============================================================== |SJD's Fifth annual conference is June 30-July 2, 2000. We're| |almost there. Please help the hosting crew by registering if| |you plan to attend the conference. Log on to the conference | | homepage at http://www.satjadham.net/sjd5sd/ | ============================================================== While in Thakek, I also saw Lum Leuang (folk music and dancing) for the first time. It was at one of my relatives who died from alcoholism. This stage playing was colorful with its lively backdrop. The acting was okay. What fascinated me was the sound of Khene (Lao musical instrument) and the Lum (singing). I didn't know why the sound of Khene reverberated in me as if it were the sound from the bottom of my own heart. Still, I couldn't tell what it was exactly. The sound was kind of sad and alive at the same time. Maybe, it captured the spirit of our people who had to endure both the pain and pleasure of life. It was pain in the sense that we, as a people, had to constantly leave our homeland as a victim of war especially with the Siamese. Many of them were relocated as far as around Bangkok, namely at Sarabury. Wherever they were, the sound of Khene was with them. It was a way to let the world know that they were Lao and would die as a Lao. At the same time, it was a pleasure because it was the nature of Lao people who always have fun in their hearts. Even today, Lao people are content with the least convenience of what life has to present. It was said that, "He who inhabits a pile house, eats sticky rice, and plays the khene, he is a true Lao." Usually, when you heard the Khene playing, you would hear Lum accompanying it. What is a Lum? To some who know, they would say that it is a direct relationship between tone and pitch. To me, it is a sound coming straight from the Lao soul. Lum is not an ordinary singing but a wisdom passed down from generations to generations. It told of past legends, heroes, and the good old days. As recently as in the seventies, Lum was a way to hold Khuam Penh Lao for the ethnic Lao living in Isan (Northeastern Thailand). Also in Lum, you would find Pa-nyah (a contest of wit). Included here is a sample of Pa-nyah. (male) O my dear, I wish to ask you about the big tree in the center of the woods if I may. I want to know whether many people live there. A black crow wishes to eat the fruit of that tree and smell its fragrance. But I am not handsome; I am black as the crow. (Are you married or single? I love you but I fear I will not succeed because I am ugly.) (female) O my dear, I am like a small tree on the heights waiting for the rain to pour down. If the fifth month (April) comes but brings no rain, the small tree will soon die. (I am single and want a boyfriend). (male) Can this really be true? A big tree without a ghost or a pretty girl without a lover would burst the breast of Nang Tawranee (the goddess who protects the earth). If the ghost who protects the fields (pee da-haek) has no coconut shell (water bowl), the earth will dry up in dust. If you are pretty, you must already have a lover. (I can not believe that you have no lover.) (female) My dear, since the time when I was a seedling there were no vines to entwine themselves around me. Now that I am a sapling, still no vine embraces me. (I have no boyfriend.) (male) You say that the tree has no vines, but why then is it overgrown? If the place under the house is too small, how can you keep a buffalo there? I want to die and become a water bowl which will be warmed when you hold it. O, luck, why do you not come to help me live with her? (The implication is that she is lying.) (female) I was a virgin pure like a daeng jing melon. Since I became a girl (Sao) no boyfriend has slept with me. Since I became a girl no boyfriend has talked with me. You are the first one I've met. Please protect me and keep me as your lover. I will never forget you. For those who are interested, you can check out the book entitled "Traditional music of the Lao: Kaen playing and Mawlum singing in Northeast Thailand" by Terry E. Miller, published in 1985. (to be continued) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ _ ***************************************************************** To reach ALL SJD members, please send to sjd@satjadham.net ... Do NOT include any other addresses when sending to the list... Include as LITTLE of the original messages as possible........ Message sent by: LanXang Siengkhene *****************************************************************