Music of some minorities of Thailand, Laos and Burma

MUSIC OF THE ETHNIC CULTURES OF NORTHERN THAILAND second draft (shortened version!)

Ethnic variation Over the last 2 years I have recorded the music of a number of minority peoples living in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Lampang, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. Northern Thailand is home to a diverse population of around thirty distantly related ethnicities with a common Asian heritage steeped in ancient tradition but whose history during periods of migration has created a wide variety of cultural (including musical) identities. Some groups have arrived in recent times from Burma or Laos, most can trace their roots back through Southern China to Tibet (Sino-Tibetan and Hmong-Mien peoples) or Taiwan (Tai peoples, including Tai Lue, Tai Neua and Shan). The numbers living in Thailand are much smaller than those in Burma, China or Laos where musical traditions have remained stronger.

Minority Group Akha

Bisu Blang Haw Hmong

Htin Kachin

Minority groups found in Northern Thailand Population Arrived in Subgroups in Thailand Thailand 49,903 early 20c U-Lo Loimi Phami Puli 1,000 not known 1,200 1965 19,773 111,677 early 20c Black White Striped 48025 early 20c Jingpo 370 1970 Maru Rawang

Recorded? √

√ √

√

Karen Pwo Sgaw

105,000 pre Thai 245,000 pre Thai

√ √

Kayah Kayaw Kha Hor Khamu Kokang Lahu

2,500 1940's √ 50 1994 √ 500 10,198 √ about 20 1990's √* 82,158 late 19c Nyi (Red) Na (Black) Shi (Yellow) Balan Hpu (White) Shehleh Meneu

Lamet Lawa (Lua) Lisu

Mien Mlabri Mpi Padong Palaung (De’ang)

Pa O Parauk Samtao Shan Tai Lue Tai Neua Wa

Flowery Black Laekeesa Shae Shae Haegaa Chupha Striped

√ √ √

* √*

600 17,346 5c AD 41,463

√ √ √* √*

*

41,697 early 20c √ 182 19c √ 1,500 500 1988 √ Silver Golden Rumi Riang

1,937

1983 √

900 pre Thai √ 105 late 19c √ 100 1970 √ √* √*

Red

√*

General characteristics of the music of the minority peoples Some minority languages languages

Austro-Asiatic

Austro-Thai

Sino-Tibetan

Mon-Khmer

Hmong Mien

Tibeto-Burman

Palaungic

Kachinic

Lua

Palaung

Kachin

Karenic

Karen Sgaw etc Padong

Loloish

Akha Lisu Lahu

Figure 1 language groups

Musical and other cultural differences cross country borders as well as ethnic grouping. They are often related to the linguistic groupings into which the various groups fall. This broad brush view, however, should not be allowed to obscure the myriad shades of musical performance that can differentiate even members of the same minority group, differences just as numerous as the dialectal variations between speakers of the same language. Perhaps, before the traditional music dies out, it will be possible to categorise the different musics in musical terms rather than relating them to ethnic or linguistic groupings. Several musicologists have published works on or referring to hill tribes music (see references at end) but with the exception of Hmong and possibly Karen music, they appear to be based on a study of too few musical examples. As I am not competent to make a musical analysis of the 500 or so songs and tunes I have recorded, I will outline my impressions of the context in which the music is made

and let the music speak for itself. I will then describe the instruments that are used.

Characteristics of minority peoples that influence the music Traditionally, the minority peoples have lived in small communities of 20 to 30 families each. Many villages were until recently isolated at least for the rainy season, when roads were impassable; others had to be reached on foot. Partly as a result, the tribes retained their individual customs and culture. The group’s distinctive and traditional way of life was valued and music was a powerful way of transmitting these values. All groups have stressed the importance of harmony in their societies and music has helped bind social gatherings more closely.

Developments over the last twenty years or so mean that few villages are now so isolated; a number of villages have, for different reasons, been relocated, often in the lowlands.

Although most minority groups have been drawn into mainstream society, they retain their individuality in many ways. Most continue to wear traditional dress (which often identifies the group) at least in their villages and especially when there is a festival. The most recent arrivals do not possess Thai citizenship; some have an identity card which only allows them to travel in one province. For most, the relationship with the central government is tenuous, though many now benefit from lost cost health care and development projects have weaned them away from producing opium.

Typically, a family’s life will be centered around work in the fields (producing mostly rice or other vegetable crops). The cycles of agriculture play an important part in their rituals as well as marking divisions in the year.

Many have adopted Buddhism, others have been converted to Christianity by missionaries but almost all retain strong animist beliefs and practices which govern many aspects of their relationships and everyday behaviour. Ceremonies to make offerings to the spirits are common as are festivals associated with the New Year and significant points in the agricultural calendar. Music enables people to communicate with the spirit world.

The languages of all the minority groups are tonal and in many songs melody is closely related to the pitch of the words The process of development (economic, technological and cultural) has strained the traditional way of life and some of its implications will be explored at the end of this article. .

Music in the societies The most striking thing about music in hilltribe societies is that it is not reserved for performances but plays an essential part in many every day life activities. We tend to think of a musical event as involving a performer, an audience and a piece of music being performed but the context of music in hilltribe societies is

quite different. It is most often played to enable an event of everyday life to take place, not primarily for its aesthetic appeal.

Music has traditionally played an important role in hill tribe communities. Music is an integral part of social, family and religious life. It is a part of ritual ceremonies, marking them and structuring them. The musical and ritual life is intimately linked to the cycle of life, to day-to-day and to the crop cycle. Music is an essential part of all ceremonies and occasions which bring members of the community together and group dancing and singing play an important part in cementing the solidarity of the village. Music was seen as the way of communicating with the spirit world, a language that the spirits would understand and appreciate. It was also on occasions the way in which members of the community would communicate- as these societies are inhibited about expressing personal feelings and emotions, courtship was traditionally conducted through music; many songs express sadness and loneliness, feelings that rarely be spoken. Songs were also an important way in which elders would teach the young the values and wisdom of the community. As much as the dress, a distinctive music helped maintain the identity of the ethnic group and was something for a tribe to be proud of. Lastly, of course, making live music was the principal form of entertainment, helping people forget their troubles and relax after a hard day in the fields.

Musicians Since music was traditionally such an important part of everyday life, there would always be several members of a village who could sing or play an instrument.

There are no professional musicians, though increasingly those with a reputation are hired for special occasions by villages which have lost their own. The qualities that are valued in a musician do not include virtuosity as such but rather an ability to play to the accepted standard in the true style, a large repertoire and equal stamina. I have often heard players judged on how long they can keep playing. Musicians often play several instruments and hand their instruments and skills down from one generation to another. Players often make their own instruments. Several musicians, seeing my interest in the instruments, have given them to me after they finished playing. I was initially reluctant but they usually point to the nearby clumps of bamboo and explain that it won’t take them long to make another one. Increasingly, traditional musicians tend to be the elderly or the family of a musician. Most of the time musicians learn their instrument or singing technique and repertoire from a family member or neighbour, though one young Padong woman told me she had learned by watching VCD’s. There have recently been some sporadic moves to teach traditional music to young children.

Role of music Apart from entertaining yourself or your family and friends, music would occur naturally as part of many every day activities, such as • lullabies • birth and early childhood ceremonies

• courting, wedding negotiations, weddings • healing ceremonies, funerals • dances • moving to or constructing a new house, inaugurating a new road • planting, harvesting, picking fruit, working in the fields, hunting • New Year and other religious or agriculture related festivals • drinking • cooking, preparing feasts and doing other household jobs • relaxing after work • welcoming guests • worshiping the spirits • children’s games Rituals which involve invoking the help of the spirits are particularly common and always involve music, normally singing both by ordinary people involved and by shamans or specialist musicians. Some of the ritual singing could be described as chanting; melodically both simple and repetitive. Music which appears to be purely secular like New Year’s dances in fact performs a religious function as there is a strong belief that harmonious music will gain the assistance of good spirits and ward off the harmful acts of bad ones.

The Lisu New Year dance is a good example- the participants move round slowly in a circle formed around a tree or specially prepared branch holding hands, and stamping on the ground, the dance being lead by the musician playing either reed pipes or banjo. The music, singing and raucous laughter are thought to please the good spirits while the stamping discourages bad spirits from crossing the threshold into the New Year.

Nearly all the minority groups have songs and instrumental music for courting and several have ceremonies where groups of men and girls meet and get acquainted through music. Lisu courtship songs, for example, are sung by groups of men and women to each other when they meet for the first time.

Traditionally, these songs are highly ritualized with a series of set statements, questions and answers. The song begins with formal introductions so that the clan names are known. There is then a description of the men’s journey to the village, a pledge to marry and a prediction of the pleasures and problems of living together until death. There is also in all groups a more intimate courting music played or sung by individuals, often involving a private coded language.

Formal and informal music For ritual occasions there are set texts and music that have to be learned. A Hmong player, for example, has to learn 75 tunes to play at a funeral.

Ceremonial and dance songs can be very long- sometimes several hours without a break. Lisu New Year dances last from dusk until dawn with musicians alternating but scarcely a break in the music. The Black Lisu sing choral songs led by alternating singers that start in the afternoon and go on with only short breaks until dawn for 15 days of the New Year month. In songs the music is often

repeated with only the words changing. This repetitiveness sometimes arises because the music is there to serve a purpose (eg dancing) or to make effective sound (as in pleasing the spirits) rather than something simply to be listened to.

Repetition can also be an essential part of the musical event, sometimes ‘hypnotizing’ the participants so that they are fully absorbed in the proceedings and even, particularly with shaman, leading to trance states.

There are often taboos about playing music outside its appropriate occasion, which remain strong today. It’s difficult to get people to agree to play funeral music, for example, as it’s widely believed that if played in outside a funeral it will lead healthy souls away. Most courting songs are sung out of the earshot of adults; the Akha won’t sing or play in a village unless there’s a festival and the reed pipes can only be played when the rice is tall. Music intended to call the spirits may not be played in the house unless it is to announce a death. The Kokang people I recorded insisted on going away from houses as they felt it was wrong to sing culturally important songs in an everyday domestic environment.

Performing in the village hall or a school, though, was acceptable. The Lisu ban instruments at funerals.

Songs about everyday life are often adapted or composed by the singers themselves and sometimes improvised. Most minorities value improvisation within a traditional framework as a sign of musical ability (though less so the Akha, reportedly). The song texts are improvised, but the singers draw from a stock of known and accepted textual motifs. In this way the music remains a living tradition rather than a museum piece that is dusted off now and then.

Although there is a set repertoire of music for formal occasions (ceremonies or dancing) what defines traditional informal music is not belonging to a set corpus but following an accepted style. The antiphonal songs, where a man and a woman take turns to sing, demand creativity and require the singers to respond quickly, combining musical ideas with a sophisticated language of double meanings. The question ‘Is the bird singing?’ for example, is to be interpreted as ‘Is your father about?’ (young people must sing courting songs out of earshot of their elders.)

Themes in songs Informal songs are often sad (one Lisu singer told me ‘if you’re happy, why bother singing?’) An important value of songs is that it is possible to sing about subjects and express feelings that would not be spoken, the use of musical and poetic conventions conferring some measure of impersonality. Any personal declarations of passion or even feelings of sadness or disappointment to do with relationships would remain unspoken unless they were couched in figurative language in a song.

Some examples of what singers choose to sing about from songs I’ve collected are:

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•

• • •

• •

Feelings – love unrequited or which cannot be declared – missing family or loved ones – sad life of an orphan – loneliness when abandoned by spouse – disappointment after marriage – being apprehensive before getting married – the sorrow having to move to another village Lessons for young people – respect for traditions, parents, spirits, nature • e.g. at first only wind and earth; supreme deity created the rest and told people to take care of it – advice on getting married – tales and legends with a moral Descriptions of nature or journeys Celebrate the separate identity of the tribe Traditional culture – cherish your harp (it has a soul); if you love the harp you can remember tunes and play well – if the young man is a tall tree the older person is a forest Social commentary – new road like a big snake swallows up inhabitants – the Government are oppressing the people Real life – not having enough money for food – asking for help in fields – calling for help in preparing a ceremony – turn rain and sun into money – if you have rice to eat, be content – if the girls don't eat, the rice doesn't taste good – problems of a daughter-in-law – finding your 7 daughters have been eaten by a lion

You’ll notice from the last one that the Karen have a vivid imagination.

