Yugur Folk Songs

The Yugur are a minority long settled in the Hexi Corridor, concentrated in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County of Zhangye, with ancestors traceable to the Uyghurs of the Tang. Their folk songs pass by word of mouth in two great linguistic branches, eastern and western Yugur, spanning pastoral songs, wedding and ritual songs and long narrative ballads—effectively an oral history for a people without written records. Yugur folk songs entered the second national ICH list in 2008 under traditional music.

Yugur melodies soar long and high, sung in natural voice against the backdrop of steppe work and festival; narrative ballads may run for hours, and call-and-response at weddings sits at the heart of the custom. The lyrics preserve traces of ancient Uyghur and Mongolian, of unique value for studying the Altaic language family and the migration of Silk Road peoples.

Yugur folk songs are the heart of the Yugur oral tradition, a living archive of the steppe, irreplaceable for keeping the Yugur language, faith and herding culture alive.

Yugur folk songs and customs can be experienced in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County and at scenic spots such as the Matisi temples.