EPIC ENDEAVOR

A documentary about the Hani ethnic group's tradition for recounting their collective history through extended songs has helped record them for posterity. Liu Xiangrui reports.

Fu Yongshou, a teacher of ethnomusicology at Yunnan Arts University, decided to document the singing traditions of the people of his native Hani ethnic group from Yunnan province, when he learned about a project initiated by the Ministry of Culture in 2015 to encourage such works.

His documentary, Historical Memories of the Elders, explores the rituals and processes involved in performing one of their epic songs, which recounts tales from the Hani people's collective history in the form of an extended vocal work.