There’s an interesting theme to one Padong song which the singer wrote herself in a traditional style (accompanying herself on a home-made guitar). When I asked her what it was about, she said ‘It’s about them not wanting us to leave the village; wanting to leave this place is like trying to touch a star in the sky’.

(The Padong, or long-necked Karen, women are virtual prisoners in specially constructed villages for tourists.)

Music and speech As a general rule, vocal music is conceived of as a vehicle for a poem and is subordinate to the words, which it enhances. The Hmong call their most common

style of singing ‘sung poetry’. In ceremonies, the distinction between chanting or reciting on the one hand and singing is blurred, which is natural when music is there to serve a purpose rather than simply provide an aesthetic experience.

The most remarkable feature. of some instrumental music, particularly Hmong, is the use of instruments as speech surrogates–the music actually uses pitch most of all but also rhythm and timbre to convey phrases which can be understood by a listener familiar with the conventions. These phrases are drawn from conventional sung poetry on a set range of themes and are then woven by the performer into a coherent and individual message (individual sounds can only be understood in the context of reference sounds). Listeners understand the verbal content of performances in part by recognizing familiar melodic phrases based on consistent lexical tone to pitch relationships and the rhythmic character of the melody.

So much instrumental music will be listened to not just as an aesthetic experience but for its message. Courting couples might develop a coded language of sounds and converse purely by playing instruments. The mouth harp can be used to disguise the voice of the player. I have often been given a long account of the meaning of a purely instrumental piece- I found that this is not because it is associated with a song but because the musical phrases convey a number of stock meanings, which might be events or feelings.

The instruments most closely associated with speech are the free reed pipes, duct flutes and mouth harps. One Hmong flute player listed the three themes most common in flute music as courtship, the sorrow of moving to a new country and the sorrow of being abandoned. Poss (op. cit.) also reports that when phones were first introduced into the Laotian countryside, people would play the flute to each other over the phone lines. On one occasion when I told a Lisu friend I was learning to play the reed pipes, she straightaway asked ‘What language are you playing it in?”

Vocal music Unaccompanied solo singing is common in all groups; sometimes other singers will join in in unison. Many Lisu songs are antiphonal with a male and female singer alternating. Singing is very often unaccompanied, especially that of the flowery Lisu, Hmong and Lahu.

Many social occasions call for music and it’s not surprising that most groups except the Hmong have a rich variety of choral songs that help bring communities together. Most of these songs are sung in unison, often with a call response pattern and a lead singer. Polyphony in the sense of independent melodies and rhythms, is neither common nor particularly developed. Vocal polyphony does occur and takes one of several forms. Sometimes a singer will repeat a melody with a delay, as in a round. In other songs a singer will vary and embellish the main tune. These can be heard in Akha festival music In a third

type the singers will sing almost independently. This also occurs on some occasions with instrumental music though it can be hard to tell whether the players are playing the same tune or just doing their own thing simultaneously.

More consistent and elaborate vocal polyphony has been reported from China, though, in the Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Mien and Kachin amongst others.

Traditionally, harmony does not feature in choral singing either in the vocal parts or in instrumental accompaniment.

I have recorded Lahu and Akha music where the instrument and voice(s) together perform polyphonic music. In Karen songs accompanied by the harp, the harp music plays chords as well as striking the rhythm and often repeats an accompanying melody as a motif. The Palaung use a three string instrument (ding) to accompany songs. Sometimes the ding echoes the melody of the singer, sometimes it follows an almost independent improvised melodic path.

Songs for different occasions are usually sung according to different patterns.

Generally courting songs are sung with a relaxed voice while in ritual songs the voice is more tightly controlled.

Many Karen and Palaung songs use a simple three or four note scale with a short melody repeated many times. At first hearing it may appear as if the tune is repeated identically but when you listen more you realize that the singer makes subtle variations, sometimes according to the rhythms of the syllables, sometimes with ornamentation or other small variations.

I describe Karen and Palaung songs as mostly melodic. In another style, (exemplified in Lahu and Hmong songs) the music seems more subservient to the words and is sung with a steady beat, the pitch of notes being closely associated with the tones of the spoken words. A third style can be seen in most Lisu and some Kokang songs which use a free rhythm with slow long drawn out notes sometimes with elaborate ornamentation.

A fourth style has a free rhythm with long notes interspersed with rapid sequences following the rhythm of speech. Akha, Tai Lue and Mien songs mostly follow this pattern. I also have an example of a Red Wa song which is much more elaborately melodic and reminiscent of a type of song heard in Mongolia.

Instruments and instrumental music The minority groups have a wide range of instruments with chordophones, aerophones, idiophones and membranophones all well represented. South East Asia folk music is particularly noted for free reed instruments and mouth harps and both of these figure prominently in minority musics. Some instruments, like the Mien shawm or the Lisu tseubeu, are also common in Chinese classical music. Others, like the free reed pipes, are variations on instruments found both in Chinese classical and minority folk music. Some, like the salaw or sueng, are

borrowed from Thai classical or folk music. The Karen harp is closely related to a Burmese classical instrument. The bamboo zithers found in several Karen groups are more common in south east Asia than other parts of Asia. The variety of instruments partly reflects the variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the minority group and, while substantial, cannot compete with that found in China, where over 500 different instruments have been found in minority groups.

Instrumental music uses different scales and rhythms from vocal music.

Flowery Lisu and Hmong instrumental music is normally solo; the Lahu, Akha, Karen and Palaung use percussion ensembles for religious or other festive occasions; the Kachin, Padong, Karen and Mien often play in ensembles. The music that accompanies Lisu New Year dancing is a bit of a free-for-allsometimes there is only one player, on occasions two or more players will play together (more or less in tune and in time with each other); often however, there will be a random assembly of instrumentalists all playing their own tunes. One dance I witnessed featured several reed pipe and banjo players plus a harmonica and a ghetto blaster, each one playing something different.

Some cultures use instruments that are indispensable for rituals, which are considered as sacred and used only in this sort of playing situation. A certain number of particular gestures and attitudes that accompany their exceptional presentation in public must be observed (the Karen bronze drum , the Hmong sacred drum or, in Laos, the Akha flute chili). Shamans normally use a variety of bells, cymbals and rattles which are reserved for their ceremonies. Other instruments, like the Lua or Karen or free reed horn, are treated with great respect and reserved for ceremonies or other weighty occasions.

The same instrument may be used for entertainment and for rituals. There may then be a sacralisation of the instrument (mouth organ). Among Hmong, the sacralisation occurs through a ritual offering to the instrument itself (offerings of food, candles, incense, libation of alcohol). The Htin suspend some of the bamboo sticks used in their annual festival on a banana plant and hold them to be sacred (even though they are Christian); there is also a taboo on playing them outside the festival.

Others, like the Karen harp, are revered as symbols of the traditions of the people. Sometimes certain musical instruments can house spirits. The Hmong for example systematically play a piece of music for the spirit of the keng (mouth organ) before using this instrument.

Mostly, however, instruments are not accorded any special care and are often regarded as disposable. Many bamboo instruments can be made quickly and easily but there is often a key feature of construction (where a notch is placed, how a block is held in place etc) that a skilled maker will observe. Players need to now how to prepare and repair their instruments. Simply made instruments often involve quite sophisticated techniques of manufacture and for producing the

music. As a result, some are quite fragile- if the small block of an Akha flute is dislodged or the notch scratched, it becomes useless.

Not surprisingly, bamboo, wood, gourds, beeswax and animal skins are used extensively, metal in some specific instruments and plastic mainly in massproduced flutes. Use is often made of materials to hand: bicycle brake wires for strings, plastic bottles for resonators being two examples.

Some ‘instruments’ are used only for calling or as a signal and not to produce melodies or a set rhythm. The Lisu have a flat metal gong called a ‘ma’ that is sounded the night before a holy day. The Mlabri. a small tribe of nomadic hunters, use bamboo whistles to contact each other. Other sound-producing instruments are used non musically in ceremonies, as in the rings, bracelets and rattles used by a shaman or the assistant. Other ‘music’ can be produced more or less incidentally, for example by the necklaces or ankle ornaments in Lisu and Akha dances.

All instruments apart from the mouth harp, in nearly all societies are played only by men. I was told that this is related not to the religious function of instruments but simply that men have more time on their hands. A woman who spent her time playing music instead of working, I was told, would find it hard to get a husband.

(Lahu women, however, play the lute, notch flute and naw (small free reed pipes) as Lahu society has traditionally been marked by more equality between the sexes.) It is noticeable that women are allowed to sing on occasions when communication with the spirits is taking place.

Origins and influences The origins of the hilltribe peoples has been the subject of much speculation.

This table is a summary of Schliesinger’s (op. cit.) conclusions:

Minority Group Akha Bisu Blang Haw Hmong Htin Kachin Karen Kayaw Kha Hor Khamu

Originally from Tibet China China China China Vietnam Tibet Tibet Tibet Laos China? Vietnam?

Arrived in Thailand from Burma ?

Burma China Laos Laos Burma Burma Burma Laos Laos

Kokang Lahu Lamet Lawa (Lua) Lisu Mien Mlabri Mpi Padong Palaung Parauk Samtao Tai Lue Tai Neua Wa

China Tibet Laos Native?

Tibet China Cambodia, Laos China Burma Burma China, Burma China China China ?

Burma Burma, Laos Laos Lisu Vietnam, Laos, Burma Laos Burma Burma Burma Burma Burma Burma Burma Burma

The small (but rewarding) museum in the Black Lahu village of Jalae near Chiang Rai, shows the main movements in a nice mural:

Figure 2 population movements

It is difficult to say to what extent the music of the minorities has retained features of that of their ancestors. Catlin (op cit.) has reported strong resonances between the Hmong shaman ritual and the culture of the Mongols of Central Asia. (see below).

I have noticed that Karen mouth harp playing bears a striking resemblance to some Mongolian mouth harp music. The Akha choral song also has something in common with a Tibetan style of folk singing. Such semblances may, however, be coincidental. Most minority groups lived in relative isolation so differences emerged between the music of different subgroups and sometimes different regions within the same subgroup. There seem to have been few crossinfluences even between closely related groups, though Larsen suggests that some features of Lisu music may have come from the Lahu.

The music of lowland minorities such as the Lawa and Karen, who have had more contacts with mainstream society, has no doubt been influenced by Thai music; that of the Karen also by Burmese.

Features of the music of the main ethnic groups Lahu

Figure 3 Black Lahu woman

The New Year is the most important musical occasion but harvest celebrations are also accompanied by songs and dancing. Instruments often accompany songs and although there are some similarities with Lisu music Lahu strikes me as being more varied. Choral singing takes places in healing and other

ceremonies; the solo songs are often accompanied by free reed pipes or the guitar. Free reed pipes, guitars, notch flutes and mouth harps are prominent; percussion ensembles are also used for ceremonial occasions such as the New Year dances. Bands consisting of free reed pipes are also found in China.

Temple processional music is provided by an ensemble of cymbals, gongs and drums, often accompanying singing. Occasionally free reed pipes join in.

The three Lahu groups I have recorded (Black, Red and Meneu) claim to have their own separate tunes; the style, however, strikes me as similar.

Lisu

Figure 4 Lisu New Year dance

Traditional music is probably stronger among the Lisu than other groups. Even at large festivals people continue to participate in traditional songs and dances and I have not come across modern Thai- or Western-influenced songs sung in Lisu or assimilated into the Lisu corpus apart from hymns.

The main Lisu group (flowery) only occasionally use Instruments and songs in combination- I have recorded a few examples and was told it is up to the musicians whether to sing and play together. I have never heard a singer accompanying himself. Instrumental music is mainly used for dancing, which is not the case for the dominating song styles. In addition, instrumental and vocal Lisu music are extremely different in style. The flowery Lisu normally play instruments solo though on occasions two reed organ players or an organ and banjo player may play together when accompanying dancing. Instrumental music has a strict metre; sung music is freely metred. The two repertoires do not mix though sometimes a musician will play independently while singing is taking place. There is no tradition of music for percussion.

