The singings Yimakan de los Hezhe

The Hezhe have a very rich oral literature, with the richest body of stories, legends and present songs in all the activities of his existence. For them the most important genres are four following ones:

The yimakan or sung stories.
The telungu or legendary stories.
The shuohuli or stories.
The jialinkuo or popular songs.

Yimakan is the name that they give to his sung stories. In them the spiritual universe of the Hezhe is reflected. His myths, legends, customs, philosophy, religion and history. These sung stories are not an only one communication between the persons, but also with the spirits. The Hezhe think that the gods like to listen to these songs. For it, on having sung them, his favor is obtained: good health, abundant fighter, luck. For his part, on having listened to these yimakan who narrate sometimes the histories of the heroic shamans of the Hezhe, the demons are scared and do not dare to bother them.

The yimakan are always sung at night. They go accompanied by a small representation. His rhythms and movements have certain resemblance with the dance of the shamans, by what it is thought that they can have originated in his singings and ceremonies. The religious magic sense of this type of songs they allow to the persons to put themselves in communication with the gods and the demons. It is clear that the imitation of the actions of the shamans, it is thought can produce a similar result between the singers.

The yimakan have an essential importance in the life of the Hezhe. Any important event, as weddings, funerals or the guests' arrival, are always accompanied by the singing of the yimakan. Especially important it is his role in the fighter expeditions and in the epoch of fishing. When a group goes out of fighter, on having returned to the camp in the night, it is necessary to sing the yimakan. In fact, the singer of the yimakan is the most important person of the group of hunters.

In the epoch of fishing, especially in spring and autumn, the Hezhe go on the night to the shore of the river singing his yimakan. They think that thus they can achieve that the divinities of the rivers provide abundant fishing to them on the following morning.

Between the nearby peoples also sung stories similar to the yimakan exist. The existence of this literary genre perhaps goes back to a remote past.

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