The Legend of Dongbra - The Singing Tree

142 views · Organized by 碍与暧 on 2022-03-03

Dongbula, also known as Dongbula and Dongbula, is a traditional plucked instrument in Central Asia, especially popular among Kazakhs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang. Its origin, there is a beautiful folk tale.

The Legend of Dongbra - The Singing Tree

It is said that in ancient times, Kazakh Khan (king) had a beautiful princess who was of marriageable age. One of Khan's ministers was interested in the princess and proposed to Khan, who agreed. But due to the disparity in age, the princess did not agree, but it was not easy to tell her father Khan. The princess' maid was very smart, and she advised the princess: "Tell the great Khan that whoever wants to find a tree that can sing, you will marry." Khan finally accepted his daughter's opinion, and posted it to the whole country for three months. limited. Although the minister was dissatisfied with this, he could not openly oppose it.

A month has passed, and no one dared to reveal the notice. One day, a young hunter was passing by the city. Seeing a lot of people talking and talking, he stepped forward and read the notice carefully. He thought: Since there is a tree that can sing, even if you go to the ends of the earth, you will find it. He stepped forward and took off the notice.

The hunter was taken by the guards to Khan's palace. The princess saw that the hunter was young and handsome behind the curtain, and she fell in love with him. The princess asked her father Khan to meet the hunter, but the minister wanted to stop him, but he could not give a valid reason. The princess and the hunter finally meet in the back garden. The princess presented the hunter with a ring as a gift, and the hunter swore to find a tree that could sing and marry the princess.

The young hunter traveled all over the mountains and forests, but did not find a tree that could sing. Seeing that the deadline was approaching, the hunter was anxious and sad. That night, the hunter had a dream, and the old man in the snow mountain told him: "If you encounter difficulties, you should ask the people for advice." The hunter hurried down the mountain. Kazakh herdsmen knew that he was the young man who exposed the Yellow List, and they regarded him as a hero in their hearts, and came to see him one after another. When they learned that the deadline was coming, they were all anxious for him. In order to encourage hunters to find a singing tree as soon as possible, the herdsmen killed sheep to entertain him. The goat-killer put the goat's intestines on the tree beside him. Unexpectedly, this sheep intestines brought hope to hunters.

After the banquet, the hunter became more and more depressed and melancholy, and went for a walk in the woods. Suddenly, a voice he had never heard before reached his ears. Looking up, I saw a few sheep intestines dried by the sun and taut on the tree trunk, shaking and making noises in the breeze. He flicked it a few times with his fingers, and he made a very beautiful sound. Hunter Epiphany: Isn't this the singing tree I was looking for?

The young hunter sawed off the tree trunk, cut it into a long scoop shape that was easy to carry, and then fixed a few air-dried sheep intestines to make a brand new musical instrument. This musical instrument, the Kazakhs later called it Dongbra, which means the tree that can sing.

The hunter embraced a singing tree, composes lyrics of his infinite miss for the princess, and sings and sings. This wonderful and beautiful piano sound, like a lock of hairspring, drifted through the woods to the grassland. The herdsmen all came to listen to the performance. Everyone was intoxicated by the sound of the violin, and they were also happy that the hunter found a tree that could sing. They all expressed their willingness to go to Beijing with the hunter to congratulate the princess on her dream.

In the capital, the minister met the young hunter alone. He was very jealous of the success of the hunter, so he tricked the singing tree into his hands with his rhetoric, and went to see Khan excitedly. Khan asked the minister to play and sing, but he panicked. Because he doesn't know how to play at all.

When the princess heard that the minister had found a tree that could sing, she couldn't help complaining to herself. The maid said: "The minister has never left the capital, how could he find it? If he found it, why can't he play it?" The princess heard it and thought it was reasonable, so she asked the maid to go out of the palace to find the real meeting place. Singing tree man. The common people say they are young hunters. The princess was overjoyed when she found out.

The minister saw that one plan was unsuccessful, and another plan was made, and ordered the hunter to be arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges.

Princess Cheng met the young hunter in prison when the minister was away. The hunter was ashamed of losing the singing tree. The princess stroked the ring on the hunter's hand, encouraging him to take back the singing tree.

In order to take the singing tree as his own, the minister forced the hunter to teach him how to play and sing. The hunter said, there is no tree that can sing, what can I teach you? The minister thought about it right, so he brought the singing tree and gave it to the young hunter.

The young hunter embraced the newly acquired singing tree, remembering the hardships he had to find it and the deep friendship the princess had for him, and sang while playing with emotion. At this time, the princess came over, and after listening to the melodious and affectionate sound of the piano and singing, tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.

The minister was so angry that he ordered the hunter to be beheaded. But the samurai heard the touching sound of the violin and could not help resisting their orders, and instead escorted the hunter out of the prison.

The young hunter and the beautiful princess are finally free and in love. One of them played a tree that could sing, Dongbula, and the other sang the song in their hearts. They both left the capital and walked towards the vast prairie.

Reference materials and contributors
冬不拉-百度百科

Involving musical instruments

Akendumbra (pinyin: ā kěn dōng bù lā) is a Kazakh plucked stringed musical instrument. The Kazakh language "Aken" means "folk singer". Akendumbra is a tombula commonly used by folk singers when they play and sing.

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