Himalayan Mountain Songs and Rituals

Author: Xia Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-11
Features: This book has long been concluded, but due to various reasons, it was not published in a timely manner. Over ten years ago, while teaching and writing poetry at another university, I had a vague idea that selecting a specific cultural region and discussing the origins of poetry from the perspectives of anthropology and folkloristics would be pioneering work. This idea became stronger and clearer after I moved to Jimei University. From 1996 to 1997, I had the privilege of studying under Mr. Zhong Jingwen at Beijing Normal University, marking the beginning of my research on the origins of poetry, focusing on Himalayan mountain songs and rituals. Since then, my research findings have been published in academic journals such as Ethnic Literature Research, Ethnic Art, Folklore Research, Tibetan Studies in China, Tibet Studies, and Journal of Tibet National University. In a commemorative article after Mr. Zhong’s passing, I wrote: “During the days I spent with Mr. Zhong Jingwen, he paid great attention to my research on the origins of poetry, and I can no longer recall how many passionate discussions we had.” “Once, Mr. Zhong happened to discover a relevant passage in Franz Boas’s Primitive Art that was useful for my research. He marked it with a small note in the book for me to reference.” My research later came to fruition, deeply influenced by my mentor’s expectations and guidance! Its publication is first and foremost an offering to Mr. Zhong’s spirit in the afterlife. Over the years, I have traveled to many places, but my heart has never left the Himalayas. This summer, I once again set foot on this long-missed land, filled with deep emotions. Since childhood, I have had a strong desire to find an opportunity to repay the plateau that raised me. The writing of this book can be seen as my commitment. The work presented in this book is exploratory for both others and myself. Rather than offering a foundation for further discussion, I would say it is a call to explore. In this book, I view Himalayan mountain culture as an organic whole and analyze the songs intertwined with religious or secular rituals from the perspective of the origins of poetry, conducting extensive empirical research. I believe that early human poetry originated from various chants and recitations in ritual activities. The shared characteristics of songs and rituals have had a clear and lasting influence on later poets’ creations and folk activities. The book particularly emphasizes that the poetic quality in human spirituality also emerges from primitive ritualized behavior. This research should serve to fill gaps in modern poetics.