Different song formulas are used, one preferably by the young unmarried people, two by the elders mostly during marriage and New Year festivals, one exclusively for soul-calling ceremonies; in addition there is a dance song and the special song and chanting of the shaman. Larsen (op.cit.) noted that in Lisu songs the melodic line is typically descending in contour, using 6 or 7 tone scales. The interval of a perfect fourth, formed by sustained notes, is structurally important.

Songs are in free metre and singers are fere to create their own variations around a basic structure.

Song texts are improvised, but the singers draw from a stock of known and accepted motifs. In courting songs these will be love, longing and jealousy, or the pain of separation. Other songs stress the importance of tradition and affirm the basic values and rules in Lisu society.

Lisu dance songs are very different from their other songs as most follow a fixed 4/4 rhythm to suit the dance. There is a lead singer and a chorus of anyone who feels like joining in to make a call-response pattern.

Lisu courtship songs are highly ritualized and sung by groups of men and women to each other when they meet for the first time. There is also more intimate courting music played or sung by individuals, often involving a private coded language.

Ceremonies involving music still play an important part in the life of Lisu villages and some have made an effort to teach the skills to the young.

The Lisu groups I have recorded (flowery, Black and Laecheesa) have mostly the same style of instrumental music, with some different tunes. The Black Lisu are particularly noted for their singing marathons. Songs, mostly pentatonic, follow a call-response pattern with a lead singer and up to 100 chorus. The call and response overlap with each other on the final note.

Akha

Figure 5 Akha singer

Most Akha music is associated with particular ceremonies related to agricultural activities. Lewis has a fine collection of Akha vocal recordings including lullabies, male and female shaman songs and songs for courting, mourning, dancing, planting and harvesting rice, praising the host at a feast as well as songs to accompany the sacrifice of a buffalo at funerals and other ceremonies. Many songs are performed at the swing festival in August. Traditionally, groups of young women would go to the village dancing ground in the evening to sing courting songs (dethongheu) and they would sometimes be joined by groups of young men.

Many Akha songs are choral, often accompanied by stamping sticks and drums or the jangling of head dress jewelry. In some there are two or more voices with different melodies and rhythms making truly polyphonic music. Many choral songs will have a leader and follow a call-response pattern.

Singers do not use ornamentation and songs are melodic with frequent steps of thirds and intervals of a fifth are also important. Many courting songs are pentatonic or use four tones- Bb DGF is a common opening theme. Some do have a steady rhythm with long notes interspersed with groups of shorter notes.

Dance songs have a more regular and heavily marked rhythm, often accentuated with the pounding or bamboo beaters, stamping Songs for ceremonies tend to be simpler, unmetrical and often using 3 or even only two notes.

Instrumental music is also pentatonic. The lute is used as a courting instrument and is played melodically with occasional two note chords using one open string.

Dancing is sometimes accompanied by free reed pipes (also used for courting).

Karen (Sgaw and Pwo)

Figure 6 Karen Sgaw man

I have not found any substantial differences between the two main forms of Karen music- the same songs are often sung in either language The Karen have a large number of songs containing legends and songs in praise of nature, many being sung at weddings and funerals; unusually, courting songs are also sung at funerals. The most common Karen scale is based on a perfect fourth, which forms the nucleus of melodies. I have recorded Sgaw Karen solo songs unaccompanied and accompanied by the harp, duets sung in unison and choruses of men also in unison with a lead singer common at weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. . The perfect fourth was found by Becker (op.cit.) to be nuclear in the traditional unaccompanied songs of the Pwo, and it reappears in the same harp songs as well. Stern noted that the harp songs were monosyllabic with each note according with a syllable.

The Karen have come to value performances of music more than other minority groups. There are numerous Karen musicians who are well known in the community, have recorded CD’s and are asked to play at Karen festivals.

Unaccompanied songs upon major occasions such as the funeral feast take the form of songs in honor of the deceased, together with improvisatory contests and antiphonal choruses between young men and women. There are various styles of harp music, the more traditional using three or four note scales, the more recent being more melodic.

Shan

Figure 7 Shan man dancing with bamboo sticks near Mae Hong Son

The Shan are the most closely integrated into the cultural modes of mainstream urban society. Shan ensemble music is nearly as complex as that of lowland South East Asia, the three types of ensembles being for Buddhist ceremonies, dramas and entertainment. Like Thai music, Shan temple music uses a percussion ensemble; for dramas one with strings and flute is used and for entertainment an ensemble which has been influenced by both Burmese and central Thai music. The one I recorded consisted of horn violin, metal xylophone, gongs and barrel drums.

Dances such as the ram nok king kala performed to mark the end of the Buddhist Lent have played an important role in the Tai Yai community for centuries. The dance follows the rhythm of drums, gongs and cymbals.

Mien Most Mien music is for ceremonial purposes, especially for weddings, funerals and ancestor worship and harvest ceremonies. At New Year’s festivals an important event is the singing of the narrative song about the Mien ancestral doga story that helps keep their identity alive. It has been reported that the Mien do not have dance music; those in Thailand sing a dance song, however, when going to a temple festival. Alone of these peoples, the Mien have a widely accepted written language (using Chinese characters) and a more complex poetry.

Figure 8 Mien singers

Hmong

Figure 9 Hmong girl at New Year ball-throwing game

There is a wide variety of traditional Hmong vocal and instrumental genres for both secular and ritual uses. The Hmong, however, are the only hill tribe people not to have a tradition of choral singing. Instrumental music is also always solo.

Ritual music Shaman chants are heard at healing ceremonies, the New Year’s festival and life-cycle events. They are sung syllabically to melodies in which the eight speech tones are coordinated with four pitches. The shaman punctuates the chant with a sistrum and finger rattle while an assistant sounds a gong. Amy Catlin (op. cit.) noted that the numerous associations of the ceremony with horseriding ‘supports the theory of Hmong origins in Central Asia or beyond.’

The instrument most closely associated with Hmong ritual music is the reed organ (qen), which is played at funerals, ancestral rites, offerings to the spirits, sacrifices to the drum and weddings. Catlin (op.cit.) describes two genres of qen compositions: texted and textless. Texted music is either central, directly addressing the soul (mostly tripartite in structure) or non-central, tunes for optional entertainment. Funeral texts are first sung by a singer then played on the qen. When the qen and the drum are played together contrapuntally at a funeral, the drum is understood to be asking ‘where to go? Where to go?’ while the qen replies ‘go this way, go this way’ directing the soul to its resting place.

Secular music Secular music consists of love songs and songs expressing a love of nature or the family and homeland, loneliness and loss. A common theme is the song of a young girl who has gone to live with her new husband and misses her family.

One common form of song is khootseea or sung poetry (poetry recited in a melodic fashion) which follows both musical and poetic conventions but also allows some scope for the singer to improvise. In fact, personal creativity is an essential part of the performance. Women in particular use this genre, either young girls before marriage or especially after the prohibition on singing after marriage is removed when they become widows. Word tones are transferred to a set of musical notes, but not entirely consistently; rhythm is also important. Each verse is marked at the end by a low falling syllable and there are occasional vocal glides and frequent long drawn out notes. The most important context for singing khootseea is during the courtship games of the New Year festival. Rows of unmarried boys and girls throw courtship balls while singing. The songs have a distinct vocal timbre, style of vocalization and expression. Syllables may be delivered in either a legato or non legato style sometimes with wide intervals (especially fifths). Notes tend to be of equal duration. Scales may have 3,4,5 or more tones.

Other types of song include a syllabic male-female song sung without lengthy notes, nuptial songs, didactic songs sung by the elderly and puzzle songs.

Kachin (Jingpo)

Figure 10 Kachin manau festival dance

The Kachin music I have heard all falls into the category of festival music.

Represented in Thailand by the Jingpo group, the Kachin are known for being good dancers and good singers as well as good musicians. Festivals involving music to celebrate harvests, new buildings, welcoming guests, marriages and funerals are an important part of their society. Group dancing, which is their major dancing form, depicts their travels, life, work, wars and sacrificial rites. It sometimes involves more than 1,000 people, with boisterous singing and loud percussion based music. Perhaps the most important festival is the manau, an occasion for thanksgiving and paying respects to the ancestors. Nearly everyone joins in the dance, swaying in circles around a structure of totem poles and traditional costumes are worn. The dance leaders wear yellow costumes with their plumed headgear. The music is provided by a percussion ensemble consisting of a huge drum, deep gongs and lighter ones sounding more like cymbals, accompanying a flute, shawm or singer who performs in a tall tower erected with bamboo poles. The rhythm is regular but the melody is more elaborate and reminiscent of Middle Eastern music.

The Kachin also share some instruments with the Lisu (to whom they are related) and have an interesting range of flutes.

Mlabri As the most ‘primitive’ ethnic group living in Thailand the Mlabri do not have a musical tradition of much note. Neither do they have a tradition of festivals or ceremonies involving music. They use simple whistles to call other group members when in the forest. They also have songs for occasions like receiving a guest and accompany the music with bamboo sticks. Some have now been drawn into other Thai and hilltribe communities and are influenced by the music of north east Thailand and Laos. The songs I have heard have a strong rapid rhythm and are reminiscent of the music of the Issaan or Laos.

Figure 11 Mlabri musicians

Kokang The music of the Kokang people, who mostly originate from Yunnan, has some similarities with the Lisu in the use of the banjo but, unlike the Lisu, they do not use free reed pipes. I have recorded two different styles, one to accompany dancing and the other for personal entertainment or courting. The dance music uses the banjo and sometimes the flute and there is often a very strident vocalist (a similar style of singing is found in Akha shaman rituals). The solo songs I recorded sound like some other southern Chinese mountain music, melodic rather than following a clear rhythm. The use of mouth harps is also akin to that of groups like the Naxi in China.

Padong

Figure 12 Padong woman near Mae Hong Son

The music of the Padong I have recorded has mostly been pentatonic and in the form of gentle very repetitive songs, though traditional songs veer into freer scales like Karen solo singing. Traditional tunes are given a more regular beat and sung to the accompaniment of a four string guitar. The music heard today has no doubt been heavily influenced by Western missionary music and some of the songs I have heard are clear adaptations of hymn tunes. They also use home-made guitars and violins for accompaniment and it is difficult to find music not targeted at tourists.

Khamu

Figure 13 Khmu women dancing at New Year celebrations (picture from Flickr)

Music is an essential ingredient of occasions when the Khamu welcome guests or take part in other celebrations. Typically, a pot of rice spirits is brought out and those present take turns to suck it through long rice stalks. Then the singing (teum) begins and instruments are played for entertainment. Most often the songs are in the form of antiphonal duets; when the singers a re a man and a woman the verses are amatory, the singers improvising with a stock of set phrases and melodic formulae. Solo singing also takes place and it is customary for the singer to start by apologizing for his or her poor performance or drawing attention to his or her humble circumstances. Singers prefer to be accompanied, by the free reed pipes. The songs I have recorded are pentatonic with elaborate melodies and a nasal, strained vocal style. There is a wide variety of singing styles with many regions or even villages having their own repertoire.

The Khamu have probably the greatest range of instruments of any of the ethnic groups, almost all made from bamboo, various types of which are sought out in the forests.. Instruments are often made specially for an occasion and abandoned afterwards. In Laos the most common is the sngkuul, which is the same as the Thai or Lao khene. A wide range of flutes and idioglottal and free

reed pipes are also common. Goblet drums, gongs and cymbals are also used, particularly for celebrations and the bronze drum is traditionally brought out for important events. Flutes are played especially by women, who also play the smaller reed pipes and some percussion instruments. A characteristic of flute playing is the simultaneous humming or whispering of the performer. Traditionally a young man would call a girl using a mouth harp and she would answer with a flute, often whispering words into it while playing or using the flute as a resonating tube. An unusual resonating stick (the dav dav), normally played by women, has come to be a symbol of Khamu ethnicity. There are, however, considerable musical differences between the various Khamu subgroups both in the style of music and the isntruments used.

Palaung music The Palaung have numerous courting and dance songs which are either sung solo or accompanied by a three string lute. Percussion ensembles are used at ceremonies and to accompany dancing. Palaung music has reportedly been influenced b that of the Shan; both use the free reed pipes known in China as hulusi.

Kayah music

Kayah music and arts have reportedly been influenced by both Karen and Shan cultures. Like the main Karen cultures, the Kayah use the bronze rain drum for important ceremonies. The unaccompanied songs I have recorded also seem similar to those of the Karen. Like the other Karen groups, the Kayah have a tradition of playing the bamboo tube zither, which is also found among the Shan.

The Kayah also use Thai instruments like the sueng (lute).

Kayaw music

Little is known about the Kayaw or their music. Kayaw songs are traditionally accompanied on the bamboo tube zither which is plucked with the thumbs. The songs I have recorded are gentle and sad. the slow melody punctuated frequently with what sound like sighs. There seem to be similarities between the music of the Kayaw (also known as Bre) and that of the Kayah and the Karen.

Pa O music

The Pa O have a strong style of singing with group courting songs common.

They also use the bamboo tube zither like other Karen-related groups and Buddhist ceremonies are normally accompanied gy gong and drum ensemble.

The instruments Harps

Figure 14 Karen harp (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

Around the 8th century there were numerous harps in Asia, especially China but only two survive, the Karen harp (Karen tena, or tenaku) and the more complex harp played in Burmese classical music (Saung Gauk), though I believe the use of harps has been revived in China and Korea. The Karen harp has become a cultural icon for that group as has the free reed pipes for the Hmong.

Both the Karen and the Burmese harp are arched open harps whereas the Chinese konghou is a framed harp with more strings more akin to the harps of Europe. Traditionally, both types of harp (gonghu) were found in Korea, the Sugonghu (vertical harp) resembling the Chinese harp while the wa-gonghu was exactly like the Karen harp.

Stern (op. cit.) suggests the Karen harp is a simplification of the more sophisticated Burmese one. The Karen used it traditionally as a courting instrument, when it is played by young men either solo or to accompany their singing. Traditionally the Karen harp had 7 strings but it is now sometimes played with 6,8 or even more. The wooden chamber was covered originally with animal skin, now with metal. For the bow, a soft wood like mango or jack fruit is used.

Originally the strings were made from the forest plant known in Sgaw Karen as chochyyna, a form of creeper. They are now made of metal.

There are a number of standard tunings for the harp, the basic pitch depending on the vocal range of the musician. Each tuning is associated with a particular repertoire. Usually the harp plays a regular rhythmic set of chords with a ‘trip’ note; sometimes it echoes the melody of the singer.

Figure 15 Akha harp ? (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

Lutes

Figure 16 Lisu tseubeu player

The Lisu, Black Lahu, Akha and Kokang use a fretless plucked lute called in Lisu tseubeu.. The soundboard is made from python or monitor lizard skin; a pattern of holes is cut in the wooden back. It is plucked with a plectrum, traditionally made of the tip of a buffalo horn. It is one of the two instruments most commonly used for dancing and most Lisu villages will have at least one player.

This instrument originated in China, where it is called the sanxian and is still used today though recently in decline. It also spread to Mongolia (shanz / shudraga), Japan (the shamisen or sanshin, with a membrane made out of dog or cat skin) and Vietnam (đàn tam). It has also been used by the Akha (who call it the deuham) for courting but is now much less common than in former times. The Akha play it melodically rather than rhythmically as in the other groups. The back is sometimes made from the shell of a tortoise.

The Lisu tseubeu ranges in size from around 60 cms to over 90 cms. There are several common tunings, each associated with a particular repertoire. Most competent tseubeu players would have a repertoire of around 30 ‘tunes’. It is played rhythmically with frequent 2 or 3 note chords. Sometimes there is a pentatonic melody, on other occasions there is less melody and frequent sliding notes.

All dance music has a regular 4/4 beat and is basically pentatonic; Lisu banjo players are expected to play for at least 3 hours non stop, the banjo playing chords to mark the rhythm with strong beats. The flowery Lisu normally use it as a solo instrument but it can also be played with free reed pipes if the musicians feel like it or to accompany singing; the black Lisu often use it together with the free reed pipes.

The Kokang use the same instrument but, unlike the Lisu, commonly play it to accompany singing and also along with the side flute.

Figure 17 Lisu tseubeu maker (note the python skin he uses for the soundboard)

Figure 18 Chinese Haw lute player

The Lisu tseubeu in China sometimes has a wooden soundboard (as does the Kachin W. P ting se but the only ones I have seen in Thailand were played by Chinese Haw musicians at a village cleansing ceremony.

Figure 19 Palaung ding player

The fretless lute played by the Palaung (the ding) has a narrow wooden body and also three strings. There are no holes in the resonator. I have only heard the ding played monophonically as a melodic instrument with frequent use of the tremolo, either solo or to accompany singing. I have recorded two styles of accompaniment: in the first, the ding echoes the melody of the singer while in the second the player improvises almost independently of the sung part.

I have not come across other lutes with quite this shape and string arrangement, the nearest being the two string Batak kacapi. The boat lutes of the Maguindanaon in the Philippines (kudyapi) and Sarawak (sape) are much longer both in neck and body. The B’laang kudlung from the Philippines also has two strings but again a broader as well as longer body plus frets.

Figure 20 Red Lahu lute player

The Lahu play a 5 or 6 string fretless lute (teu ga) with a wooden soundboard which they hold across the knees and play the open strings like a zither. It has a short neck and the resonator is without holes. It is used to accompany singing or in conjunction with free reed pipes. The tuning is pentatonic.

The Lisu in Yunnan play a similarly shaped instrument called jizhi; this, however, is equipped with only two strings and has a pattern of sound holes on the sounding board. I do not know how it is played.

The Palaung, Karen, Shan and Lua also play the Thai sueng, a fretted lute with a long neck. The Palaung use it in processions to the temple or to accompany dancing and, in contrast with the ding, make frequent use of harmonies. In this respect it is played differently from Thai music, in which a musician will only pluck one pair of strings at a time producing monophonic melodies.

The Karen also adopted the Thai sueng but in addition play a small three stringed lute, k’nat, which sounds like a mandolin (I have only heard it played by the Golden Pestle group, refugees from Burma living in a Thai camp, on the culturalcofnerstones website).

Figure 21 Karen lute k’nat (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

The Padong have adopted a home-made version of the Western guitar as their main instrument to accompany singing and for use in ensembles accompanying dancing. This has four strings with wooden tuning pegs and a large body. It is used for strumming chords. They sometimes make it in the shape of a flat-back mandolin, also with four strings. Traditionally, they played a three string instrument rather like the Palaung ding.

Fiddles The Lua play the Thai salaw, a two string fiddle.

The Red Lahu play a small 2 string fiddle, the teu hae, using as a bow a rough stick, often tinder wood.

Figure 22 Red Lahu fiddle player

The Karen musicians of the Golden Pestle group already mentioned play a ‘Karen violin’, thaw tu, but I have no idea what it is like.

The Padong use a crude two string violin which they play either upright or horizontally, but not under the chin. The violin is flat-backed, strung with guitar strings and is made from rough wood pieces glued together. The sound box has a pattern of sound holes in the middle. The hairs of the bow are a piece of rough string and instead of resin they use a cigarette lighter to burn a tiny piece of wood on the violin then rub the bow in it. They play it mostly in ensembles along with a side flute, guitar and percussion.

Figure 23 Padong violin

The Hmong borrowed a two string spike fiddle (the xim saus) from Lao music, once, apparently, used for courtship. Unlike the salaw, which has a resonator made from a half coconut, this instrument has a beaker-shaped wooden resonator, like the Thai saw duang. It no doubt originated from the Chinese huqin family which often end in a dragon head and usually have reptile skin or thin wooden sound boards. Similar instruments are found in Cambodia (Tro Ou), Vietnam (Đàn nhị or đàn cò) Tuva (Byzaanchy, often with elaborately carved horse heads), Japan (kokyū), Korea (haegeum) and Laos (so I, again with beautifully carved mythical animal figures as the head).

Figure 24 Hmong xim saus (Laos)

The Shan make use of the horn violin (phono fiddle or Stroh violin). It was no doubt taken by the British to places such as Burma where it has survived in folk music.

Figure 25 Shan phono fiddle

Zithers

Figure 26 Pa O musician playing bamboo zither

The Shan, Sgaw Karen, Kayah, Kayaw, Khamu and the Pa O use a bamboo idiochordal zither. It consists of a hollow bamboo tube about 55 cms. long cut to leave a node at each end. The Karen and Kayah version has three or four ‘strings’ ie strips cut from the bamboo which are then raised with movable bamboo bridges allowing the strings to be tuned and separated with a flat piece of thin wood. It’s played to accompany singing and dancing, either plucked or struck with small sticks. The Pa O instrument is called tiktung- I have recorded a Pa O accompanied song and also a Shan dance accompaniment using the zither and bamboo sticks. The Sgaw Karen instrument is called paplaw but I have not seen it. The Kayaw instrument has eight strings and provides a delicate rhythmic accompaniment to love songs.

Figure 27 Ka Yaw woman playing bamboo zither

Idiochordal zithers are also played by the Sagai tribe in the south of Thailand and are found sporadically throughout South East Asia. The strings are either plucked, as in the Shan, Pa O and Kayaw examples I recorded, or struck with small bamboo beaters, as in the Kayah zither. The Khamu have both forms.

Figure 28 Ka Yaw zither detail

Victoria Vorreiter has unearthed (literally) a most remarkable instrument used by the Eng Wa tribe to bring rain, a ground resonated bow. A hole is dug in the ground and a length of rope attached to a small piece of wood under some bamboo bark covering the whole like a sounding board. The other end of the rope passes through part of a house and is tied to a stick on a beam. The device is first tuned then the rope is struck with a bamboo stick to produce a drum-like sound.

Figure 29 Kaya man making bamboo zither

Free reed instruments

Figure 30 brass free reed

These instruments use a reed made of brass or bamboo set in a bamboo pipe, flush with the retaining frame. The pitch of the note therefore depends on the size of the resonating pipe, unlike Western free reed instruments such as the harmonica or accordion where the pitch of the note is independent of the resonator.. This type of free reed instrument is unique to Asia and most diverse in South East Asia. They most probably originated in China around 1500BC. In classical Chinese and Japanese music they are known as the sheng and sho

respectively. Variations on them are played by numerous ethnic groups in China, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Sabah and Sarawak, the Philippines and Bangladesh (the Murung).

Figure 31 bamboo free reeds used in Lahu nawkuma

Figure 32 some Asian free reed types

Single pipes with finger holes

Figure 33 Hmong single pipe with finger holes

This Hmong instrument, called the the taa nplai, is very similar in design to the Northern Thai pi jum. The style and manner of playing, with strong dynamic contrasts though, are quite different. The pi jum is always played in an ensemble of six of the same instruments whereas the taa nplai is exclusively a solo instrument. The reed is sounded only by exhaling so players use circular breathing to keep a continuous flow. They are made in a variety of sizes and can have from 5 to 7 holes. They are played by using the lips to create a seal around the reed or, on smaller instruments, by inserting the top of the instrument into the mouth. Very often a section from a plastic bottle is used as a resonator. The instrument has a range of an octave as overblowing is not possible. It was traditionally used for courting songs. It could easily be taken into the fields to play for pleasure during breaks in the working day.

The Tai minority in Vietnam play similar instruments called the pi pap, pi lao luong or pi lao noi.

Multiple pipes with drones (hulusi)

Figure 34 Palaung hulusi player

This instrument is an end-blown free reed pipe with gourd windchest and one or more drones. It is made by inserting a flute-like tube with finger holes into a gourd along with one or more drones, each pipe having a free reed in it. Its soft notes make it an ideal courting instrument and it is also played in the fields when taking a break from planting or harvesting. I have recorded these played by the Palaung (who call it waou) ,Shan and Tai Neua. It is also played by the Kachin Jingpo (hkin taw sumpi) and Wa. The reed has to be sounded by exhaling not inhaling so players use circular breathing to avoid gaps in the melody. In both instruments, the drone can be "switched off" by plugging the end of the pipe and like the bawu, additional melodic pitches can be played by cross-fingering and half-holing. Overblowing is not possible so the range of the melody pipe is an octave. Usually played solo, the Palaung also use it with the ding to accompany dancing.

