Hmong Music in Northern Vietnam: Identity, Tradition and Modernity Qualification: Phd

Access to Electronic Thesis Author: Lonán Ó Briain Thesis title: Hmong Music in Northern Vietnam: Identity, Tradition and Modernity Qualification: PhD This electronic thesis is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No reproduction is permitted without consent of the author. It is also protected by the Creative Commons Licence allowing Attributions-Non-commercial-No derivatives. If this electronic thesis has been edited by the author it will be indicated as such on the title page and in the text. Hmong Music in Northern Vietnam: Identity, Tradition and Modernity Lonán Ó Briain May 2012 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music University of Sheffield © 2012 Lonán Ó Briain All Rights Reserved Abstract Hmong Music in Northern Vietnam: Identity, Tradition and Modernity Lonán Ó Briain While previous studies of Hmong music in Vietnam have focused solely on traditional music, this thesis aims to counteract those limited representations through an examination of multiple forms of music used by the Vietnamese-Hmong. My research shows that in contemporary Vietnam, the lives and musical activities of the Hmong are constantly changing, and their musical traditions are thoroughly integrated with and impacted by modernity. Presentational performances and high fidelity recordings are becoming more prominent in this cultural sphere, increasing numbers are turning to predominantly foreign- produced Hmong popular music, and elements of Hmong traditional music have been appropriated and reinvented as part of Vietnam’s national musical heritage and tourism industry. Depending on the context, these musics can be used to either support the political ideologies of the Party or enable individuals to resist them. Access to an unprecedented diversity of musical styles has also led to an enhanced reverence for traditional music. While older musicians bemoan the changes to traditional practices, younger ones ensure the sustainability of the tradition by manipulating it in response to fluctuating contexts. Based on fifteen months of fieldwork with the Vietnamese-Hmong community, my descriptions and analyses of this musical culture illustrate how people use music to position themselves socially in contemporary Vietnam. This thesis demonstrates how identities and boundaries are negotiated through musical activities that principally serve to make Hmong notions about life articulate. Case studies of individuals and groups of musicians, contextualised by relevant social, political and economic data, illustrate the depth and breadth of Hmong musics in northern Vietnam. Part I of the thesis introduces the research and outlines the history of the Vietnamese-Hmong, part II focuses on female and male traditional music and ritual practices, and part III examines how the Hmong are engaging with the diverse musical world in which they live. Table of Contents Acknowledgements viii List of Figures x DVD Contents xiv Audio Tracks xiv Video Tracks xiv Notes on Language xvii Part I The Research Platform Introduction 1 Research Questions 5 Literature Review 9 Research Methodology 18 Structure of the Thesis 21 Prelude 1 Hmong Pay Deference to the Party 26 Chapter 1 A History of the Hmong and their Music in Vietnam 29 1.1 Early History of the Hmong 29 1.2 The Beginnings of Transnationalism 31 1.3 1954 to 1975 in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam 39 1.4 Early Years in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1975 to the 43 mid-1990s) 1.5 Life in and beyond Contemporary Vietnam 46 1.6 Conclusions 53 Part II Traditional Music in Rural Communities Prelude 2 Drinking Songs 56 Chapter 2 Three Women and Their Songs 60 2.1 On Song Categorisation 61 2.2 The Nine-year-old Bride 63 2.3 The Horticultural Lover 69 2.4 The Cultural Ambassador 74 2.5 Conclusions: Why Hmong Women Sing 78 Prelude 3 From Vocal to Instrumental Music 80 Chapter 3 Three Men and Their Instruments 83 3.1 Traditional Musical Instruments of the Vietnamese-Hmong 83 3.1.1 The Hmong Qeej 89 3.2 The Elderly Craftsman 91 3.3 The Established Master 100 3.4 The Young Innovator 105 3.5 Conclusions: Why Hmong Men Play 113 Prelude 4 Inviting the Ancestors to Feast 116 Chapter 4 Ritual Music, Animism and Shamanism 118 4.1 The New Year Rituals 119 4.1.1 Changing the Paper Altar 124 4.2 Animist Hmong Mortuary Rituals 137 4.2.1 Ritual Music for the Deceased 139 4.3 Conclusions 148 Part III Incorporation, Mediation and Appropriation of Hmong Music Prelude 5 The Victoria Hotel Show 150 Chapter 5 Incorporated Ethnicity: Music, Tourism and 153 Cosmopolitanism in Sapa 5.1 The Transformation of Sapa 154 5.2 Formal Shows for Tourists 156 5.2.1 The Cát Cát Village Show (18 December 2009) 158 5.3 Informal Shows for Tourists 167 5.3.1 The Love Market (9 