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Octophonic chorus |
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Octophonic Chorus The chorus style of Bunun is the ballads inherited from ancient period. It is incredible to have had such complicated chorusing style way before the maturation of human civilization. This surely raises many doubts and gives challenges toward the traditional views and theories for the origin of music.※Listen: Octophonic chorus (1325K) (Bunun Cultural Class, Gu Feng Elementary School) |
| The pasibutbut of Bunun is a ceremonial song sung by people of bubukun and take banua, usually before minpinan (the sowing ceremony) in every February in the traditional Bunun community. Extra sense of mystery and different explanations were unwittingly added to the ceremonial song due to the complicity of the singing and the limitation brought about by the taboos. The Bunun people who have dilas (millet) as their principle food, would perform a solemn sacrificial ceremony during the period after the annual soil preparation and before minpinan. Through the group chorusing of pasibutbut, the wishes and prayers of Bunun to dehanin are expressed. | |
| As a result of the solemnity of the ceremony, the performance of pasibutbut is inevitably constrained by a lot of restriction and taboos. Under the decrees of tradition from the past, tribesmen strictly follow the rules, keep away from violating the taboos, and perform the song with the most sincere heart. | |
| Pasibutbut is regarded as a divine ceremonial song amongst bubukun and take banua. Nonetheless, it is still not clear from where the ancestors of Bunun learned the song that is performed in such a unique and peculiar way. The investigators were told the following three versions of legends about the origin of pasibutbut after visiting several tribes that still perform pasibutbut: | |
| 1. During certain hunting activity of the Bunun ancestors, they saw a spectacular scene of waterfall pouring down from some dell. The reverence and awe toward the nature were drawn from the echo of the sound made by the waterfall. After they returned to their village they found the dilas (or millet) harvest was far greater than past years, therefore, the phenomenal scene of the waterfall was thought as a sign given by dehanin, hence those tribesmen handed down the resonance they learned from the waterfall for generations. This view is hold mostly by the bubukun Bunun in Kaohsiung County. | |
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| 2. Also happened during certain hunting activity, the Bunun ancestors found a gigantic withered tree lying on the ground in some hunting field. The center part of the tree was hollow, a swarm of bees, or linmo (also called hatongusazu), were there buzzing with their wings. This created a magnificent resonance in the natural resonance box of the gigantic hollow wood, the tribesmen jumped for joy after hearing this, since they had not heard anything like this before. Those tribesmen imitated the resonance they heard in the mountain in their singing. As every tribesman was an expert in chorusing, this beautiful song could be handed down to the following generations. The bubukun and Sinyi Township in Taitung County, and the Bunun in Nantou County hold this view. | |
| 3. Chosi Township, the take banua Bunun in Hualien County on the other hand, believes that the song was born after their ancestors heard and imitated the sound of a group of birds flipping their wings while flying over the thriving dilas (millet) field. | |
| Before the coming of minpinan, the priest would decide the sacrificial day. The priest would carefully choose the so-called most holy men, ranged from six to 10 people. They would be living in the sanctuary building. The next day, the priest would lead those adult males and form a circle outside surrounding the building, crossing both of their hands at their backs, at the same time a cluster of living millet would be placed inside the building. Then after the lead of the priest, they would first perform this pasibutbut outside, afterward they would slowly move inside the building, symbolizing the dilas (millet) sowed this year will not only be thriving, but fill the barns. Because of the uniqueness of the performing style and the complexity of the association with the ceremony, this ceremonial song, pasibutbut, has already gained its reputation internationally. |
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| Pasibutbut of Bunun is an octophonic chorus. However, when simply look at the structure of the music, one will notice that the complex tone is performed by only three parts of vocal parts at most. It is just that during the performance, at least eight adult males will be needed to form the four vocal parts: mahOsgnas, manda, mabonbon and lagnisgnis. These parts will have to join in the chorus following a strict system. Since every singer has a different voice quality, the illusive phenomenon of octophonic chorus is thus produced. Anyway, Pasobutbut has become the most notable traditional ballad that has gain the global renown. | |
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(Photo and text by Ma Yuan Elementary School, Gu Feng Elementary School) |
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