Multiple single hole pipes

These have pipes, each containing a free reed and with one finger hole, set in a gourd. Each pipe makes a separate note when this hole is stopped so the instrument can play chords. Free reed pipe music is therefore the most polyphonically rich of that found in the Thai ethnic groups. Players can both suck and blow (so circular breathing is not needed to keep the music flowing continuously) and bend or change notes with the thumb by stopping the hole at the bottom of each pipe.

Figure 35 Black Lahu naw player

Most common are the small instruments with five pipes used by the Lisu (fulu) Lahu (naw) and Akha (la yae ) mainly to accompany dancing but traditionally also for courting so there is a body of tunes for each type.

The Red Lahu also use it to accompany singing, (something less common in the Lisu) and with the teu as well as in small bands of naw, often with different tunings.

Liu (op.cit.) describes the use of the naw or lusheng by the Lahu in China:for personal entertainment when working and in ceremonies and gives examples of its symbolic significance for the Lahu people

The Akha sometimes play them along with groups of singer and percussion.

The small (and most common) Lisu version is called the pali fulu. Larsen noted that the pali fulu is tuned to an anhemitonic pentatonic scale and uses simple drone polyphony. Dance music is rhythmic, the deep pipe sounds throughout the whole tune, and the melody part is played on the other four pipes. Occasionally a tone is sustained and a chord of 3 of more notes made. There are around 20 different dancing ‘tunes’ in the pali fulu repertoire. Courting music is slower with a free rhythm and rich harmonies.

There is also a larger pali fulu tuned to one of the same intervals. The Lisu also play two larger free reed pipes: the fulu lae lae and the fulu na o. The latter only has 2 pipes below the gourd and only 1 open for ornamentation. A drone is played throughout. They are tuned to a 4 note scale with octave doubling.

Figure 36 Lisu na o player

The music consists of falling riffs repeated over and over again. The fulu na o is harder to play than the others and so is now played only by old men. It is not poplar as an instrument to accompany dancing as its tones can barely be heard above the noise of the dancers. Already when Larsen wrote his study in 1981 (based on 1973 fieldwork) he remarked that the two large fulus were rarely used: They are probably even harder to find now.

Figure 37 Lisu fulu lae lae player

The fulu lae lae, Larsen pointed out, is tuned to a hemiphonic pentatonic scale not often found in SE Asia. The lowest pipe has no finger hole and provides a constant drone. the music consists of falling riffs repeated throughout.

Large free reed pipes are also played by the Kachin (Lisu tau ba pyi rawng). .

Figure 38 Black Lahu nawkuma player

In addition to the free reed pipes identical to the pali fulu, fulu lae lae and fulu na o used by the Lisu, (naw jyylae, tolaemu and naw seu respectively)) the Black Lahu have a contrabass version with pipes as long 2 metres, the nawkuma. I only know of one maker in Thailand. In former times it was also used to accompany dancing but more often in ceremonies such as those for soul-calling.

The Lahu regard it with great respect as traditionally it was needed to attract the attention of the spirits before a ceremony. A similar instrument, the touanrr, is played by the Oi people of Laos and several minority groups in China have similar instruments..

Figure 39 90 year old Hmong qen player

The Hmong mouth organ or qen (gain or qeej) is different in design from those of other groups, having 6 pipes and a long mouthpiece. The sound is also much more dissonant to Western ears. The players are not able to use their thumb to change the notes. It is a solo instrument, played without the accompaniment either of other musical instruments or singing, although it is joined intermittently by drums at a funeral. The qen pipes are played horizontally and the overall length of the instrument varies from two to five feet, depending on the skill and the preference of the player.

The qen is in a sense an icon for Hmong culture and plays a major part in several Hmong ceremonies including weddings, New Year celebrations and funerals when it guides the soul on its journey. It is an important means of communicating with the spirit world but may also be used for example to welcome a guest or for entertainment. The qen too translates words into music; as it can play several notes at once the messages it conveys are highly complex. One tune I recorded says ‘dusk insects call- do you miss me- no I’m not interested’.

Both the Hmong ad the Lahu have legends relating to the origin of the reed pipes. They hold that setting the separate pipes in a common gourd or wind chest symbolizes the importance of harmony in communities. Tales also tell us that the Hmong are able to tame tigers with the gen.

Morrisson describes how young boys are to taught to play the qen, mastering the complicated and acrobatic movements that go with the tunes in its repertoire.

Figure 40 Hmong qen player accompanying dancing

The Hmong qen is most often associated with the Hmong funeral ceremony, though in fact there are seven major genres of qen music including wedding, ceremonial and guest-welcoming music.

There are usually several men in each village who have learned the basic ceremonial songs. These players are called upon regularly to perform the qen rituals for all village families, though they are far from being master players. To be a master is to know by heart all of the hundreds of songs in the seven major genre as well as all of the songs in the five funeral sub-categories. To accomplish this is to be highly educated. There are 300 tunes for funerals which players have to learn.The language of the qen songs is reported to hold the entire cultural body of Hmong cosmological knowledge. Not surprisingly, expert qen players are highly respected for their skills. At an important funeral, often there will be several qen players, both experts and amateurs. The amateurs usually play the "filler" or

"detail" songs during the day while the experts play the main genre songs at mealtimes and in the evenings. One ritual involves the player dancing on one leg, standing on his head and doing somersaults close to the edge of a cliff, imitating a bird spirit. In much instrumental music the player is required to dance while laying or perform certain movements (not always so acrobatic) and many find it hard to play while staying still or sitting.

The Khamu and the Mlabri have adopted the Thai-Lao khene, a raft-shaped free reed organ with seven pairs of pipes. I was told that a Mlabri man went to work for a Hmong household near the Laotian border and heard the khene played on Lao radio. As he obviously enjoyed it his boss bought him one and the Mlabri is now a skilled khene player and has passed his skills on to others.

Free reed horns

Figure 41 Karen free reed buffalo horn

Brass free reeds are also inserted into animal horns and these instruments, played notably by the Karen (kwae) and Lua have several uses. The Lua use them to call the spirits before a ceremony. With the Karen the prime function is a call to the harvest or as men were walking to the harvest at dawn, to frighten away tigers. The Karen also play them with gongs and other percussion for a type of sword dance performed on occasions such as weddings. They also

enable young women to assess the strength of the player as they’re particularly hard to blow. The notes are made by alternately blowing and sucking and stopping the end of the horn with one hand. The horns can be made from a deer horn, elephant tusk or buffalo horn; the horn for people with the highest status, only allowed to leaders of sizeable communities, is made from the beak of a hornbill. Wooden horns were also used.

Flutes Most ethnic groups use one type of flute or another. Several types are found.

Duct flute Perhaps the most common is the simple bamboo duct flute, played by most groups. The Lisu call it jyylae, Hmong traa pulay and Karen puloei Normally a six finger hole flute is used but some players have flutes with 7 plus a thumb hole.

The Lisu occasionally use it to play simple tunes to accompany dancing in groups of 6 notes, a longer note preceded by a trip note. In the hands of a skilful player can be a very expressive instrument for entertainment or, traditionally, courting.

A typical instrument is about 18 inches long; a U shaped notch is cut about 3 inches from the top of an open bamboo tube and a round wooden block pushed down the pipe until it directs the air from the player onto the bottom of the U. It has a range of two octaves.

Figure 42 Lisu jyylae player

Sometimes the Lisu flute has an extra hole covered by a membrane of thin plastic like the Thai khlui duct flute or the Chinese dizi transverse flute, adding a nasal quality to the sound.

Figure 43 Membrane-covered hole on Lisu duct flute

The simple duct flute (traa pulay) with identical construction is also commonly used by the Hmong for courting and it, too, has an elaborate vocabulary which it uses to ‘speak’. This Hmong musician first played a tune on his flute then he sang the same in Hmong to show me the words that the instrument was speaking, then he sang it again, translating into Thai for me to understand the meaning. The gist was that his heart was heavy as he was missing his girlfriend.

Figure 44 Hmong duct flute player

The Akha play a very interesting two holed duct flute (jyylyy) about 72 cms. long made from a thick cane which has a block whistle mechanism held in place by twine which directs the air from a first chamber onto the sounding edge. The player uses the first finger of the left hand to cover the top hole and the thumb of the right hand to close the lower hole. The first finger of the right hand is then used to close the bottom end of the flute, normally lowering the pitch. A whole series of notes can be obtained by overblowing

.

Figure 46 block mechanism Figure 45 Akha musician in Baan Apa

.

I recorded a musician playing a tune to his girl-friend hoping she will have sweet dreams.

In Laos there is a larger Akha flute, equipped with a bassoon-like crook which “is played only for funerals. It is kept outside the house, under the roof, and must not be taken inside. Its melody guides the dead person to his new country.” 1

The Kachin also use a long 4 finger hole duct flute with the blowing hole on an external pipe, parallel to the main body of the instrument as in the Bolivian moxena. The Kachin term for it is larung sum hkrang.

The Khamu also have a duct flute with a separate thinner bamboo tube as a mouthpiece, the sounding edge being at the end of an aperture in the main tube.

In addition, they have a long (up to 80cm.) duct flute which is open at both ends but with a node towards the top around which is an aperture leading to the sounding edge. Another Khamu flute (the pii yang chu) has a simple external duct made by splitting a protruding piece of the bamboo. The two split pieces are separated by another thin strip of bamboo. These flutes are usually long and have four finger holes plus one thumb.The sound is very quiet and they can be used solo traditionally as a courting instrument or to play a loosely connected accompaniment to a singer.

pii yang chu duct There is a small Mien duct flute about 25 cms. long which has a mechanism similar to the Akha flute, with a tiny wooden block attached with string above the sounding edge. There are seven finger holes plus one for the thumb.

Figure 47 Mien flute (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

Notch flutes

Figure 48 Black Lahu notch flute player

The Lahu also play a flute with a square notch at the top and between two and five square finger holes, called in Black Lahu lekhachui. The ones I have seen vary in length from 20 to 60 cms. They are made from thin bamboo and have a soft sweet breathy sound and was traditionally played on its own and used for

courting. Notch flutes are the earliest form of flute known and are found in most cultures with a variety of notch types- those of the Andean Indians, for example, (the kena family) nowadays have V-shaped or U-shaped notches; some traditional kenas, however, have the same square notch and finger holes as are found on these lekhachui. The notches on modern Chinese flutes are either V shaped in open bamboo or a heart shape cut from the node as in the xiao. Notch flutes in the Philippines (such as the paldong and pulalu) use a ‘lip-valley notch’ on an open tube rather like those on the Romanian panpipe. As far as I know the square notch is not found in Vietnam or in any other flutes in south east Asia.

Figure 49 Lahu notch flute- blowing notch

Figure 50 Lahu notch flute finger holes

Side flute

Figure 51 Kachin Jingpo side flute player

Most groups also use the side flute either solo or in ensembles. I have recorded them played by the Lisu, Lahu, Karen. Kachin (sum pyi) , Padong and Kokang (they are also played by the Hmong). . The flutes are normally made from thin bamboo with 6 finger holes. They range in size from 28 to 50 cms. Very often it is the second joint of the fingers rather than the ball that is used to cover the finger holes.

The Khamu have an interesting range of side flutes in different sizes, collectively called toot. One I recorded is open at both ends and has two finger holes (for the manner of playing see the section on Khamu music above). Traditionally it was played by women to answer a call made by a man with a mouth harp. She would hum or whisper words while playing, using the flute as a resonating chamber.

Figure 52 Khamu toot player

Another Khamu side flute (the suul) is closed by the node of the bamboo at both ends. This has one finger hole (identical in shape to the blowing hole) close to the end of the instrument and overblowing gives it a wide range of harmonics.

The Kachin also play a variety of side flutes- the Sum pyi and w.psumpyi have six finger holes while the pyi htawt and the longer larung sum pyi have only four.

