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VOL. 2 BRITISH
JOURNAL
OFETHNOMUSICOLOGY 1993
Lisha Li
This paper examines the significance of certain mystical numbers which are frequently
used in Manchumusicandmusicalperformances. It suggeststhatthesenumbers,which
relateto shamanism,play an importantrole in structuringmusicalpattemsandmusical
performancesin correspondencewith cultural patterns and behaviour. It also argues that
shamanicthoughtpermeatesManchumusicalideasconcerningcreatingandperforming
music, but that these ideas are also relatedto the individual'spersonaland social
background.This paperconsiders only those musical ideas that are particularlyassociated
with shamanicmystical odd numbers.
1 Introduction
The Manchu form one of the largest minority groups in China. They were the
ruling people during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the last dynasty in China.
The Manchu originated in Manchuriaand now live in many areas of China,
particularlyin the north. The Chinese language began to be widely used by
Manchu people only from the beginning of this century. Manchu folk songs
collected so far can be classifiedlinguisticallyinto threecategories:1. Manchu;2.
Chinese; 3. a mixtureof Manchuand Chinese. The musical difference between
the first and second categories is quite large. Some of the songs with Chinese
lyrics are very similar to Chinese folk songs. Generallyspeaking, however, the
first category of Manchu folk songs have retained more of their own musical
characteristics.Of those Manchu songs known to me, 75% belong to the first
category.Thereforethe analysisin this paperis basedon the first categoryof folk
99
100 BritishJournalof Ethnomusicology,
vol.2 (1993)
2 Mysticalnumbersand shamanism
Odd numbersare very importantin many aspects of the indigenous cultures of
North Asia (Li 1992). The cosmological levels and the gods often appearin odd
numbers.Odd numbersare also used in many othercontexts. Most importantly
for this paper, certain odd numbers play a very important role in Manchu
shamanicrituals.
According to Manchushamanism,there are three regions of the cosmos with
three levels in each. The upperregion is called the "light region", inhabitedby
Abukaanduli2(the God of the Sky), the gods of the stars,the sun and thunder,
the God of Fire, ancestorgods and othernaturegods, includinganimaland plant
gods. The middleregion is the humanworld,inhabitedby man, animalsand other
beings. The lower region, the "darkregion",is inhabitedby Banaji (the God of
the Ground),other gods such as the gods of night, Omosi mama (the God for
Descendants,and variousevil spiritsanddemons.
This cosmologicalconceptionis reflectedin manyManchumyths and in ritual
texts of variousclans. In some clans the upperregion, the sky, is furtherdivided
into five, seven, or nine levels. The cosmology of most otherindigenouspeoples
in North Asia also divides the universe into three cosmic regions (Eliade
1964:259-79),althoughthe detailsmay be slightlydifferent.The levels of the sky
are always odd-numbered,althoughthe division may vary from one ethnic group
to another(for examplessee Li 1992).
In many Manchuclans, from the earliesttimes three Cosmic Goddesses have
been worshipped.An image of the threeearliestCosmic Goddesses, theirlinked
bodies standinginside a case representingthe cosmos, was found by the Chinese
anthropologistFu Yuguangin the 1960s being worshippedamongstthe Manchu
Namuduluclan in the Hunchunareaof centralManchuria.The Goddesses were
made of wood, while the cosmos was made of a piece of birchskin with a pattern
representingthe cosmic tree (illustratedin Li 1992:fig. 7). This reflects not only
the Manchu and their ancestors' early polytheistic non-hierarchicalconception
has three souls: the or6n (the soul of life), given by the God of Life, which will
leave the body after death;the hani (the soul of thinking),which can leave the
body temporarilyduring sleep and communicatewith spirits or souls of others;
andthefajaak (the soul of rebirth),given by the God of Rebirth,which will leave
the body afterdeathandenteranothernew-bornbody (Ling 1934:102-3).
Duringthe process of traininga new shaman,the learnershouldprojecther or
his soul, in trance,at least three times into the differentregions of the cosmos.
Only when the learneris able to do this can she or he become a shaman. An
experiencedshamancan projectheror his soul moreoften andinto more levels of
the cosmos: five, seven or nine times and five, seven or nine levels, dependingon
technique.
