|
According to the Hakka marriage custom of Southern Taiwan, bridegroom and his family members have to carry out a process of rituals on the day before his wedding. First of all, they helds “Gin-ngoi-zu,” a ritual that bridegroom and his family members go to the family shrine of mother side to worship ancestors with sacrificial offering and colored flags. Secondly, they return to ancestral house of father side to worship ancestors, and also worship Earth God in the local temple through the process. In the evening, the family holds ritual so-called “Ying-hun Wan-shen” which includes “Wan-shen”-thanksgiving and “San-shian-li”-three consecrations in the house. In order to accomplish rituals, the family hires Hakka Bayin music troupe to accompany worship activities and achieves the integration of “Li”- the ceremony and “Yue”-the music. The rituals are meant to thank God and ancestors for protecting and blessing bridegroom’s life, and by participating those rituals is also a greeting from the relatives and friends to the marriage.
Hakka Bayin, as a musical genre that plays an important role in Hakka people’s religious and life circles, has become a special sound memory to the Hakka people in Southern Taiwan. In Hakka Bayin musicians’ knowledge, to accompany “Ying-hun Wan-shen” needs to have great musical skills in terms of knowing how to adapt to the ritual process, traveling routes, different worshiping Deities, and performing spaces and environments.
However, the tight connection between Bayin music and “Ying-hun Wan-shen” has been loosening up due to the social changes, and only few people follow the whole traditional ceremony and music. This thesis tries to answer the question, how does Hakka Bayin music accompany “Ying-hun Wan-shen” in nowadays Hakka community? Basing on the field research from the year 2011 to 2015, this thesis focuses on the five main Suona players of Liudui area—Chen Mei-Zi, Lin Zuo-Chang, Wen Fu-Ren, Liu Fu-Xi, and Zhong Yun-Hui, and their accompaniments of “Ying-hun Wan-shen.” This thesis sorts out the interaction frameworks of Hakka Bayin and ritual processes, and illustrates how the participation of music and ritual tradition adapt to and negotiate with current society.
|