Arts Midwest World Fest Study Guide Manhu from CHINA About the Artists Manhu presents a fascinating reinvention of Yi music, most specifically from the Sani region of the Stone Forest in China’s Yunnan Province, an area geographically cut off from other Yi populations which has developed its own unique musical and cultural identity. Although often viewed as newcomers, Manhu have been playing together since 2003. All the members can be officially considered Yi people. Yi are a very broad ethnic group encompassing at least 6 different languages, so to be more specific, Manhu belong to the Sani people, one of the most distinctive subgroups of the Yi, possessing unique language, writing, and musical culture. Though they are Sani, Manhu have studied the music of some of the other Yi groups, so they have the knowledge and skills to perform music and dance traditions that represent the broad spectrum of Yi culture. Photo of Manhu Manhu are multi-instrumentalists, proficient in a range of Yi instruments. However, Manhu have chosen to present an upbeat imagining of how these often inaccessible traditions can be made adapted to a band situation. Featuring many locally iconic but internationally never-before-seen instruments, their sound is bewitching, leaving one puzzled that this kind of music should never have been exposed before. Truly authentic but highly creative, Manhu have performed at prestigious venues such as the National Centre for the performing arts in Beijing and Shanghai Music Hall. Members Wang Tao Lead Vocals, Sani Bamboo Flute, Leaf, Moon Lute, Xianzi Jin Hongmei Lead Vocals, Leaf, Moon Lute Awa Percussion, Leaf, Backing Vocals Photo of Manhu Er Sheng Bass, Big Three String, Backing Vocals Lao Gao Small Three String, Xianzi, Backing Vocals Video Check out a video of Manhu on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6xo_lnl7QA Video of Manhu Learn more at www.artsmidwestworldfest.org Arts Midwest World Fest Study Guide Manhu from CHINA CC BY-SA 2.0) CC BY-SA Alex Stoll ( Photo by The leaves of trees and shrubs are also very The Sani flute is one of many traditional Chinese important traditional instruments in Sani culture. flutes. It is made of bamboo, and the player holds In Yunnan, it’s very mountainous. Sometimes it’s it horizontally (called a transverse or side-blown boring to walk by yourself, so one might grab a leaf flute) as opposed to a flute played vertically (called and blow on it and copy the birds. Sometimes one an end-blown flute). The Sani flute has a thin, high- might use leaves to call to people, to talk to them, pitched sound that is characteristic of traditional since with leaves the sound goes farther. You’ll see music throughout China. when you meet Manhu! Ask the musicians! How many instruments can The small three string, also called sanxian, is a you play? Chinese lute: a three stringed fretless plucked musical instrument. It has a long fingerboard, and the body is traditionally made from snake skin stretched over a rounded rectangular resonator. It is made in several sizes for different purposes and in the late 20th century a four-stringed version was also developed. It is considered the most revered of Sani instruments. 3.0) (CC BY-SA User Photo by The moon lute is a four-stringed instrument that is either round or octagonal, with strings grouped in sets of two. The moon lute has a shorter Ask the musicians! neck than the sanxian and a larger, Where do the stories in your hollow body, with a wooden face. The songs come from? moon lute is a traditional instrument of the Yi ethnic group from Yunnan Province. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attributi on-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 U nport ed License. Learn more at www.artsmidwestworldfest.org.