Abstract:

The masses and researchers always hold different opinions on the classification of the folk songs of Bai Nnationality.
According to the life-experiences, the masses have classified their songs as "at-home" and "out-of -home"; while the researchers have
used the length of song as the classifying criterion. In fact, the former agrees with the opinions of Ethnopoetics which advocates
contextual analysis, and the researchers should attach importance to it.

Key words: folk songs of Bai Nnationality, classification, cultural context