LUNDSTRÖM A unique work but of interest to many musicologists Today, the Kammu are an upland people mainly found I Will Send in Laos, Yunnan, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam. This people – who have retained their orally based culture through to the present day – provide an example of complex sung poetry that has seldom been studied in My Song detail. What this volume offers is an ethnomusicological Kammu Vocal Genres in presentation of one person’s vocal performance of rather I WILL SEND MY SONG I the Singing of Kam Raw highly varied sets of words in different manners of per form- ance, and the use of these competences in communication with other singers. This orally transmitted form of singing is unique to the Kammu but is related to a much larger complex in Southeast Asia. It will thus be of interest to a wide group of musicologists. Håkan Lundström has a long experience in teaching music and society, particularly ethnomusicology, folk music, world music and popular music. Currently, he is Dean of the Malmö Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, Lund University, Sweden. His book, Kammu Songs (co- authored with Damrong Tayanin, and also published by NIAS Press), is a companion work to this volume. www.niaspress.dk Håkan Lundström Lundstrom-2_pbk-cover.indd 1 11/16/09 8:04 AM I WILL SEND MY SONG - I will sendKORR090531.indd 1 09-05-31 19.36.14 By the same author Kammu Songs. The Songs of Kam Raw Håkan Lundström and Damrong Tayanin Other books on the Kammu world published by NIAS Press Folk Tales from Kammu – I: A Kammu Story Listener’s Tales Kristina Lindell et al. Folk Tales from Kammu – II: A Story-Teller’s Tales from Thailand and Laos Kristina Lindell et al. Folk Tales from Kammu – III: Pearls of Kammu Literature Kristina Lindell et al. Folk Tales From Kammu – IV: A Master-Teller’s Tales Kristina Lindell et al. Folk Tales from Kammu – V: A Young Story-Teller’s Tales Kristina Lindell et al. Folk Tales from Kammu – VI: A Teller’s Last Tales Kristina Lindell et al. The Kammu Year Kristina Lindell et al. Hunting and Fishing in a Kammu Village Damrong Tayanin & Kristina Lindell Pp. ii, iv.indd 1 10/11/09 11:15:32 I WILL SEND MY SONG KAMMU VOCAL GENRES IN THE SINGING OF KAM RAW Håkan Lundström Pp. ii, iv.indd 2 10/11/09 11:15:32 First published in 2010 by NIAS Press Leifsgade 33, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark tel (+45) 3532 9501 • fax (+45) 3532 9549 email: [email protected] • website: www.niaspress.dk © Håkan Lundström 2010 All rights reserved. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Lundstrom, Hakan I will send my song : Kammu vocal genres in the singing of Kam Raw. - (Kammu worlds ; 1) 1. Khmu’ (Southeast Asian people) - Laos - Songs and music - Texts 2. Khmu’ (Southeast Asian people) - Laos - Songs and music - History and criticism 3. Folk songs, Lao - Interpretation (Phrasing, dynamics, etc.) 4. Folk songs, Lao - History and criticism 5. Folk songs, Lao - Texts I. Title 782.4’2162’009594 ISBN: 978-87-9111-423-6 (hbk) 978-87-9111-432-8 (pbk) Typeset by NIAS Press Printed in Singapore by Mainland Press Pte Ltd Pp. ii, iv.indd 3 10/11/09 11:15:32 I will send my song... To Kayo - I will sendKORR090531.indd 5 09-05-31 19.36.14 I will send my song... i - I will sendKORR090531.indd 6 09-05-31 19.36.14 I will send my song... CONTENTS Figures ii Preface ix Kammu Pronunciation x Symbols and Abbreiations xi PROLOGUE: A DEPARTURE 1 1. INTRODUCTION 3 2. KAM RAW – HIS CULTURAL AND MUSICAL BACKGROUND 27 3. VOCAL GENRES OTHER THAN FOR FEASTS 47 4. Tƒ≤ƒM PERFORMANCES 71 5. ELABORATE Tƒ≤ƒm PERFORMANCES 89 6. NATURE IMAGERY AND MEANING 121 7. Tƒ≤ƒM DIALOGUES 139 8. CONCLUDING DISCUSSION 163 EPILOGUE: A RETURN 177 APPENDICES: 1. GLOSSARY OF KAMMU