Panpipes

Figure 53 Pwo Karen panpipe duet

The Padong also play the panpipes as do the Pwo Karen. Panpipes whether in bound sets or as individual tubes are found in every continent and date back as far as 6th millennium BC in Europe, and 4th century AD China. In China its use almost died out in mediaeval times and it has recently been revived as an ancient instrument (paixiao). It does not seem to have been used by the minority peoples. In Korea the so, a 16-piped version, is used exclusively in court ceremonial music. In Vietnam individual tubes are played separately by women of the Ede group (dinh tut). Also in Vietnam the Gia Rai play a set of 13 tubes in a most unusual manner, holding the instrument away from their mouth and playing gently into it rather than across the tubes, producing a gentler sound almost as it it was the wind blowing.

Padong men play them to celebrate the New Year- each man playing a set of two or three tubes like these. The Padong bevel the blowing ends of the tubes (the other end being closed naturally by a node) to make a ‘lip valley’.

Figure 54 Padong man making panpipes

Here a Padong man is making the pipes cutting the blowing edges with a huge machete. The pipes make up a pentatonic scale but the idea seems just to make as much noise as possible rather than playing music with any recognizable structure. The Pwo Karen play them in pairs (male and female), one set consisting of 6 pipes (the female) and one of five.

Figure 55 Padong panpipes blowing edge

Figure 56 Padong panpipes blowing edge 2

One type of flute of great organological interest is a central embouchure overtone flute. In Thailand this is played only by the Lisu, who call it the pilu. In China it is also a favourite instrument of the Jingpo (htu ren, Nda tang) and is now marketed as an ethnic minority instrument (luliang). There is also a central embouchure flute in Laos, played I think by the Khmu. The pilu is interesting on two counts: apart from the central embouchure; it is the only side blown overtone flute I know of. Overtone flutes exist in several cultures including northern and Eastern Europe the seljefløyte and koncovka, for example) and south America (the long Amazonian ritual flutes and their short versions) but all are duct flutes and end blown.

Figure 57 Lisu pilu player

The pilu is made from a long thin tube of bamboo about 75cms long and 1.5 cms in diameter. A square notch is cut one inch off centre and the instrument is side blown. I was told they were used by men or women to attract a mate; if the hole

is in the centre the sound is apparently not as good and the instrument thus less effective. Many of the men and women over 60 that I have met talk animatedly of using the pilu to attract a mate; among younger people it is unheard of. The player uses thumbs or fingers to stop one or both of the two ends of the flute as well as playing it unstopped. The tone is rich in harmonics.

Figure 58 Pilu central embouchure

In former times there was a Chinese flute with central embouchure and 4-5 finger holes (chi); this has no fallen into disuse. The only other centrally- blown transverse flute in China (or anywhere else) now is the tiny koudi, a ‘flute’ about 2 inches long with up to 4 finger holes, which was only invented in 1971.

I have come across one Kayah man who played a koudi but I doubt whether this is a traditional instrument.

Figure 59 Kayah man playing koudi flute

In ancient times, however, they were found in Peru made from the bones of condor birds and as far as I know always had finger holes.

The only reference I have found to the Lisu flute is in Anthony Baines in "Woodwind Instruments and Their History’. He first seems to be describing the Chinese chi with finger holes but from the rest of the description it is clear he is referring to a flute without finger holes. From a study of his instrument he concluded “ Thus with the harmonics, the player has a useful pentatonic scale, b'',c'''#,e''',f'''#,g'''#,b''', and very well in tune."

Other flutes The Lisu also play two unusual flutes that I have not yet found in Thailand. One is a nose flute with two tubes, a melody pipe with four finger holes and a drone pipe, (the nakfo jyylae) which is found amongst the Lisu in China and played at funerals. Examples can be seen in the Museum of the Minorities in Yunnan. The

same or a very similar instrument is also played by indigenous peoples in Taiwan. As far as I know these are the only examples of double piped nose flutes. Unlike most nose flutes they are duct flutes and end-blown rather than transverse type flutes. The Lisu Shae Shae, also in China, play a mouth-blown double duct flute (bizong) with one pipe acting as the drone, probably almost identical to their nose flute. A similar instrument is played by the Kachin (pyi yep).

Figure 60 Lisu double nose flute

Other wind instruments Shawms

Figure 61 Mien shawm player

The Karen and Mien also use the same type of shawm as is common in Thai music (especially for temple processions and funerals) either alone or backed by a percussion group. This is essentially the same instrument as the Northern Thai nae noi. The mouthpiece consists of three pieces: a reed, a blowing shield and a metal tube wrapped in string. The reed is quadruple or sextuple and made from a dried palm leaf. The player uses circular breathing to sustain the melody. Similar instruments with brass bells are widespread in Asia, for example in Vietnam (ken trung), Burma (Hne) and China (suona). The shawm can probably trace its history back to ancient Egypt and the Middle East (where it is still popular under a variety of names) from where it spread to Europe and China.

The Kachin use a longer shawm (pahke), made out of a single piece of wood without a detached bell or blowing shield. This is typical of shawms of the West Asian region, where the bell is an integral extension of the conical tube and both bell and cylindrical body are turned from the same piece of wood, as in the Afghan surnai or the Turkish zurna. The instrument is in two sections and the

greater length gives it a lower tone. It is played accompanied by percussion for festivals such as the manau festivals. It is sometimes made with a curved end.

Figure 62 Kachin musician at the manau festival

Leaf

Figure 63 Black Lahu leaf player

In nearly all groups it is traditional to play tunes on a leaf- often a mango leaf, sometimes peach. I have recorded Shan, Lisu, Lahu, Akha, Lua, and Tai Neua including a Lua ensemble with strings and a leaf. They were often used to call friends or family while in the forest or for courting. Lao Yang describes the way the Hmong use the leaf: “Leaf blowing is like the telephone we use today.

Sometimes it is the only way to communicate with a friend who farms on another mountain. There is a leaf blowing language that you must know in order to communicate. Different tunes mean different things. So you can talk back and forth through songs played on the leaf. There are many different ways to interpret the song. You must understand basic tunes about missing each other, wanting to see each other.”

Idioglottal clarinets The Hmong play an idioglottal clarinet (raj rev les or lei lei) made from a narrow thin bamboo tube with the vibrating reed cut at the top. It has five finger holes and is about 30 cms. long. It is played at right angles to the mouth with the reed fully inserted in the mouth and produces a soft reedy tone, quieter than its free reed cousin. The Kachin pyi man is, I think, a double clarinet with a 6 hole melody pipe plus a drone.

Figure 64 Hmong idioglottal clarinet Victoria Vorreiter collection) idioglottal reed shown in inset

I have recorded another idioglottal reed pipe played by the Khamu, the difference being that in the Khamu version the reed is in a separate thin tube inserted into the top of the body (like one of the Khamu duct flutes). The Khamu have several forms (collectively known as pii); sometimes several tubes of increasing diameter are joined together to make a conical shape. Another form is made from long thin rice stalks. Similar instruments are used by several groups in China. The one I recorded (pii koon rook) had four finger holes and had to be patched up with sellotape (in Khamu language ‘scot’) before it was played. The Khamu use a range of these pipes of different sizes and pitches and given different names.

Khamu pii treuam player The pii treuam consists of two short idioglottal reed pipes which are played simultaneously, one having no finger holes (the drone) and the other 3 finger holes plus thumb.

Figure 65 Khamu pii koon rook player

Horns and trumpets Strangely, in the minority groups I have visited I have come across few horns or trumpets, common in most cultures of the world. The Mien and Akha shaman play an end-blown buffalo horn, but this is the only example I have found. I am told the Lisu in China traditionally used this type of horn (beuchee) to call villagers to a meeting and that traditionally the Khamu also had several types of horns.

Figure 66 Mien shaman horn (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

Figure 67 Mien shaman horn mouthpiece photographs by Victoria Vorreiter

This is surprising in view of the prevalence of buffalo horn free reed instruments.

Generally, however, there seems less use of animal horns than in some cultures where horns from buffaloes or deer are often used as resonators both for wind and string instruments.

The Miao in China blow wooden or bamboo natural trumpets (as well as Chinese shawms) but as far as I know these are not the Hmong Miaos. In Vietnam “for a funeral or village ritual festival, the trumpet called puae can be played to greet visitors in the morning and during cooking or a meal. It thus signals the main event. Small trumpets can be played together with a pair of cymbals. Two small trumpets should be played together--one symbolizes the mother; the other, the father. They are pitched in different keys--the lower fundamental pitch symbolizes the female; the higher, the male.

A water buffalo horn is used in funerals. The Flowery Hmong used to play these horns to chase away tigers and bears, or in battles.” (Hong Thao)

Mouth harps Figure 68 Mien mouth harps with cases (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

The mouth harp is also richly represented in this part of the world and is played by most of the Northern Thai minority groups.. They are the only instruments that women in all groups are allowed to play. They are most often made from bamboo. Traditionally, their most important use was for courting, which was partly why they are increasingly rare today. Unlike other courting instruments, which could be heard easily by the general public, the mouth harp was for private intimate conversations.

All mouth harp types are idioglottal, played by plucking the tongue directly. One type, the most common, is made from bamboo; the Karen use a wooden mouth harp and the Hmong the third type, which is made of metal. Bamboo mouth harps are most commonly played singly; a Lahu musician will play two mouth harps simultaneously and the Kokang, as is often the case in the Chinese minorities, three at the same time. The only instruments I have come across are all single-tongued (in south China and Vietnam there are dual-tongued mouth harps as well). Asian mouth harps are played by putting the blade of the instrument between the lips, (unlike Western mouth harps, which are played between the teeth).

Figure 69 Karen Sgaw man playing wooden mouth harp

The Karen mouth harp, in the hands of a skilful layer can produce a range of clear harmonics and play tunefully as well as rhythmically (it is called sochay). As well as being used for courting the Karen traditionally play the mouth harp to call the soul of another person. This has one of two purposes- the first being to help heal someone, the second being to gain control over them. They apparently also make the mouth harps from the ribs of umbrellas but I have never seen this.

Traditionally, the Lisu also play the mouth harp melodically (magu), though nowadays players are hard to find. It was used as a courting instrument but also to play tunes and accompany dances at the New Year dance ceremonies.

I believe that the Black Lisu play two metal mouth harps together but I have not yet found any.

Figure 70 Black Lahu man playing athra pair

The Lahu play two or more instruments together They are most often played in pairs and are attached to each other by a common string that ends at a bamboo carrying case. Instruments tuned a fifth apart (athra) were used for intimate conversations between young people, and taken up after the couple used the naw to get acquainted. Instruments tuned a fourth apart (ayee) were used by older people to rekindle the feelings of youth, and for divorced or widowed people to attract a new mate. The higher pitched of the pair is considered the female instrument and the lower the male. They performed a musical code with each note corresponding to a spoken syllable but nowadays not only are they rarely played but their language would be understood by very few listeners.

The Kokang play three instruments at once, like the Pumi in China. They also have an unusual technique of holding the instrument in front of the mouth to get the three sounding simultaneously. (I was also told that the Khamu use three instruments simultaneously but I have not seen these).

Figure 71 Mouth harps used by the Kokang

The Akha also use the instrument to talk (it’s called the ya yuu). In one tune I recorded the player explained that he was telling his girl friend he’s lonely standing outside and getting bitten by mosquitoes. In this instance I had to lend the musician a mouth harp. There was a woman in the village who made them.

But after trying all the instruments she had made (about a dozen) he declared them ‘unfit for purpose’. By chance I had in my pocket a mouth harp which I bought over 20 years ago in the Night Bazaar in Chiang Rai. As soon as he tried it his face lit up- ‘this is a real one’ he said and this is the one I recorded.

Figure 72 Hmong musician playing metal mouth harp

But the ability of the instrument to represent speech is best seen the Hmong mouth harp (made of brass) and called nya or ncas which can communicate all the Hmong vowels and some consonants. The instrument is made of a single sheet of brass. The tongue and the frame are separated by a hairline incision, which typically outlines three points. The central point is the longest, ending near the handle, and the base of the tongue is closest to the tip, which is strummed. .

