by Elisabetta Colla, FLULisboa

These polychrome-glazed pottery figurines depict a miniature ensamble of a funerary procession. They belong to the permanent collection exhibited at the Museu do Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau (Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre – CCCM, I.P.) in Lisbon. The Museum of the Centre, which has a “twin institution” in Macau, houses an assortment of about 3,000 objects. These artefacts, distributed on two floors, are made of diverse materials and belong to different periods, which span from the Neolithic time to the twenty-first century. The building that hosts the Museum, the Research Centre and the Library was used by the Red Cross during World War I and became headquarter of the nation’s ex-servicemen’s organisation, the Portuguese Legion. After 1974, the building was used to house refugees from old Portuguese colonies. When the building was chosen to host the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre, the renovation project was conceived by Paulo-Guilherme Tomáz Dúlio Ribeiro D’Eça Leal (1932 – 2010) (vide CCCM, I.P.).

A permanent exhibition is displayed on the two lower floors of the renovated four-storey building of the Centre. On the ground floor, visitors are welcomed by the bust of the tycoon Stanley Ho (何鴻燊; 1921 – 2020), on the left there is a tiny cafeteria, with a beautifully carved wooden panel probably of the Qing dynasty. The first part of the permanent exhibition is constituted by maps, books and artefacts made of various materials (terracotta, porcelain, wood, bronze and textiles) and is organised in order to provide a reconstruction of the history of Macau from the 16th century up to the handover, which occurred on 20 December 1999. On the same floor, a unique scale model of a “Black Ship” (“Nau do Trato” or kurofune 黑船), gives to the visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves into an imaginary journey along the maritime trade routes during the age of exploration, which are also displayed in interactive maps. Two guardian lions at the bottom of beautiful wooden stairs give access to the first floor where one has the chance to admire five thousand years of Chinese art. Highlights of the collection are the Museum’s shiwan ware (石灣窯), one of six known “Jorge Alvrz [Álvares] bottles” made of porcelain with underglaze blue, oil paintings on Macau landscapes and “Thomas Pereira”, gouache on paper by the contemporary artist and collector José de Guimarães (cf. CCCM, I.P.).

The majority of the artefacts displayed in the permanent exhibition comes from António Sapage’s collection. António Manuel dos Santos Sapage was born in Macau on January 26, 1949. From a very young age, he had demonstrated a specific interest in studying and collecting Chinese art. He had soon accumulated a long experience in Asian art and turned Macau in one of the world’s main centres for the exchange of artworks from Asia. His activities were well known in New York, London, Amsterdam, Monaco, Hong Kong, P. R. China and Portugal. He was nominated vice-chairman of the Association of the Collectors of Macau (Associação dos Coleccionadores de Macau), honorary and permanent director of the Association of Experts and Collectors of Chinese Antiquities of the Guangdong Province (Peritos e Coleccionadores de Antiguidades Chinesas da Província de Guangdong), and he became member of the Hong Kong Museum Society and of London’s Oriental Ceramic Society. For this reason and for his commitment to the promotion of the collection, study and knowledge of Chinese art in Macau, as well as for his role in triggering the internationalisation of Macau as privileged art market for collectors of Asian art, on 27 September 1999, he was awarded with the medal of Cultural Merit by Governor Vasco Rocha Viera (art. 7º, Decreto Lei nº 42/82/M, cf. Boletim).

On the ground floor of the Museum, at the entrance, lies the funerary procession protected by a glass box. This incomplete set is of unknown authorship and it is estimated to have been manufactured in China during the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644 CE) (CCCM, I.P.). At first glance, even an inexpert eye notices that some pieces as well as some accessories are missing (i.e. banners, musical instruments, horses, among others). This aspect is confirmed by the beautiful iconographical reconstruction of a funerary procession depicted in the “Master Zhu’s family rituals” Jiali yijie 家禮儀節 (1608) attributed to Qiu Jun 邱濬 (1421–1495 CE) (apud Zhu; Ebrey, 1991: 118-119). This iconography can suggest, although cannot be understood as a fixed pattern, the distribution of the burial figurines (mingqi 明器) extant in the procession. Mingqi, which literally means “bright goods,” were popularised during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and continued to be produced over time, providing not only details on the worldly life, but also insights into afterlife (Colla, 2012: 181). Together with other funerary structures (i.e. spirit-road sculptures pathways), they aimed at performing the deceased social role, beside ensuring the well-being of the dead, which was pivotal for the harmonious living of all those the dead left behind.

A funeral was perceived as a religious and social event that mediates between the individual, the family, and the community, imbued with diverse socio-political elements. Since the implementation of the complex system of Zhou death rituals, which were simplified by Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200 CE) in his Family Rituals (Zhu; Ebrey, 1991) in the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) and further reformed in the following dynasties, one witnesses the bureaucratisation of the afterworld.

Because the sphere of ancestral influence was considered closer to the lives of their immediate descendants, funerary ritual practices followed the extant social hierarchy and they were considered a powerful means for constructing and consolidating social relations among the living. The funeral was seen as an opportunity to reaffirm social status and networks, but also to prevent possible injuries caused by evil spirits through offerings to deities and ancestral spirits.