TERMS AND NAMES 181 2. Index of KAM RAW’S REPERTOIRE 185 3. RECORDINGS AND SAMPLES 195 4. SONG TRANSCRIPTIONS 201 5. MUSIC TRANSCRIPTIONS 203 6. CONTENTS OF COMPACT DISC 219 Sources 223 References 223 Index 235 ii - I will sendKORR090531.indd 7 09-05-31 19.36.15 I will send my song... FIGURES Plates 1 Yàan, bronze drum 30 2 Trà kntìik, stamping tubes 31 3 Kltɔ̀ɔŋ, concussion tubes 32 4 Kam Raw and Lɛ́ɛŋ ‘Yɔ́ɔn 44 5 Kam Raw teaching how to read Kammu text 45 6 Lɛ́ɛŋ ‘Yɔ́ɔn singing 158 7 Lɛ́ɛŋ ‘Yɔ́ɔn singing and Kam Raw listening 158 8 Kam Raw singing and Lɛ́ɛŋ ‘Yɔ́ɔn listening 159 9 Kam Raw singing 159 Maps 1 Map of north-western Laos 7 2 Map of the Yùan area in northern Laos 28 Music transcriptions: Appendix 5 203 In addition: 68 examples, figures and tables . - I will sendKORR090531.indd 8 09-05-31 19.36.15 I will send my song... PREFACE Many years have now passed since Dr Kristina Lindell at Lund University, Sweden, first introduced me to Kam Raw and her research project on Kammu language and culture. At one time she also let me listen to a few recordings of Kammu songs. They sounded different to me from anything I had heard before. After that Kam Raw and I worked together with recorded songs, talked about their meaning and how they were used. I started to make music transcriptions, but there were things that I couldn’t understand particularly concerning their form and varying lengths. It soon became clear that there were some basic principles in the singing that I needed to sort out if I wanted to make meaningful transcriptions and analysis. It was also evident that this would need a large material and it took many years to get the material and to analyse it. In the meantime our work focussed on Kammu musical instruments and their uses and functions. This book, which also became my PhD thesis in musicology is the result of this longdrawn process. It was the research environment including Kam Raw, Dr. Kristina Lindell and linguist Professor Jan-Olof Svantesson, that provided the setting for the work and we have cooperated regularly. It also provided the system of transliteration of the Kammu language that is used in this book. Needless to say, this could not have been achieved without the long-term support provided by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation, who also supported the printing of this book, the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation. ix - I will sendKORR090531.indd 9 09-11-16 14.20.55 KAMMU PRONUNCIATION a Like German ‘Stadt’ e Like English ‘bait’ ƒ Like English ‘the’ ∫ Like English ‘bet’ i Like English ‘bit’ fl Somewhat like English ‘soot’ but unrounded o Like English ‘boat’ œ Like English ‘hot’ Œ Like English ‘cut’ u Like English ‘boot’ c Like English ‘check’ ñ Like English ‘new’ … Like English ‘song’ r Like Italian ‘r’ y Like English ‘you’ ¶ Glottal stop Long owels: Long vowels are indicated by double letters, for example: ƒƒ Like English ‘hurt’ ƒ Like English ‘the’ ii Like English ‘beat’ i Like English ‘bit’ Word tones: ´ High word tone ` Low word tone Minor syllables: Certain consonant combinations at the beginning of words are pronounced with a short ‘ƒ’ after one of the consonants, such as hrl«≥fl (pronounced hƒrl«≥fl) or trnƒ≥ƒm (pronounced tƒrnƒ≥ƒm). These so called schwa vowels are almost inaudible in speech but often clearly audible in singing. They are therefore written out only in words given in combination with musical transcriptions. x - I will sendKORR090531.indd 10 09-05-31 19.36.15 SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS In word-for-word translations, the translation is placed below the Kammu words. When plants and animals cannot be given their scientific names the words are only translated by the category ‘tree’, ‘plant’, ