Type and Feature

1. ‘Su Hsiang Ki'	2. ‘ Pingpu Tune'
3. ‘ Fengang Tune'	5. ‘5-hole Tune'
6. 'Herding Cattle Tune'	7. 'Four Season Spring'

 

4. ‘The Ox's Tail' -music score

‘The Ox's Tail' is the oldest among the known Hengchun folk songs. It is presumed to come from the transform of an ancient tune of Paiwan tribe. At the end of this tune, the sound goes up eight notes higher. This has something to do with the people's living then. Because the wind in Hengchun blows very hard, people used to raise their voice higher when call to each other in the field so they could hear clearer. The elder people call this the chant. Chant is for spiritual consolation. When close relatives or friends died, they sang instead of crying to express their sorrow. When they missed the beloved death at night, the humming sound of this tune could make all the listeners weep.

This sound has no fixed form. The singer could change the sound higher or lower according to his thought. When sing to the grievous part, the sound could changes rapidly, and this touches people's hearts very much.

Later, this tune was simplified into one sentence form and used in the bride's farewell feast before her marriage. All the words of the guests wanted to say and the answers from bride were sung in this tune. It is called ‘The Ox's Tail', because in the bride's farewell feast, the bride was the lead, all the other guests follow the lead. It was like the oxen moving which walked after the cow.