Therefore certain rituals were performed and protective spells pronounced, written down, and buried in the tomb, which starting from the first century had become the lieu of ritual offerings for the deceased, substituting the previous temples. Long processions escorted the coffin to the burial ground and the ceremony of interment passing through a the “spirit pathway” (shendao 神道) flanked by huge and large stone statues, which antecedes the burial ground. These kind of artefacts show the need to materialize a system of mutual dependence between the living and the dead, which is also common in other East Asian systems.

Funerary processions, as those depicted in the Jiali yijie (Qiu; Yang; Zhu, 1608; Zhu; Ebrey, 1991: 118-119), are just a fragmentary picture of the whole scenario. This includes: Exorcists (fangxiang 方相), Incense Altar (xiang’an 香案), Grave Goods (mingqi 明器), Funerary Streamer bearing the title of the deceased (mingjing 銘旌), Food Table (shi’an 食案) and finally the Soul Carriage (lingche 靈車) precede the coffin (jiu 柩) accompanied by Shades Streamers (sha 翣 and gongbu 功布). These objects did not only depict the funerary procession per se, but were also believed to possess innate powers that ‘made clear’ the separation between the dead and the living as suggested by Xunzi (ca. 310–215 BC) (Lagerwey; Kalinowski, 2009: 9) and the way to express the sorrowful feelings (ai 哀) of the mourner (Cook, 1997: 18). In the fourth and longest chapter of Zhu Xi’s Family Rituals we can read: “[w]hen the coffin travels, the male and female mourners, from the presiding ones on down, walk behind it, wailing. The seniors come after the other mourners, followed by relatives without mourning obligations, then guests. Relatives and friends set up a tent beyond the city wall on the side of the road as a resting place for the coffin; they make an oblation there. On the road, the mourners wail whenever grief is felt” (Zhu, Ebrey 1991: 67).

However, this was neither a fixed distribution of performers, nor the model applied to each funeral. Historical implementations, religious believes and other elements affected these rituals, which were also influenced by local customs and historical times. Therefore, these mingqi depicting funerary processions of the Ming dynasty represent a preoccupation to fix any minute detail of ritual action based on social hierarchy in order to show the status of the deceased person, to show filial piety (xiao 孝), as well as to keep harmony between the living world and the afterlife sphere. In sum, they are a simulacrum with a powerful cathartic dimension (Colla, 2012: 181) aimed at mediating mourning and grief.

Acknowledgements: Carmen Amado Mendes (President of the CCCM, I.P.) and Rui Abreu Dantas (Coordinator of the Division of Museology, CCCM, I.P.)

Bibliography and useful links:

“António Sapage”, Museum of the CCCM, I.P. [18 January 2023] https://www.cccm.gov.pt/en/museum/antonio-sapage/.

Barreto, Luís Filipe; Maria Manuela d’Oliveira Martins and Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau. 1999. Guia Do Museu Centro Científico E Cultural De Macau. Macau: Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia.

Barreto, Luís Filipe Alexandra and Costa Gomes “Criação do Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau – CCCM – Uma breve apresentação.” Suplemento – Revista Oriente Ocidente Ns. 33 e 34 II Série (2016-2017), pp. 1-11, [18 January 2023] https://issuu.com/iimacau.

Boletim Oficial de Macau – I SÉRIE – nº 39-27-9-1999, [18 January 2023] https://images.io.gov.mo/bo/i/99/39/pt-350-99.pdf

CCCM, I.P. – Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau, site: https://www.cccm.gov.pt/en/

Clunas, Craig. 2007. Empire of Great Brightness: Visual and Material Culture of Ming China, 1368–1644. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.

Colla, Elisabetta. 2012, ““Animism, Magic and the Omnipotence of Thought”: Ritualistic Artefacts and Mourning Mediation in Imperial China”. Panic and Mourning: The Cultural Work of Trauma, edited by Daniela Agostinho, Elisa Antz and Cátia Ferreira, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 181-192. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110283143.181.

Cook Scott. 1997. “Xun Zi on Ritual and Music.” Monumenta Serica 45 (1997) S. [1] pp. 1 – 38.

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. 1991. Confucianism and Family Rituals in Imperial China: A Social History of Writing about Rites. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Lagerwey John and Marc Kalinowski, eds. 2009. Early Chinese Religion Part One: Shang through Han (1250 Bc-220 Ad). Leiden: BRILL.

Rawski, Evelyn Sakakida and James L Watson. 1988. Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China (Studies on China; 8). University of California Press.

Sapage, António Manuel dos Santos; Maria Alexandra da Costa Gomes and Palácio de Queluz (Museum : Queluz Portugal). 1994.Do Neolítico Ao Último Imperador: A Perspectiva De Um Coleccionador De Macau. Macau Lisboa: Governo de Macau; Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico.

Sapage, António. 1992. Porcelana Chinesa De Exportaçaõ : Diálogo Entre Dois Mundos = Zhongguo Wai Xiao Ci : Zhong Xi Hui Cui. Macau: Galeria de Leal Senado.

Sapage, António; José Carlos Morais; Weichi Zhang: Museu Luís de Camões. 1995. Shiwan Selecção De Obras Da Colecção Do Museu Luís De Camões; a Selection of Works from the Colection Collection of the Luís De Camões Museum; 27 De Setembro De 1995 = Shiwan-Cuizhen. (Location: Press – no data available).

Sapage, António. 1989. “Porcelana No Comércio Luso-Chinês.” Oceanos N. 14 (jun. 1993) pp. 31-38.

Qiu Jun 丘濬; Yang Tingyun 楊廷筠 and Zhu Xi 朱熹. 1997. Rituals of Wen gong’s [Zhu Xi] Family Rituals [Wengong jiali yijie 文公家禮儀節] (1608). Jinan: Qilu shushe chubanshe.

Zhu Xi and Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 1991. Chu Hsi’s Family Rituals: A Twelfth-Century Chinese Manual for the Performance of Cappings, Weddings, Funerals, and Ancestral Rites. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.

Estas figuras tumulares de cerâmica policromada, que pertence à coleção permanente do Museu do Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau em Lisboa, representam um conjunto de uma procissão funerária em miniatura. O Museu do Centro, que tem uma “instituição gémea” em Macau, conserva um acervo de cerca de 3.500 objetos. Estes artefactos feitos de diversos materiais estão distribuídos por dois pisos e pertencem a diferentes períodos, que vão desde o Neolítico até ao século XXI. O edifício onde se encontram instalados o Museu, o Centro de Investigação e a Biblioteca era a antiga sede da Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa. Quando o edifício foi escolhido para acolher o Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau, foi realizado um projeto de reabilitação que esteve a cargo de Paulo-Guilherme Tomáz Dúlio Ribeiro D’Eça Leal (1932 – 2010) (vide CCCM, I.P.).

O edifício de quatro andares do Centro acolhe nos dois andares inferiores uma exposição permanente. No rés-do-chão, os visitantes deparam-se com o busto de Stanley Ho (何鴻燊; 1921 – 2020) e, entrando, encontram à esquerda uma pequena cafetaria com um belo painel de madeira entalhada provavelmente da dinastia Qing. Sempre no rés-do-chão, o acervo da exposição permanente é caracterizado por mapas, livros e artefactos feitos de diversos materiais (terracota, porcelana, madeira, bronze e têxteis), que estão organizados de forma a proporcionar uma reconstituição da história de Macau desde o século XVI até a transferência da soberania, que ocorreu no dia 20 de Dezembro de 1999. No mesmo piso, uma reprodução em escala da “Nau do Trato” (“Navio Negro” ou kurofune 黑船) proporciona aos visitantes uma oportunidade única de mergulharem numa viagem imaginária ao longo das rotas comerciais marítimas da época das explorações, que são também exibidas em mapas interativos. Ao pé de belas escadas de madeira que dão acesso ao primeiro piso, no qual se pode admirar cinco mil anos de arte chinesa, encontram-se dois leões guardiões. Da coleção do Museu destacam-se as cerâmicas shiwan (石灣窯), uma das seis conhecidas “garrafas Jorge Alvrz [Álvares]” em porcelana branca decorada a azul-cobalto sob o vidrado, as pinturas a óleo com paisagens de Macau, e “Thomas Pereira”, um guache sobre papel do artista contemporâneo e colecionador José de Guimarães (cf. CCCM, I.P.)

A maioria dos objetos da exposição permanente provem da coleção de António Sapage. António Manuel dos Santos Sapage nasceu em Macau a 26 de Janeiro de 1949. Desde muito jovem demonstrou um interesse específico em estudar e colecionar arte chinesa. Em pouco tempo acumulou uma grande experiência na arte asiática e transformou Macau num dos principais centros mundiais de intercâmbio de obras de arte asiáticas. As suas atividades eram bem conhecidas em Nova Iorque, Londres, Amsterdão, no Mónaco, em Hong Kong, na R. P. da China e em Portugal. Chegou a ser nomeado vice-presidente da Associação dos Colecionadores de Macau e diretor honorário e permanente da Associação dos Peritos e Colecionadores de Antiguidades Chinesas da Província de Guangdong, e tornou-se membro da Hong Kong Museum Society e da Oriental Ceramic Society de Londres. Por este motivo e pelo seu empenho na promoção da coleção, estudo e conhecimento da arte chinesa em Macau, bem como pelo seu papel no desencadeamento da internacionalização de Macau como mercado privilegiado de arte para colecionadores de arte asiática, no dia 27 de Setembro de 1999, foi agraciado com a medalha de Mérito Cultural pelo Governador Vasco Rocha Vieira (art. 7º, Decreto Lei nº 42/82/M, cf. Boletim).

À entrada do Museu, no rés-do-chão, encontra-se o cortejo fúnebre protegido por uma vitrine. Este conjunto de figurinhas, de autoria desconhecida, encontra-se incompleto e estima-se que tenha sido fabricado na China durante a dinastia Ming (1368 – 1644 dC) (CCCM, I.P.). À primeira vista, até um olhar inexperiente nota que faltam algumas peças, bem como alguns acessórios (como por exemplo, estandartes, instrumentos musicais, cavalos, entre outros). Trata-se de um aspeto que poderá ser confirmado comparando com a reconstrução iconográfica de uma procissão funerária retratada nos “Rituais Familiares do Mestre Zhu” – Jiali yijie 家禮儀節 (1608) atribuído à Qiu Jun 邱濬 (1421–1495 EC) (apud Zhu; Ebrey, 1991: 118-119). Esta iconografia, embora não possa ser entendida como um padrão fixo, pode sugerir como eram distribuídas as estatuetas funerárias (mingqi 明器) do cortejo. Os mingqi, cujo termo significa literalmente “bens brilhantes”, tornaram-se populares durante a dinastia Han (206 a.C.-220 d.C.) e continuaram a ser produzidos ao longo do tempo, fornecendo não apenas detalhes sobre a vida mundana, mas também uma compreensão sobre a vida após a morte (Colla, 2012: 181). Juntamente com outros elementos funerários (i.e. as esculturas do dito caminho dos espíritos), os mingqi eram representativos do papel social do defunto, para além de assegurarem o bem-estar dos mortos, que era fundamental para a harmonia de todos os que o defunto havia deixado para trás.

O funeral era encarado como um evento religioso e social, isto é, uma mediação entre o indivíduo, a família e a comunidade, e por isso acabava por ser imbuído de diversos elementos sociopolíticos. O complexo sistema de rituais funerários, implementado durante a dinastia Zhou (1046 AEC – 256 AEC) foi simplificado durante a dinastia Song (960–1279 EC) por Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200 EC) nos seus “Rituais Familiares” (Zhu; Ebrey, 1991). Estes rituais, que foram posteriormente reformados nas dinastias seguintes, representam a burocratização do além.

A esfera de influência ancestral chegava à vida dos seus descendentes mais próximos e as práticas funerárias seguiam a mesma hierarquia social em vigor, pelo que os rituais eram também considerados um meio poderoso para construir e consolidar os laços sociais entre os vivos. O funeral era visto como uma oportunidade para reafirmar a posição de um individuo na sociedade e para consolidar a sua rede de influências, sendo ainda que as oferendas às divindades e espíritos ancestrais eram vistas como uma forma de prevenir possíveis interferências causadas pelos espíritos malignos.

A seguir, eram praticados certos rituais e proclamados feitiços de proteção que, quando escritos, eram enterrados no túmulo, o qual, a partir do século primeiro, se tornaria local de oferendas para os mortos, substituindo-se aos templos correspondentes. As longas procissões que escoltavam o caixão até o cemitério, antes da cerimónia do enterro, passavam por um “caminho espiritual” (shendao 神道) ladeado por enormes e grandes estátuas de pedra. Este tipo de artefactos testemunha a necessidade de materializar a relação de dependência que existia entre vivos e mortos, algo comum a outros sistemas religiosos da Ásia Oriental.

As procissões funerárias, tais como as representadas no Jiali yijie (Qiu; Yang; Zhu, 1608; Zhu; Ebrey, 1991: 118-119), são apenas uma imagem fragmentária de um todo, que inclui exorcistas (fangxiang 方相), um altar para o incenso (xiang’an 香案), artefactos tumulares (mingqi 明器), um estandarte funerário vertical com o título póstumo do falecido (mingjing 銘旌), uma mesa para as oferendas alimentares (shi’an 食案) e, finalmente, uma carruagem da alma (lingche 靈車) que precede o caixão (jiu 柩) acompanhada por leques rituais e fitas (sha 翣 e gongbu 功布). Esses acessórios não eram apenas parte da procissão funerária per se, mas acreditava-se que possuíssem poderes sobrenaturais inatos capazes de manter separados os mundos dos vivos e dos mortos, como indicado por Xunzi (ca. 310–215 aC) (Lagerwey; Kalinowski, 2009: 9) e uma forma para expressar os sentimentos de tristeza (ai 哀) dos enlutados (Cook, 1997: 18). No quarto e mais longo capítulo dos Rituais Familiares de Zhu Xi, podemos ler: “[quando] o caixão é transportado, mulheres e homens enlutados marcham atrás deles num lamento, aos que presidem, seguem todos os outros. Os mais velhos precedem os outros enlutados, seguidos pelos parentes sem obrigações de luto e finalmente pelos convidados. Para abrigar o caixão, os parentes e amigos instalam uma tenda fora das muralhas citadinas, à beira da estrada, onde fazem uma oblação. Ao longo de todo o caminho, o cortejo continua em lamento do seu pesar” (Zhu, Ebrey 1991: 67)

No entanto, esta distribuição de figurinhas não é fixa, nem poderá ser entendida como modelo para todos os funerais. As práticas históricas, as crenças religiosas e outros elementos influíram sobre estas procissões, que foram também influenciados por costumes locais e momentos históricos. Portanto, esses mingqi que representam procissões funerárias da dinastia Ming representam uma preocupação em fixar qualquer detalhe minucioso da ação ritual baseada na hierarquia social, a fim de mostrar o estatuto da pessoa falecida, evidenciar a piedade filial (xiao 孝), e ainda manter a harmonia entre o mundo dos vivos e a esfera da vida após a morte. Em suma, são um simulacro com uma poderosa dimensão catártica (Colla, 2012: 181) destinado a mediar o luto e o pesar.

Agradecimentos: Carmen Amado Mendes (Presidente do CCCM, I.P.) e Rui Abreu Dantas (Coordenador da Divisão de Museologia, CCCM, I.P.)

by Dr. Klara Hrvatin, Department of Asian Studies, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Image copyright © Slovene Ethnographic Museum

Museum: The Slovene Ethnographic Museum (photo Blaž Verbič)

Inventory No.: Figure 1: 244 MG, Figure 2: 243 MG, Figure 3: 239 MG, Figure 4: 245 MG, Figure 5: 242 MG, Figure 6: 236 MG (Figures are labelled from left to right, from top to bottom.)

Name: Pigeon whistles

Author: Unknown

Place of Execution: China

Dating: 19th century

Material: gourd, bamboo, ivory

Dimensions (cm): height: 4-6; width: 4-5; length: 4-6 cm

The pigeon whistle, known in China as geling 鴿鈴 or geshao 鴿哨, is a small musical instrument belonging to the group of so-called Aeolian musical instruments. The whistle is attached to the tail of the pigeon so that it produces a sound when it flies. The flute is made of light materials such as gourd and bamboo and varnished. The makers enrich their image with engraved patterns and ivory ornaments. In China, the pigeon whistle has been used at least since the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), but it is also common in other Asian regions, such as Indonesia and Japan. In the past, the sound of the pigeon whistles, also known as “heavenly music”, presented a distinctive sound of Beijing.

The Slovene Ethnographic Museum holds a collection of 14 pigeon whistles. They are part of a larger collection of intendant Ivan Skušek Jr. (1877–1947), comprised of various objects such as paintings, statues, porcelain vessels, clothes, shoes, musical instruments, games, books, albums, photographs, coins, garden ceramics, furniture, and much more. As a special feature of the collection, Chinese instruments can be labelled as a rare and most extensive collection in Slovenia, including pigeon whistles.

The examples shown above present the three most common types of pigeon whistles found in the collection; the gourd type (Figure 3, 5, and 6), the tubular type (Figure 2) and the combined type (Figure 1 and 4). Among all these types, the gourd type is the most common representative – a type of pigeon whistle that has a carved gourd as its base to which bamboo sub-whistles are attached. The largest number of them is represented by small-sized pigeon whistles, with three sub-whistles and flower patterns in black on red or yellow (Figure 6).

Also more numerous are specimens of a combined type of pigeon whistles – the type with a gourd body in the middle, also called “star belly”, with a narrow tube attached to the front and a larger and wider tube attached to the back. In the photos you can see the representative of the “seven-star whistle” (Figure 4) and the “eleven-eye whistle” (Figure 1), which are similar in appearance. The former has a green lacquered gourd while the latter a dark red gourd; all other parts are unlacquered. In contrast to the abundance of gourd and combined type of pigeon whistles in the Skušek collection, there is only one example of the tubular type (Figure 2), which is characterised by clean lines, an overall construction of bamboo in natural colour, and a pure tone, with the shorter tube tuned higher than the longer tube.

Each type of pigeon whistle has its own distinctive sound. In a common arrangement, the gourd type of pigeon whistle would represent a bass tone, the tubular type would represent a soprano (a shorter pipe) and an alto (a longer pipe), while the combined type can produce tones of different pitch simply by virtue of its structure. The pigeon whistle is also distinguished by its special character – a carved Chinese character engraved on the back of the whistle. Although most of the pigeon whistles from the Skušek collection have engraved characters, they cannot be attributed to the major makers, i.e. the eight famous pigeon whistle makers.

Bibliography and useful links:

Hrvatin, Klara. Golobje piščali iz Skuškove zbirke Slovenskega etnografskega muzeja (Pigeon whistles from the Skušek collection of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum). Bulletin of the Slovene Ethnological Society 60, no. 1 (2020): 42-55.

Golobje piščali v Skuškovi zbirki (Pigeon Whistles in the Skušek Collection). VAZ; https://vazcollections.si/golobje-piscali-v-skuskovi-zbirki/, 22.1.2023.

Wang, Shixiang. Beijing Pigeon Whistles. Peking: Liaoning Education Press, 1999.

Wang, Shixiang. Tradition and Innovation: On Pigeon Whistles. In: Iftikhar Dadi (ur.), The Future is Handmade: The Survival and Innovation of Crafts. Prince Claus Fund Journal 10a (special issue), 2003, 14–30.

Hoose, Harned Pettus. Peking Pigeons and Pigeon-flutes. Peking: College of Chinese Studies, California College in China, 1938.

Laufer, Berthold. Chinese Pigeon Whistles. Scientific American 98/22, 1908, 394; https://www.jstor.org/ stable/10.2307/26018442, 4. 1. 2020.

China Today, The Pigeon Whistle: A Defining Sound of Old Beijing (documentary film), 27. 11. 2019; https://www.facebook.com/chinatoday1952/videos/2377966232444442, 23. 1. 2023.

The Beijing Pigeon Whistle – and Pigeon training tips / More China, 1.2.2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i5xtadHPRA&ab_channel= =更中国MoreChina, 22.1.2023.

Trending China, Colin Siyuan Chinnery. Recording New and Old Sounds of Beijing, 2. 3. 2019; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EB73v1k9M&ab_channel=2MMediaGroup, 22. 1. 2023.

Muzej: Slovenski etnografski muzej (foto Blaž Verbič)

Inventarna št.: Slika 1: 244 MG, Slika 2: 243 MG, Slika 3: 239 MG, Slika 4: 245 MG, Slika 5: 242 MG, Slika 6: 236 MG (Slike so označene od leve proti desni, od zgoraj navzdol)

Ime: Golobje piščali

Avtor: Neznan

Kraj: Kitajska

Datacija: 19. stoletje

Material: buča, bambus, slonovina

Mere (v cm): višina: 4-6; širina: 4-5; dolžina: 4-6

Golobja piščal, na Kitajskem znana kot geling 鴿鈴 ali geshao 鴿哨, je majhno glasbilo, ki spada v skupino tako imenovanih eolskih glasbenih instrumentov. Piščalka je pritrjena na rep goloba, tako da oddaja zvok, ko golob leti. Izdelana je iz lahkih materialov, kot sta buča in bambus, ter lakirana. Izdelovalci njeno podobo večkrat obogatijo z graviranimi vzorci in okrasi iz slonovine. Na Kitajskem se golobja piščal uporablja vsaj od začetka dinastije Qing (1644–1912), vendar je pogosta tudi v drugih azijskih območjih, kot sta Indonezija in Japonska. V preteklosti je bil zvok golobjih piščali, znan tudi kot »nebeška glasba«, prepoznaven zvok Pekinga.

Slovenski etnografski muzej hrani zbirko 14 golobjih piščali. So del večje zbirke intendanta Ivana Skuška ml. (1877–1947), ki jo sestavljajo različni predmeti, kot so slike, kipi, porcelan, oblačila, glasbila, igre, knjige, albumi, fotografije, kovanci, vrtne keramične garniture, pohištvo itn. Kot posebnost zbirke lahko kot redko in najobsežnejšo zbirko na slovenskih tleh označimo tudi kitajska glasbila, vključno z golobjimi piščali.

Zgoraj prikazani primeri predstavljajo tri najpogostejše vrste golobjih piščali, ki jih najdemo v zbirki: bučni tip (Slike 3, 5 in 6), cevni tip (Slika 2) in kombinirani tip (Sliki 1 in 4). Najpogostejši predstavnik je bučni tip – vrsta golobje piščali, ki ima za osnovo izrezljano bučo, na katero so pritrjene bambusove pomožne piščali ali podpiščali. Najštevilčnejši so primerki bučnega tipa golobjih piščali manjšega formata s tremi podpiščalmi in cvetličnimi vzorci v črni barvi na rdeči ali rumeni podlagi (Slika 6).

Številčnejši so tudi primerki kombiniranega tipa golobjih piščali – tip z bučnim telesom v sredini, imenovan tudi zvezdni trebuh, z od spredaj pritrjeno ozko cevjo, zadaj pa z večjo in s širšo cevjo. Na fotografijah lahko vidimo predstavnika golobje piščalisedmih zvezd (Slika 4) in golobje piščalienajstih oči(Slika 1), ki sta si na videz podobna. Prvi ima zeleno lakirano bučo, drugi pa temno rdečo bučo; vsi ostali deli so nelakirani. V nasprotju s številčnostjo piščali bučnega in kombiniranega tipa je v Skuškovi zbirki le en primer cevnega tipa, t.i. dvocevni tip, ki ga odlikujejo čiste linije in celotna izdelava iz bambusa v naravni barvi.

Vsak tip golobje piščali ima svoj značilni zvok. Če si jih zamislimo v skupni postavitvi, bi predstavljal bučni tip golobjih piščali basovski ton, cevni tip sopranski (krajša cev) in altovski (daljša cev), kombinirani tip pa že sam po sebi vsebuje vse omenjene tone. Golobje piščali odlikuje tudi posebna oznaka – vgravirana kitajska pismenka na zadnji strani piščali. Čeprav so na večini golobjih piščali iz Skuškove zbirke vrezane oznake, ki bi lahko služile kot logotip izdelovalcev, pa teh ne moremo uvrstiti med osem glavnih izdelovalcev golobjih piščali.

Bibliografija

Hrvatin, Klara. Golobje piščali iz Skuškove zbirke Slovenskega etnografskega muzeja. Glasnik Slovenskega etnološkega društva 60, št. 1 (2020): 42-55.

Golobje piščali v Skuškovi zbirki. VAZ; https://vazcollections.si/golobje-piscali-v-skuskovi-zbirki/, 22.1.2023.

Wang, Shixiang. Beijing Pigeon Whistles. Peking: Liaoning Education Press, 1999.

Wang, Shixiang. Tradition and Innovation: On Pigeon Whistles. V: Iftikhar Dadi (ur.), The Future is Handmade: The Survival and Innovation of Crafts. Prince Claus Fund Journal 10a (special issue), 2003, 14–30.

Hoose, Harned Pettus. Peking Pigeons and Pigeon-flutes. Peking: College of Chinese Studies, California College in China, 1938.

Laufer, Berthold. Chinese Pigeon Whistles. Scientific American 98/22, 1908, 394; https://www.jstor.org/ stable/10.2307/26018442, 4. 1. 2020.

China Today, The Pigeon Whistle: A Defining Sound of Old Beijing (dokumentarni film), 27. 11. 2019; https://www.facebook.com/chinatoday1952/videos/2377966232444442, 23. 1. 2023.

The Beijing Pigeon Whistle – and Pigeon training tips / More China, 1.2.2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i5xtadHPRA&ab_channel= =更中国MoreChina, 22.1.2023.

Trending China, Colin Siyuan Chinnery. Recording New and Old Sounds of Beijing, 2. 3. 2019; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5EB73v1k9M&ab_channel=2MMediaGroup, 22. 1. 2023.

By Maria Szymańska-Ilnata

The rabab pasisir is part of the collection of musical instruments and is displayed at the permanent exhibition “The Sound Zone” at the Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw. It was made by Dalimus Arip in 1985 ca. and used by him until 2015 when it was bought by the curator of the musical instruments collection at the Asia and Pacific Museum during her field research conducted in West Sumatra. Rabab pasisir or biola comes from the region of Pesisir, but has spread to other regions of West Sumatra. The name “biola” refers to the shape of the instrument which resembles the European violin. It is very likely that the violin was brought to Sumatra by the Portuguese who were the first Europeans in that region, and was later adapted by local people to their traditional music. Confirmation of this view of the instrument’s history exists also in the Sumatran classification of instruments which situates rabab pasisir in the category called “asal Barat”, namely “coming from the West”¹. It shows the Minangkabau people’s awareness of the origin of this instrument which is called now “traditional”. Rabab pasisir has the shape of a violin but differs in proportions and materials. Almost each rabab pasisir maker introduces his own special feature; for example, some of the instruments are very slim and others more rounded. Coconut is used to make the bridge while buffalo horn is used for the tailpiece. Rabab pasisir has four strings, although only three of them are used. As many musicians and rabab pasisir makers claim, the fourth string is necessary for the “balance”, and cannot be removed although is not necessary for playing.

1 Margaret J. Kartomi, On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990): 225.

Even though the rabab’s shape and construction is reminiscent of those of a European violin, its playing technique is completely different. The player sits with his legs crossed, holding the rabab in a vertical position, propping it against the floor or his foot. The rabab displayed sports a dark stain at the back of the sound box, which – according to the maker and owner of the instrument – marks the place where an opening for inserting the sound post used to be. The opening was filled with excrements of a special kind of forest ants. Inside the sound box there is a little piece of silver paper, folded into a cube (most probably a cigarette package of some sort), on which a magic spell is written, according to the musician.

The rabab is used to provide accompaniment for epical narratives called kaba (earlier tradition) and songs. It is played solo or together with a drum, most often the single-skin rabana, usually to accompany singing.

The Hornbostel-Sachs system of musical instruments classification:

3 CHORDOPHONES / 32 Composite chordophones / 321 Lutes / 321.3 Handle lutes / 321.31 Spike lutes / 321.312-7 Spike box lutes or spike guitars sounded by bowing

Bibliography:

Eny Christyawaty i Maryetti. Pemain rabab pasisia: dari pengabdian seni ke profesi. Studi kasus 5 orang rabab pasisia di Pesisir Selatan Sumatera Barat. Padang: Balai Kajian Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, 2005.

Erizal. Instrumen musik chordophone Minangkabau. Padang Panjang: Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia, 1995.

Hajizar i Muhammad Hidayat Rahz. Tradisi pertunjukan rabab Minangkabau. Bandung, Indonesia: Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indonesia, 1998.

Hartitom. Rabab pasisia dalam lagu Sikambang aia aji ditinjau dari aspek musikologis: studi kusus di kecamatan Lengayang, kabupaten Pesisir Selatan. Padang: Istitut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, 1998.

Kartomi, Margaret J. Musical Journeys in Sumatra. University of Illinois Press, 2012.

