Korean Nongak

Nongak binds village ritual with gongs, drums and taryeong songs, its jangdan cycles acting as the frame.

Related

The jangguGong

Time and place

Nongak came into northeast China with Korean migrants and is kept in Yanbian and in Korean villages of Heilongjiang and Liaoning. It is performed at the new year, Dano, Chuseok, village rites and around farm work, in courtyards, streets or on stage. The Korean minority's nongak dance entered China's national intangible heritage list in 2006 and the UNESCO list in 2009.

What happened

Nongak began as a village band tradition on the Korean peninsula and was used by migrants for clearing land, praying for harvest and driving off misfortune. A band enters a village with the small gong, performs jisin bapgi at each house, and ends with circle dancing in the yard. From the late twentieth century, professional troupes arranged it for the stage, and "nongak dance" became the common name. Village ritual performances and stage versions coexist, one following the season and the other the gala. Published detail on individual Chinese troupes is limited, so this entry describes common practice.

Musical features

The band is built on two gongs and two drums. The small gong leads, the large gong marks the beat, the janggu plays the jangdan, the barrel drum holds the bass, and the small hand drum follows the dancers. Jangdan are rhythmic cycles such as semachi, jajinmori and hwimori, moving from slow to fast; a taepyeongso oboe joins some styles. The sung part is taryeong, with simple tunes, rising phrase ends, improvised lead verses and choral answers. Dancers turn with the pulse, and the long ribbons on their hats trace arcs.

What to listen for

Start with the small gong, which opens the cycle and brings everyone in. Then hear the two pitches of the janggu, which set the density of the jangdan. Chinafolk-006752 is a jisin bapgi ritual song, while chinafolk-006669 and chinafolk-006686 are taryeong; listen to how voice and pulse relate. Essen-008761 is only a three-beat reference, not nongak.

Common misunderstandings

Nongak is often heard as unregulated village drumming. Its jangdan are strict, and the lead gong player must signal changes and sections. Nor is nongak found only on the Korean peninsula; the Korean minority in China has made it a local village tradition.

Sources

• 《中国音乐词典》编辑部编，中国音乐词典（人民音乐出版社）— 农乐与长短条目核对，未引用
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry "Korea" — framework checked, not quoted

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.