Odd numbersalso appearin many other cases among different groups, for
examplein the design of shamaniccostumesanddrums(see Dolgikh 1978 for the
Nganasanshamanicdrumsandcostumes,Czaplicka1914 for some othertribesin
Siberia and Li 1992 for the Manchu drums). It is not difficult to see the
significance of certain numberssuch as 3, 5, 7 and 9 which are related to the
cosmos levels. Many shamans whom I met in Manchuria stated that these
numbersare cosmic numbers.The explanationreflects the strong influence of
shamaniccosmology on people.
Even numbersare not used very often, but they have meaningsas well. They
are usually linked with the middle and lower regions of the cosmos but not the
upper region. In particular,in some cases they are related to evil spirits. For
example(Eliade 1964: 277):
Among the Buryat the numberof gods is three times as great: ninety-nine good
gods in the southwestregions and forty-fourevil ones in the northeastern.
Since odd numbersare used more frequentlythan even ones and have more
significance in Manchu music, discussion in this paper concerns odd numbers
only. The aim here is to demonstratehow these mystic numbersembodyreligious
thought and play an active role in structuringmusical patterns and musical
performancesin correspondencewith culturalpatternsandbehaviour.
j^ 4 11 1 2 3
7- .1 c
i 2 3
:-__
:m7
71
1 2 3
n7 j ':17xi : 11
The Five-accented Patterns
I 3 4 5
J~I x> : : 1
t
(1+1+3)
1 2 3 4 5
1-
:>
x
I>~
) X
I : ?<X X ' (3+1+1)
(1+1+1+1+3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
,
X *'XXX
X '.X ^ ; X X X x X '
(3+3+1)
(3+1+1+1+1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
12
X.
~4~ ?
~~ ~ X ~~~~~
6 X 7x
. 3X
** X
XX ^ S< .'X ^ : X X ^ '* X X '* X X X X ; X (3+3+3)
N~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 105
6Some of the rhythmicpatternsused in the ritualsof other peoples in North Asia have
similaritiesto those of the Manchu.This may supportthe hypothesisthat religiousmystical
numbersplayan important rolein formingrhythmicpatternsin Manchupractice.Forexamples
see Li 1992.
7 See Section 1 and footnote 1 for the sources of the folk songs that I analysed.The same sources
were used for figures 8, 9 and 10.
; .
23 3 2 3
Drum x c x
6- - 5 --_' - .j-c -.t
l \ X: XX1
X
X X PC $C ; X X XX X I
Song 7
+T'7"'^P^
-
Drum - -- , . ,
x x I
x X
x x x IX X X P x
Song
! -. - ; -. _
x x x
Drum
1 2 3 4 5
8 "Dominantnotes" refers to the notes which are used most frequentlyand are normallystressed.
9 No musical instruments are used in shamanic ceremonies except percussion. The
characteristicsof other types of music including instrumentalmusic (for an example see fig. 7)
are very similarto those of the first category of folk songs.
Li:MysticalnumbersandManchutraditionalmusic 109
Fig. 8 Pitch material used in modes of Manchufolksongs (see note on following page)
notes
3 notes 4 notes 5 notes 6 notes
modes in song
kung 123 16123 61T123 6123 TL45
1235 6123T4 712345
T1235 1T123T4
123t45
12356
shang 123 6123 561 23 6123T45
61123 6T1235
1235 1T1235
T1235 T12345
2356 23T456
chiao 235 1235 1235T5 1 12356
356 12315 314567
2356
chih 561 3561 35612
.612 6123 13
yu 561 556.1 2 35612 56.71T12
612 6123 561T12
61235
Fig. 9 Frequency of occurrence of songs with three dominant notes (see note on
following page)
Fig. 10
I I I ml I
chih yu kung shang chiao chih yu
5 6 1 2 3 5 6
I I l I I I
gl
112 vol.2 (1993)
BritishJournalofEthnomusicology,
Fig. 11 Shamanic ritual song of Shiteli clan: a song for Anba Manni (hero god
of the Shiteli clan)
J_I J .~ _ _~ J
jJ I I.. !_ J dII..
(solo) (chorus)
r!???? J oI. 1. I
(solo)( chorus) FKungI chiaomode(mi)
(solo) (chorus)
ay | ?
