On the border line called "Secret Land Lincang" in western Yunnan adjacent to Myanmar, under the rolling hills and lush forests, there is a small Yi village with a population of only more than 2,000 people. When I was a child, looking at the map of China, I would always joke with my brothers and sisters that the smallest place in the world is in China, the smallest place in China is in Yunnan, the smallest place in Yunnan is in Fengqing County, Lincang City, and the smallest place in Fengqing County is Yao Street Yi Township. Although the hometown is so small, the bits and pieces of life here, with the changes of the years, have long been deeply etched in my memory. And in the numerous memories, there will always be a suona figure. In the past, whenever there were weddings and funerals in the village, a suona would be played, and when there was joy and sadness, the tune was blown from the small, medium and large copper suonas.

Suona in wedding

Marriage is a major event in the Yi people's mind. Every wedding, people who have a happy event must bring tobacco, alcohol, candy, and formally invite suona-playing artists. Because playing suona is a labor of strength, it needs to be played all day on the wedding day. Therefore, two artist partners are generally required to play alternately.

In my memory, the bride's dowry is all red, red clothes, red wooden boxes, red bedding... The bride's home in the early morning is set off with joy. The wedding begins at the home of the married bride. In the grand and lively water banquet, the suona tied with the red cloth was already blown, and the clear voice accompanied by the sunshine that slowly climbed the top of the mountain and sprinkled on the village, happily merged into the chatting of neighbors and the curling smoke.

Before the bride left home, the suona artist played a small suona, the tune was simple, the rhythm was concise and lively, revealing a sense of clean pleasure, making people have an urge to twist the body with the rhythm. When the chosen auspicious time arrives, the bride will go to the groom's house with a red umbrella and a "mirror mirror" around her neck. At this time, the groom's family was ready to play the medium suona. The medium-sized suona has a slender pipe that is two meters long, and its sound is more high-pitched and beautiful. When the bridegroom's family saw the red line of the bride's family appearing on the mountain path from a distance, the medium suona sounded in harmony, as if welcoming the bride and reminding the bridegroom's family to do it. ready. When the bride stepped on the pine needles across the brazier and entered the wedding room, the music played by the medium suona was always accompanied. And go with the flow.

The sun slowly receded to the west, and the cattle and sheep on the country road walked contentedly on their way home, accompanied by the bell. At this time, a large suona in the shape of a bucket rang out, and the sound was deep and deep, like the sound of a horn in ancient times, and also like thunder, calling for passion and life.

When the night fell to the horizon, a bonfire was lit in the yard of the groom's house, and the Yi people's favorite "singing songs" (singing and dancing in a circle) and "conversation" (usually the man took the initiative to sing first, and the woman sang according to the man's song) began. The content, the number of words is the same and the duet is performed in rhyme, and most of the content sung is the love between men and women). The artist who played the suona quietly exited the stage, joined in the carnival of "playing songs" and "reversing the tune", and celebrated with satisfaction after drinking and eating, until the red morning glow appeared the next day.

The red shy face, the red dowry, the strong smell of vegetable rice, the nostalgia interspersed, and the suona sound that can evoke many emotions with few tones, constitute the warm and simple wedding ceremony of the Yi family.

Now, only in dreams can you hear the simplicity and sincerity contained in the sound of the suona. In the dream, the hometown is in a warm red, and the children are shouting "to see the bride"...

suona in funeral

If there is life, there must be death. This is the intuitive and open-minded attitude of the Yi people when dealing with life. Whenever there is a funeral in the family, no matter how sad, the host family will bring tobacco, alcohol or candy, and formally invite suona artists to play all day on the funeral day.

In the solemn and mournful funeral, a large suona with a white cloth is played. The tone is low and sad, like a "soul song", which should be in harmony with the mourning and crying of the relatives, calling for the deceased relatives to come back. When the black coffin was carried by the eight people to the cemetery, the large suona led the team all the way, and it would blow on the bridge when it encountered water, as if opening the way and guiding the dead to return. During the burial, the sound of the large suona continued uninterruptedly, and the farewell ceremony was not completed until a new grave was erected. The cessation of the loud suona sound, to some extent, represents that the family has done their filial piety.

The gradually disappearing suona

In the days when Suona quietly exited the stage, the bride's family in her hometown began to use the car as a dowry. The red dowry that appeared on the mountain ridge in the past has been submerged in the torrent of the times, and only villagers who have experienced it themselves will occasionally recall it. Now, more and more people hold Western-style wedding ceremonies, but the highlights of weddings such as respect for heaven and earth, respect for ancestors, "playing songs" and "conversing" are still preserved.

Many places where suona was once popular have now become a relatively quiet corner. In the funeral, in addition to the grief of the relatives, a stone tablet can be erected to show memory and commemoration, and the sound of the suona leading the way has already stopped. surrender".

Suona, in the long history of the Yi people in Fengqing, is a witness of national life and a tool to communicate with ancient times. Life is art, and art is also life, but in modern life, many traditional arts disappear too suddenly, if one is not careful, they have disappeared in the hasty time, regardless of life, old age, sickness and death, joy and sorrow. Now, when I come back to my hometown and meet an artist who used to play suona, I will think of the suona tied with red or white cloth, and the full of intentions contained in the not rich tune. But now my hometown, I always feel that some flavor is missing.