“A boy would come to the house of a girl in the night and the two would pass the ncas back and forth through the holes in the bedroom wall. The quiet tone of the instrument allowed for long romantic conversations without waking the rest of her family.” (Morrison op cit.)

Percussive idiophones: beaters and bells Percussion ensembles consisting mainly of gongs, drums and cymbals are an essential feature of festivals in all groups except the Hmong and Lisu. The Lisu use no percussion instruments except those used by a shaman or as part of a spirit-calling ceremony. The Hmong only use drums intermittently at a funeral and for the New Year parades.

Figure 73 Akha beaters

The Akha use stamping sticks that are pounded on a piece of wood such as a feeding trough on ceremonial occasions. The Lisu also use these beaters during spirit-calling ceremonies. Similar beaters are used in many different parts of the world- I have collected decorative ones from the Amazon, for example.

The Akha also use bamboo clappers made from a single stalk of bamboo, from which two prongs have been cut. The ‘prongs’ are clapped together to accentuate the beat, like the northern Thai khanab.

There is a Shan dance where the dancer beats elaborate rhythmical patterns with two short bamboo sticks. These are also used by the Kayah. The Mlabri also use short bamboo sticks- the hollow ends are struck together to give a lowpitched sound.

In the Htin harvest ceremony held in August, a group of musicians (women from the village) beat short bamboo together to accompany a dance. No other instruments are used and there is no singing. There are five different rhythms each associated with a different dance. The Hrin people I spoke to told me that this was the only traditional music of the Htin in Thailand..The bamboo sticks are cut fresh each year and they must not be played outside the festival. Those that are not broken or destroyed are hung from a banana plant and regarded as sacred (even by Christian Htin).

The Khmu have an interesting instrument called the dav dav, a piece of bamboo at the end of which two forks are cut and struck against the player’s body.

Sometimes a thumb and finger hole are cut and these, along with the open end at the bottom of the tube, are used to change the overtones of the instrument.

The resulting sound is tuneful as well as rhythmical. This instrument is found in several parts of insular South East Asia but only amongst the Khamu in mainland parts.

Figure 74 Khamu dav dav player

As far as I know, scrapers are not used, though the Akha make and sell one in that has the shape and imitates the sound of a frog. Whether they use it and if so for what purpose I don’t know.

As far as I know, rattles, gourds filled with seeds, are only used by shamans.

Bells with clappers, too, are commonly used by shamans. On the left are some Mien shaman bells (collection Victoria Vorreiter). These bells are usually decorated with patterns and figures that bear witness to their importance in rituals.

Figure 75 Mien bells (Victoria Vorreiter collection) photo by Victoria Vorreiter

The Mien also accompany some singing with a bell, which is struck with a small bamboo stick. Many costumes for New Year and other festivals are adorned with silver ornaments such as coins or animal figures which jingle when the wearer moves, thus providing an effective rhythmic component to the accompanying music for dancing.

Figure 76 Mien singers

Gongs and cymbals Bossed metal gongs are played by all the main groups except the Lisu and Hmong, usually along with other percussion instruments, sometimes to accompany dances but more often at temple festivals or weddings. They are usually struck with a soft padded beater but the Kachin use a wooden mallet instead to produce a harder, cymbal-like sound.

Gongs are by far the most important metal instrument in Asia. All are made of bronze in a circular shape with the surface flat or bulging and the rim bent down.

They most probably originated from the region between Tibet and Burma in the 6th century. Traditionally gongs have carried great significance in war, religious occasions, celebrations and musical performances. They were used to make important announcements. They were often credited with strong magic powers, helping to ward off sickness and drive away bad spirits. They were considered a token of prosperity and regarded a having great value.

Figure 77 Gong played in Akha ceremonial music

The Shan mount three or four gongs of different sizes on a wooden frame (mong jum). They are played along with a large goblet drum (see below) and in ensembles. They also use a sort of ‘gong machine’ of four to six or more gongs in which the gongs are struck by beaters attached to one or more levers.

Some ensembles (Kachin) use a pair of large cymbals like the Northern Thai chwae. The Akha, Lahu, Tai Lue and Karen use a smaller pair. The Padong and Mien (and probably other groups as well) also use finger cymbals with a deep cup and small rim. The Shan sometimes play a single cymbal, struck with a wooden beater.

Figure 78 Ka Ya festival ensemble

Drums A variety of membrane drums are used by all groups except the Lisu (I have not found any examples of slit drums though a huge communal slit drum is used by some tribes, particularly the Naga, in Burma).

Figure 79 Black Lahu schoolchildren performing dance with 2 drums and cymbals

Most groups use goblet drums with a single animal skin (mostly buffalo) membrane attached and made tense with a set of laced ropes.

The Lahu use a large single headed wooden goblet drum called jae gho. It is made from a soft wood and a stretched animal hide, usually buffalo and is used to accompany formal dances for festivals and on holy days. It is struck with the open hands and held vertically. The Karen use a similar drum (ta) along with gongs and cymbals at festivals.

Figure 80 Akha goblet drum (Victoria Vorreiter collection) photo by Victoria Vorreiter

The Tai Lue and Palaung use the Thai klawng yao (a goblet drum with narrow waist and broad rim, common in central Thai folk music, see figure …) along with gong and cymbals.

Figure 81 Shan 6 drum set

The Shan use a variety of cylindrical and barrel-shaped drums in the six drum set of Burmese music (chauk-lone-pat) especially in music to accompany stage performances. These include the klawng khaek (small, narrow cylindrical, double sided)and klawng thapon, both played by hand and common in Thai classical music, particularly pi phat ensembles. There is also the klawng that, played with sticks, and a kettle drum that is struck with a beater and is used in ensembles for drama.

Figure … also shows a conical drum hand beaten and slung over the shoulder played by the Ka Ya.

Figure 82 Shan klawng aew player in temple ensemble

The Akha have a shallow double-sided cylindrical drum struck with the finger tips.

The Mien have a similar bowl drum that is struck with a wooden beater (figure 72, 73, 74). The Akha, Palaung, Pa O and Shan also use the Northern Thai klawng aew, a large goblet drum (figure 82).

The Hmong drum is reserved for funerals and death related rituals: “The sound of the drum, therefore, signifies to only death related rituals in

Hmong society. It is the Hmong belief that beating a drum without a corresponding ritual would cause death or disaster for villagers. Hence, very rare ritual performers in Hmong society keep the drum after it has been used. Mostly a drum is built for a certain ritual purpose, then immediately destroyed.” . (Prasit The Politics of Ethnic Tourism in Northern Thailand).The only Hmong drums I have seen are those from the Miao in China who use a large two-headed barrel drum supported on a stand There is also a drum used by the shaman’s helper- I don’t know what type of drum is used. Elders could understand the ‘drum talk.’In some Hmong communities China the large barrel drum is associated with the ‘monkey dance’ performed at a number of festivals and rituals as well as for entertainment- it has now found its way into choreographed performances by pretty young girls for the benefit of tourists.

Figure 83 Akha, Mien and Tai Lue drums

Figure 84 Mien drum (photo by rhythmuseum)

Figure 85 Mien drum with beaters (Victoria Vorreiter collection)

The Kachin include in their festival ensemble a long double-sided drum (chying) made from a tree trunk, brightly decorated, suspended from a wooden frame and struck with a flat beater. It is played by two musicians simultaneously, one at each side. The Pa O and the Wa make a similar drum from a tree trunk, the Wa drum being known as “ge luo”, 2 metres long and 50-60 centimetres in diameter.

The drum is treated with reverence and is a symbol of the cohesion of the group and the authority of the leaders as well as representing higher spiritual powers on earth. It is only used for important communications and solemn festivals. Victoria Vorreiter has found a similar instrument, a fertility drum, played by the Eng Wa. All male members of the community must touch the drum while a musician pounds a steady rhythm.

Figure 86 Kachin festival drum

The Kachin also have a one-sided drum called the ozi, which, along with cymbals is used in another Kachin dance, the Htawng Ka. The traditional Palaung drum is deep and cylindrical about a metre high, slung over the shoulder and normally played in pairs.

Figure 87 Karen bronze drum

Finally, the most famous hill tribe instrument of all, the Karen bronze drum (klo oh tra oh). As James Blades 2 commented: “Another instrument of little musical consequence, but which is nevertheless considered as precious and important to ritual, is the drum gong, a bronze kettledrum.” The drums consist of a hollow cylinder one or two feet high with curving sides with one end covered by a flat plate of thinly beaten bronze. Normally it is suspended and often carried on poles; the plate is struck with a heavy stick. It is customarily decorated with small tree frogs, a n engraved star and concentric circles in which are birds, fishes, other animals and symbols. A large number of frogs on the striking surface indicates a gong of high value. Historical records show it in use as early as the 4th century BC in China, later in Vietnam and they have for many years been used by the Karen. Mien people also use it in China, primarily on three occasions: to summon the souls of the ancestors for the New Year; when somebody of more than five years of age becomes ill; or when a person dies.

The Karen regard it traditionally as calling the ancestor spirits to important occasions as well as inducing rain. They are now played only when there is a major Karen ceremony, often to accompany formal dancing. They are held in great regard and never played outside a formal occasion.

Ensembles The most common ensembles are the groups of gongs, drums and cymbals used on festive occasions. These are found in the Karen, Wa, Akha, Lahu, Kachin, Lua, Mien, Palaung and Shan minorities. Mien percussion ensembles are often joined by the shawm.

Figure 88 Padong ensemble accompanying dancing

The Padong use an ensemble of side flute, violin, guitar,cymbals and voice to accompany dancing. The Kachin also have a group with side flute, shawm or singer plus percussion for dancing at the Manau festival. Traditionally the percussion consists only of the long drum and gongs, cymbals and other sorts of drums not being considered appropriate. The Karen use instruments in a variety of combinations, including harp, lute, violin, bronze drums and other percussion, free reed horns and side flute. One Shan ensemble I recorded consisted of horn violin, Western banjo, a cymbal struck with a wooden beater and a double-sided barrel shaped wooden drum struck with the open palms. The other, which accompanied a drama consisted of horn violin, a rack of three gongs mounted vertically, four sets of tuned gongs mounted horizontally and played on the floor metal xylophone and a battery of five hand struck drums and one beater- struck.

Lua ensembles use mainly the Thai string instruments, sueng and salaw, a two string fretless fiddle.

Instruments are also played in smaller combinations. The Lahu and Black Lisu play reed organ and banjo together; the Kokang add a side flute to the banjo on occasions. The only instance of numbers of the same instrument being played in a band is the Lahu naw- groups of up to ten players may play together for the New Year Dance. The instruments are often tuned differently but keep the same rhythm. Ther may sometimes be two or more Lisu musicians playing together to accompany dancing (either fulu or tseubeu or both) but this is more by accident

than design. If they can, the players play the same tune; if not they play anything they think fits. Musically it is more a coincidence of players than an ensemble.

Summary of musical instruments by class This table shows each indigenous instrument and the class to which it belongs (Sachs/Hornbostel system).

Class Category Types Groups using aerophones flutes duct flutes all main groups duct flute with Lisu membrane duct flute with Akha, Mien external block side flutes Kachin Lisu Padong central Lisu embouchure notch flute Lahu panpipes Padong, Pwo Karen multiple duct Lisu flute nose flute Lisu free reed single pipe Hmong multiple pipes Palaung, Shan gourd wind Lisu, Lahu, Akha chest wooden wind Hmong chest horn Karen, Lua double reed shawm Karen, Mien idioglottal idioglottal Hmong reed clarinet chordophones

lutes

harps bowed lute

idiochordal zither

banjo small boatshaped lute played as zither pear-shaped arched harp violin horn violin spike fiddle bamboo tube zither

Lisu, Akha, Lahu, Kokang Palaung Lahu Karen Karen harp Padong Shan Red Lahu Hmong Shan, Pa O

idiophones

mouth harps

bamboo

all main groups

wood Karen metal Hmong multiple mouth Lahu, Kokang harps stamping sticks clappers concussi ve sticks gourd rattles bells

membranophones

bamboo beaters bamboo sticks

Akha, Lisu Akha Shan, Mlabri, Htin Mien

clapperless handbells handbells with clappers

Mien Mien

gongs

main groups except the Lisu and Hmong

bronze drum cymbals

Karen hand cymbals

drum

finger cymbals goblet conical barrel cylindrical drum bowl drum log drum

Akha, Lahu, Tai Lue, Kachin Karen Padong Karen, Lahu, Akha, Shan, Tai Lue, Palaung Karen Shan Akha Mien Kachin

Leaving aside the instrumentation which is similar to that of Thai music, there seem to be four main groups defined in terms of their main instruments. First, music dominated by free reeds and banjo (Akha, Lisu- these two can be differentiated by the Akha’s use of percussion). Second, free reeds and zither like guitar (Lahu, percussion also present). Third, free reeds with little use of stringed instruments (Hmong); and finally plucked string instruments and percussion ensembles (Karen and Palaung).