A CKungi yu mode(la)
(solo) (chorus)
3J , 'Kr
' I I;r^JIr II ' rlrrrj I- *
U Vl I L I
Li: Mystical numbersand Manchu traditional music 113
Fig. 12 thesamekungsystem
differenttonics
differentmodes
differentkungsystems differentkungsystems
differenttonics differentkungsystems thesametonic
differentmodes differenttonics differentmodes
differentmodes
a b c d
o 0 o 0 11 1 II
. , a chiao mode
^^~~~~~~~~>
|CKung | e chiao mode -"- FKung |g shang mode (mi) _ GKung a shangmode
(mi) (re) "
(re)
'" CKung | a Yu mode
(la)
1. "Drummingon the higher road".The drumis beaten towardsthe sky and held
higher thanthe player's head to contactthe gods who live in the sky, using only
the "OldThree-accentedPatterns".
2. "Drummingon the middle road".The drumis held in frontof the player's chest
to contact the gods who have come to the ritual place or to pass the gods'
intention to people. To contact the gods who have come to the ritual, the "Old
Three-accented Patterns" arealso usedandtheplayershouldrespectthe altar.
To passthe gods' intentionto the people,the "Five-accented
Patterns"should
be used.
3. "Drumming on the lowerroad".The drumis held in a lowerpositionandis
beatentowardsthe groundto driveawaydemons,usingthe "Seven-accented
Patterns".
"Drumming on themiddleroad",however,is themostcommonstyle
in ceremonies(fig. 1).
regions of the cosmos through the shamanic journey with the shaman's vehicle,
the drum. The shaman assumes different expressional modes of performance and
moves the drum into different positions for dealing with gods, people and demons
from different regions of the cosmos (Li 1992). This shows the shamanic attitude
towards different beings of the cosmos and the conceptions of the Manchu people
concerning other beings in the cosmos. The Manchu believe that gods and
demons also have senses and can give and receive information during the
shaman's performance. These conceptions are all related to the shamanistic idea
that everything in the cosmos has a soul or spirit.
Associated with the three ways of drumming, there are also three ways of
singing:
1. In singing the special kind of chanting songs involving the names of the gods,
the shaman adopts a kneeling position in a secretive manner and sings very
weakly to avoid the song being heardby others. As explained by Fu Yongji, a
home shamanof Fucha clan in Ning'an, "It is disrespectfulto read the sacred
names of gods loudly. We shouldreadthem inside the heart."
2. In singing the songs which are especially for the gods living far away, such as
the God of the Sky who lives in the sky and Goddess of the earth who lives
underthe earth,the shamanadopts a very solemn manner(in a sitting position
inside the room for the EarthGod and a standingposition outside the room for
the Sky God) and sings very loudly to make surethatthe gods can hear.
3. In singing the songs for the gods who have come to the altar,the shamanstands
in frontof the altarand sings with normalvolume in a relaxedmanner.
Both the ways of drumming and the ways of singing demonstrate the
importance of the musical performance. The meaning and the function of music
which is related to the mystical numbers can only be presented and fulfilled
through a significant musical performance which is also related to the mystic
number.
Some other examples demonstrate that musical performance is also related to
certain other mystical numbers. For example, some short pieces of shamanic
songs used in ritual are repeated an odd number of times-three, five, seven, nine
or more. Before singing songs to different gods, shamans must make a "drum-
salute" to the particular gods to whom they will sing: several shamans beat drums
simultaneously an odd number of times towards the altar).
All examples analysed in this section can support the point that shamanic
thought lives behind the relationship between shamanic odd numbers and the
musical performance.
6 Conclusion
The shamanic mystical odd numbers are embodied in different aspects of Manchu
traditional music, especially in the shamanic music and musical performances
analysed in the paper. For example, the odd-numbered rhythmic patterns which
are the foundation of the Manchu rhythmic system; the odd-numbered dominant
notes which are the basis of the Manchu melodic system; the odd-numbered
Li: Mystical numbersand Manchu traditional music 115
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am gratefulto my supervisorsDr. H. LaRue,Dr. H. Morphyand Dr. C. Humphreyfor
their academic help on my DPhil study which is related to this paper; to Oxford
University, St. Hugh's College and all other trustsfor their scholarshipswhich enabled
me to do my research and fieldwork; to all the shamansand other informantswhom I
met, for theirgreathelp in providingvaluableevidence for this study;and to Dr. C. Pegg
andProfessorG. Staryfor theiruseful suggestions.
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