———. On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

https://folkways.si.edu/music-of-indonesia-vol-6-night-music-of-west-sumatra/islamica-world/album/smithsonian

Muzeum: Muzeum Azji i Pacyfiku im. Andrzeja Wawrzyniaka w Warszawie

Numer inwentarza: MAP 20804

Nazwa: Lutnia rabab pasisir

Autor: Dalimus Arip (1951-)

Miejsca pozyskania: Indonezja, Zachodnia Sumatra, Sawahlunto

Datowanie: ok. 1985

Tworzywa: drewno, kokos, metal, sznurek, odchody mrówek, drut

Wymiary: instrument: wys. 64, szer. 18, gł. 10, smyczek: wys. 64, szer. 8, gł. 1,5

Rabab pasisir należy do kolekcji instrumentów muzycznych i jest prezentowany na stałej wystawie „Strefa dźwięków” w Muzeum Azji i Pacyfiku w Warszawie. Został wykonany przez Dalimusa Aripa ok. 1985 r. i był przez niego używany do 2015 r., kiedy zakupiła go do muzealnej kolekcji instrumentów muzycznych Muzeum Azji i Pacyfiku jej kuratorka podczas badań terenowych prowadzonych na Sumatrze Zachodniej. Rabab pasisir, zwany też biolą pochodzi z regionu Pesisir, ale jest popularny także w innych regionach Zachodniej Sumatry. Nazwa „biola” odnosi się do kształtu instrumentu, który przypomina europejskie skrzypce. Prawdopodobnie skrzypce zostały przywiezione na Sumatrę przez Portugalczyków, którzy dotarli tam jako pierwsi Europejczycy, a następnie zostały zaadaptowane przez lokalnych mieszkańców do ich tradycyjnej muzyki. Potwierdzeniem tej tezy jest także miejsce instrumentu w tradycyjnej klasyfikacji instrumentów muzycznych z Sumatry, zgodnie z którą rabab pasisir należy do kategorii „asal Barat”, czyli „pochodzących z Zachodu”¹. Wskazuje to na świadomość ludzi Minangkabau dotyczącą pochodzenia instrumentu, który obecnie określany jest mianem tradycyjnego. Rabab pasisir ma kształt skrzypiec, ale różni się od nich proporcjami i materiałami, z jakich jest wykonany. Prawie każdy budowniczy rababów wprowadza własne modyfikacje, na przykład niektóre rababy są bardzo wąskie, a inne zaokrąglone. Łupina orzecha kokosowego jest używana do wytwarzania mostka, a róg bawoli strunnika. Rabab pasisir ma cztery struny, mimo, że używane są tylko trzy z nich. Jak deklaruje wielu muzyków i budowniczych rababów, czwarta struna jest niezbędna do zachowania „równowagi” i nie może zostać zdjęta, choć nie jest potrzebna do grania.

Pomimo tego, że kształt i konstrukcja rababów bardzo przypomina europejskie skrzypce, technika gry na nich jest zupełnie inna. Muzyk siedzi ze skrzyżowanymi nogami, trzyma instrument pionowo i opiera o podłogę lub swoją stopę. Prezentowany rabab ma na tylnej płycie rezonansowej ciemną plamę, która – zgodnie z deklaracją budowniczego i właściciela instrumentu – zasłania otwór, przez który włożona była dusza. Otwór ten zaklejony zostały odchodami specjalnego rodzaju leśnych mrówek. Wewnątrz pudła rezonansowego znajduje się także złożony w kostkę mały kawałek srebrnego papieru (prawdopodobnie pochodzący z opakowania po papierosach), na którym – według muzyka – zapisane jest magiczne zaklęcie.

Na rababie wykonuje się akompaniament do epickich pieśni zwanych kaba (starsza tradycja) oraz piosenek. Akompaniując do śpiewu gra się na nim solo lub z towarzyszeniem bębna, najczęściej jednomembranowego, zwanego rabana.

W klasyfikacji Sachsa- Hornbostela:

3 CHORDOFONY / 32 Chordofony złożone / 321 Lutnie / 321.3 Lutnie drzewcowe / 321.31 Lutnie z drzewcem przelotowym / 321.312-7 Skrzynkowe lutnie lub gitary z drzewcem przelotowym pobudzane smyczkowaniem

Bibliografia:

Eny Christyawaty i Maryetti. Pemain rabab pasisia: dari pengabdian seni ke profesi. Studi kasus 5 orang rabab pasisia di Pesisir Selatan Sumatera Barat. Padang: Balai Kajian Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, 2005.

Erizal. Instrumen musik chordophone Minangkabau. Padang Panjang: Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia, 1995.

Hajizar i Muhammad Hidayat Rahz. Tradisi pertunjukan rabab Minangkabau. Bandung, Indonesia: Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indonesia, 1998.

Hartitom. Rabab pasisia dalam lagu Sikambang aia aji ditinjau dari aspek musikologis: studi kusus di kecamatan Lengayang, kabupaten Pesisir Selatan. Padang: Istitut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, 1998.

Kartomi, Margaret J. Musical Journeys in Sumatra. University of Illinois Press, 2012.

———. On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

https://folkways.si.edu/music-of-indonesia-vol-6-night-music-of-west-sumatra/islamica-world/album/smithsonian

1 Margaret J. Kartomi, On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990): 225