Summary of instruments in context

This table lists each type of instrument and notes whether it is played by males or females, solo or in ensembles, and for what purpose (courting, entertainment, dancing or ceremonies) courting entertainment dancing ceremonies instrument player solo? duct flutes male solo ♫ ♫ ♫ duct flute male solo ♫ ♫ with external block side flutes male ensemble ♫ ♫ central male or solo ♫ embouchur female e notch flute male or solo ♫ ♫ female panpipes male ensemble ♫ single free male solo ♫ ♫ reed pipe multiple male solo ♫ ♫ pipes gourd wind male normally ♫ ♫ ♫ chest pipes solo wooden male solo ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ wind chest pipes free reed male both ♫ horn shawm male both ♫ banjo male normally ♫ ♫ solo small boat- male solo or ♫ ♫ shaped lute accompa ny singing lute played male or accompa ♫ as zither female ny singing arched harp male accompa ♫ ♫ ny singing violin female ensemble ♫ ♫ horn violin male ensemble ♫ spike fiddle male solo ♫ mouth harp

male or female

solo

♫

♫

bamboo tube zither bamboo beaters bamboo sticks handbells

male

both

♫

female

ensemble

♫

♫

male or female male

ensemble

♫

♫

hand cymbals finger cymbals drums

male male or female male

♫

accompany singing ensemble

♫

♫

ensemble

♫

♫

ensemble

♫

♫

The instruments fall broadly into 4 classes: those played mainly for private communication (including courting) and personal entertainment (leaf, mouth harps, pilu, most flutes) those used mainly for dancing and social entertainment (free reed pipes, harp, banjo) those used in or reserved for formal and religious ceremonies (all the percussion, free reed horns, shawms) those that have specific non-musical uses (like the free reed horn, and rainmaking instrument)

The impact of modernization The music of the minorities must have changed periodically over the years, influenced by neighbouring or culturally dominant groups. In 1981 Larsen commented: “There is little risk that Lisu music or any other single tribal music will disappear by way of inter-tribal acculturation. What can be feared is that the tribal cultures as a whole will disintegrate under the pressure of the heavy economic, social and political problems that haunt the area.”

There is no doubt that since he wrote that minority cultures have been put under heavy strain, with fundamental changes in them taking place and much traditional music lost or diluted.

How has traditional music suffered?

1. It no longer plays a central part in many everyday activities 2. live music is no longer the main source of entertainment 3. fewer people play, sing or appreciate it- this is especially noticeable in the young 4. some has been blended with Thai or Western music; non-traditional music may be played on traditional instruments; traditional music may be played

on modern instruments; music may be played and sung in a modern way but in the local language 5. music may be written down and dances choreographed for performances rather than played spontaneously in their original context 6. some music and instruments have become rarer or have disappeared 7. standards of musicianship and the making of instruments have declined 8. young people have to be specially taught rather than acquiring it naturally from a family member 9. music is no longer effective in cementing community togetherness 10. instead of transmitting values and practical knowledge, songs are seen as containing quaint legends 11. rituals involving music are seen as performances rather than the essential form of communication with the spirits Two specific examples: the mouth harp used to be played, often in a sort of coded language, while courting. Now the instrument is hard to find and mostly played by old people for their own entertainment. A Lisu woman in her late thirties told me she had been wooed by her husband with the reed organ on which he was such a skilful player that other women warned her he would be irresistible to many women. Nowadays a woman is more likely to be impressed by a suitor’s Honda Dream than his prowess on the mouth harp

Influences The main influences on the music, which for the most part have been detrimental, have been: 1 the spread of media technology 2 tourism 3 the fading of animist beliefs largely as a result of the spread of Christianity 4 the assimilation of minorities into Thai society.

5 economic development

Tourism Superficially, tourism appears to encourage the survival of traditional music.

Traditional dances are popular with tourists and the performers often see some reward for their music making. But performances for tourists are very selective in what they promote, choosing mainly exotic dances in colourful costumes. There is very little concern for standards of performance. Essentially, tourism promotes a packaged view of the primitive. Musical styles are not only diluted beyond recognition but are also divorced from their proper context.

Many of the raw features that make up the diversity of traditional music such as harder to play instruments, rougher singing styles are ironed out in the process of making the music a manufactured image. In its extreme form, special tourist villages have been set up, especially in Chiang Rai and Mae Hong

Son provinces, such as those where Padong and Kayaw people are held. The inhabitants sell mass-produced souvenirs and perform a few desultory dances for tourists.

Similar situations exist in China and Burma, where the authorities encourage sanitized performances to the detriment of traditional forms of music making.

Christianity and the fading of animist beliefs As a result of the work of missionaries from the beginning of the last century, many hilltribes villages have been converted to Christianity. In contrast with Buddhism, which seems to coexist happily with traditional beliefs and practices, Christianity has had a generally harmful effect, both directly and indirectly.

Several times I have been to villages and asked if there is traditional music there, to receive the answer “No, we’re Christian.” Sometimes missionaries forbade traditional music and dances; the new religion also undermined the animist beliefs which have provided the life blood of so much music. Some Christian branches were more severe than others and some hilltribes resisted the influence more successfully than others. The Akha, for example, some to have seen their way of life and traditional culture eroded by Christianity with traditional ceremonies involving music and dancing banned.

I recently visited several Akha villages- the only Christian villages with musicians were those whose members performed cultural shows for tourists.

Karen people seem to have fared better, possibly in part because many of the missionaries there were Catholic. I understand that initially missionaries banned all dancing and festivals with music. The words on this Christian website posted without comment, are revealing: “Along with Christianity the missionaries brought Christian hymns from their lands. The Karen enjoyed the hymns and, although not forced to, began to drop their traditional songs for the hymns. Only a few of their traditional songs have been modified and added to their hymnbook.” Some Karen, however, protested and took the matter up with the church authorities. As a result the policy was relaxed. Today there are numerous Christian Karens who have kept traditional music alive and music is present in festivals in Christian villages. Nevertheless, hymns are sung at Karen Christian festivals in such a way that the music could from anywhere in South East Asia, South America or the South Seas.

The only minority group I visited where I failed to get any traditional music is the Parauk. At the only Parauk village in Northern Thailand, they told me they only had one musical instrument, a guitar which could be plugged in at the church. I recorded one song, which was a very obviously Western hymn tune with Parauk words which the singer read from a hymnal.

The spread of media and media technology One specific case: many hill tribe households received large numbers of these solar cells free from the Government in Thaksin’s last days. The difference in the Lisu village I go to was noticeable, with the sound of the tseubeu and fulu this year often being drowned by televisions and CD players. Increasingly, festivals feature impressive sound systems (which have an effect on the music) and often recorded rather than live music.

Several town-based minority peoples’ organizations have produced CD’s of their traditional music (mostly the more formal festival type of music recorded in studios) but these are not widely known. At the Karen cultural festival I attended there was a mountain of Christian books in the Karen language but not a single example of Karen music on display.

The so-called ‘Seven tribes’ radio station which broadcasts in hill tribe languages also does a good job of reminding the listeners of what traditional music sounds like but they play very few examples. As more hill tribes people understand Thai and have access to Thai television (and the mobile phone network spreads over more rural areas), it is listened to less and less.

Assimilation of hill tribes into Thai society As Larsen noted assimilation into Thai society normally results in the breakdown of traditional customs. Numbers of villages have been relocated in the lowlands and provided with electricity, sometimes as part of a deal to stop them carrying out traditional slash and burn agriculture and cultivating opium.. Young people prefer to listen to Thai pop music; in hill tribe schools I visited the children were only taught Thai music, apart from one or two dances which were reserved for special performances. Few young people understand the words of traditional songs, which often use outmoded vocabulary, Several times I have asked educated hillltribes people the meaning of a song and they reply ‘You’ll have to ask someone who hasn’t been to school.’

More and more young hill tribes people are studying and working in towns where many try to be as ‘Thai’ as possible, including adopting the language and taste for popular music of their Thai peers. Some will return to their villages but nearly all will have lost any knowledge of or interest in the old songs or instruments.

Sometimes, however, assimilation into Thai society encourages minority people (e.g. the Karen) to preserve their music almost in defiance, as a way of retaining their separate identity. Assimilation ought to make it easier for minority groups to get official support and help in preserving their culture but so far minority music does not seem to have aroused much interest from the Thai public.

For the Thai authorities the process of assimilating minorities seems to involve their abandoning most of their cultural heritage.

Economic development As more and more hill tribes move to towns or lowland communities, the traditional events associated with farming disappear and with them the music that was an integral part. One Hmong musician asked me to make him copies of the music I had recorded so he could send them to his children, working in Bangkok, to show them ‘what real Hmong music is like’. The numerous road improvement projects have made travel to and from many hilltribes villages easier , thus breaking down the isolation which has allowed much of the traditional culture to flourish. With prosperity and an end to dependence on long hours spent in the fields comes more leisure time but this is rarely devoted to making traditional music. Young people no longer wish to carry out the traditional farming occupations so many of which are associated with music.

Figure 89 the new hilltribes music (photo from internet)?

New music Perhaps the music will survive but radically modernized- already there are numerous Akha, Hmong and Karen musicians who play Western inspired rock in their own language and there’s even a Hmong rapper. Several Karen musicians set out to make their music more like Thai pop or ‘songs for life’ and often compose songs in Thai. There are numerous CD’s produced by these musicians in studios which combine traditional and modern instruments. The performances by hill tribes musicians and dancers which are common in some khantoke dinners and ‘cultural festivals’ often appear to try and bring the music and

dancing closer to Thai popular styles, rendering it graceful and easy on the ear but with little individuality or real cultural interest.

Some traditional music has been adapted by the Christian churches. From the point of view of someone interested in the music it is better to have traditional tunes incorporated into church music than have Western hymns sung in the local language. At the annual Karen Christian festival I attended two of the dozen or so songs sung were traditional tunes, sung by a 120-voice choir with very Western harmonies. The result was not unattractive and it would not, I think, be a bad thing if this sort of music could co-exist with more traditional forms.

Traditional music has, of course, over the years, changed and assimilated other influences but I doubt whether a whole body of traditional music has been under threat to the extent it is today. So far I have only scratched the surface of this music but I am hoping that the traditional sounds will be around for another few years for me to delve a bit deeper.

John Moore

Sources • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Fraser-Lu, Sylvia Frog drums and their importance in Karen culture 1983 Larsen, HP The music of the Lisu of Northern Thailand 1984 Liu, Jing-Rong A Study on the Culture of the Dance of Lahu Nationality Becker, JO Music of the Pwo Karen of Northern Thailand 1964 SCHLIESINGER, JOACHIM. Ethnic Groups of Thailand : Non-Taispeaking Peoples. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2000.

Poss, N. The communication of verbal content on the Hmong Raj: an ethnographic analysis of performance practice 2005 Stern, T. “I pluck my harp”: Musical acculturation among the Karen of Western Thailand 1971 Lewis, P Sounds of the Peoples of the Golden Triangle (CD or 2 cassettes) Fan Zuyin Polyphonic Folk Songs In China: An Overview MILLER, TERRY and WILLIAMS, SHAUN, eds. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Vol. 4: Southeast Asia.

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Uchida, Ruriko and Catlin, Amy Music of Upland Minorities in Burma, Laos and Thailand in Miller op cit.

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