Guilin Drummers

In the old days, when Guilin folk held ceremonies for weddings, funerals and sacrifices, they had to hire bands to blow and play to show their pomp and circumstance. People called this kind of people who played musical instruments as drummers. This kind of folk band has a long history in Guilin. It is a special profession for those who play it and specialize in it for their whole life to earn a living. Drummers know how to play a variety of tunes and are familiar with wedding and funeral rituals. The drummers from Chioda, Dongsang are considered to be the best.

Different bands play different tunes at different ceremonies. People of the older generation know that there is a ritual of Confucius worship in Guilin. Every year on the day of Confucius' birthday, August 27 of the lunar calendar, people hold a grand ceremony in the Temple of Literature. Guilin's Temple of Literature was built in Chongde Street (now Jiefang West Road), that is, now Guilin Middle School, built Dacheng Hall, stone pagoda, the gate has a stone inscription of the eight Yanti characters: "Virtue body heaven and earth, the way to crown the ancient and modern". In front of the gate also set up a stone monument, which reads: "civil and military officials dismount here." Temple of literature was built in a solemn and elegant, whether it is Han, Mongolian, Manchu, Confucius is very revered. Holding ceremonies for Confucius, with a special band, musicians play ancient music, using the sheng, pole, xiao, chime, bell, drum and other instruments. Their playing of music is solemn and dignified.

There is another kind of folk band, specializing in people's wedding and funeral ceremonies blowing. Guilin folk organizing weddings and funerals, is quite concerned about the etiquette of the program. In each set of tedious rituals, have to use drummers to play. If the marriage ceremony is held, it has to be based on the ancient rituals, in which there are procedures such as passing the ceremony and welcoming the bride. Over the ceremony is commonly known as the line of recruitment, by the male party to send people to carry a box, loaded with gifts, bride price, cakes, pigs and goats, and in some cases there are antiques, gold jewelry, jade and so on. Hire a band hall, blowing along the way, accompanied to the female residence. Blowing suona, playing drums, quite lively. Drums thumping, people heard that the ritual of the team came.

Different ceremonial procedures, blowing instruments are also different, tunes are also different. In the wedding banquet guests, guests seated in the ceremony, the drummer is playing a seat music, the use of musical instruments are small block gongs, flutes, drums play a melodious tune. In the banquet, every dish, there is a person shouted a dish, the drummer will play the song on the dish. The band is located in the hall outside the door, by the host family for the delivery of a table, blowing the drummer while eating and blowing. If the food was served too late to play, they would tell others that they "cared about eating but did not care about playing". Later, people in Guilin used this phrase to criticize others for not doing things properly and losing sight of the bigger picture.

Guilin folk organize funerals, commonly known as white wedding. The ceremonial program is also cumbersome and a band is also invited to play. The tunes played are also different, are sad tunes, at home in this ritual, the family should pay tribute to the deceased. The master of ceremonies who conducts the music is the master of ceremonies. Musical instruments include nagas, flutes, gongs, drums, and so on. The music played at the time of the memorial service is "fine music", using flutes and small gongs, and the music stops when the memorial service is read. The music stops when the text is read. When the sacrifice is finished, the music is played, and only then is it blown. At the time of burial, there are various bands. Among them, in front of the spiritual center, there is a band that only plays the flute, drums, gongs and plucks. The tunes played by the flute are especially moving, like sorrow and complaint, like weeping and complaining.

The drummer's profession, throughout the year, sometimes idle, sometimes busy. Life is also hard. Guilin folk do red wedding, mostly in the fall and winter. In order to be auspicious, to choose an auspicious day, check the book to choose the auspicious day of the zodiac. This day is mostly the same, the Zhang family picks, the Li family will also pick. So the day of marriage will be more people, drummers will be too busy, business is good, but can only go to a blowing. So there is a saying: "Good day more the same, drummer life poor."

Over time, folk customs changed, and wedding and funeral rituals were simplified. By the time of the war, most of the people to do the wedding, has not been used to blow the drummer, and to meet the bride to "foreign drums and horns" to replace the old drummer also disappeared.