January 2010) 168 5.4 Conclusions 177 Prelude 6 Happy to be Born Hmong 181 Chapter 6 Mediated Messages: Music and the Hmong Transnational 183 Community 6.1 Locating the Homeland and Diaspora Communities 184 6.2 The Imagined Musical Community 186 6.2.1 Music Copyright and Censorship in Vietnam 187 6.2.2 A New World Information Order 189 6.2.3 Video Compact Discs (VCDs) 192 6.2.4 Mobile Phones and Mp3 Technology 201 6.2.5 The Internet 206 6.2.6 Limitations of the Industry in Vietnam 209 6.3 The “Real” Musical Community 212 6.4 Implications for the Vietnamese-Hmong 217 6.5 Conclusions 222 Prelude 7 Hmong Pay Deference to the Party 224 Chapter 7 Appropriated Traditions: Viet Versions of Hmong 226 Traditional Music 7.1 Musicking for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 227 7.2 The Hmong Reed Flute 230 7.3 Viet-Hmong Musical Fusions 237 7.3.1 “Đêm Trăng Bản Mèo” 237 7.3.2 “Xuân Về Bản Mèo” 244 7.4 Comparison with Hmong Players 251 7.5 Conclusions: Music, Power and the Politics of Representation 256 Conclusion Reflections and Implications 259 Appendix A Glossary of Hmong Language Terms 265 Appendix B Glossary of Vietnamese Language Terms 269 References 271 Discography/ 289 Videography Acknowledgements I owe thanks to a number of people who helped me during the research and writing of this thesis. In Sheffield, I thank first and foremost my supervisors, Andrew Killick and Jonathan Stock. Katie Van Buren and the staff and students in the Music Department, the Folklore Discussion Group, and the Research Training Programme have also been very helpful at various points during the research. I also gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance which I have received from the University of Sheffield which has permitted me the time to focus on this work. A number of other scholars and friends have contributed through their encouragement, guidance and support. I extend my sincere gratitude to Christine Bonnin, Amy Catlin, Christian Culas, Catherine Falk, Bernard Huber, Mick Maloney, Jean Michaud, Laudan Nooshin, Barley Norton, Patricia Symonds, Nicholas Tapp and Sarah Turner. Choua Lee and Moua Thao of the American-Hmong community were particularly helpful with reviewing the song texts and discussing Hmong popular music. Throughout the course of my studies I benefited from reading and contributing to the British Forum for Ethnomusicology (BFE), Public Folklore (PUBLORE) and Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) listservs, and the Vietnam Studies Group (VSG) online forums. Towards the end of my research I benefited greatly from discussions at the Hannover Doctoral Workshop. In Vietnam, a number of individuals and institutions have assisted me throughout the research period. I am very grateful to the staff of the Viện Văn hóa Nghệ thuật Việt Nam (Vietnamese Institute for Culture and Arts Studies) with whom I was affiliated during my fieldwork. I also benefited from discussions with staff members of and scholars associated with the Viện Nghiên Cứu Âm Nhạc (Vietnamese Institute for Musicology). I also want to acknowledge the help of the following people: Giàng A Minh, Giàng A Sài, Giàng Seo Gà and family, Giàng Thị Lang and family, Giàng Thị Chi and family, Giàng Thị Mu, Giàng Thị viii Say, Hàng Thị Chau, Hàng Thị Lee, Khương Văn Cường, Lương Kim Vĩnh, Lỳ Thị May, Nguyễn Ngọc Khánh, Nguyễn Thuyết Phong, Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, Sùng Thị Mu, Thào A Sáng, Thào A Páo, Thảo Thị Sung, Triệu Tiến Vương and Trịnh Lô Trung. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends for their unwavering support. Thank you especially to my parents for their patience and understanding, and to Emily for all of the conversations which have contributed so much to this thesis. ix List of Figures 1.1 Sùng Thị Mai performs at Hiền Lương bridge, Quảng Trị province in 1962. 27 1.2 Scottish Geographical Society, 1886 Map of Indochina. 34 1.3 Hmong boy playing a qeej, taken c.1934-5 by Olov Robert Thure Janse, an 38 archaeologist who worked in Tonkin. 1.4 Locals make their way across a makeshift raft bridge in Lạng Sơn province 44 following the collapse of a bridge in the background. 1.5 Nation-states with significant Hmong populations. 46 1.6 Population growth of the Hmong in Vietnam. 48 1.7 Map of northern Vietnam, 2004. 49 1.8 Map of Lào Cai province. 52 2.1 Sùng Thị Mu watches herself singing on camcorder with the author, 16 65 June 2010. Photograph by Bernhard Huber. 2.2 A transcription of the first four phrases of Giàng Thị Mu’s nkauj cog nplej. 71 3.1 Some traditional musical instruments of the Hmong which are also found in 84 the core Viet and Chinese music traditions. 3.2 Partial outline of a conceptual diagram of Hmong traditional musical 87 instruments based on Kartomi’s downward logical division.

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