Bridge 侗族风雨桥, 侗族花桥):
http://images.google.com/images?q=%E9%A3%8E%E9%9B%A8%E6%A1%A5

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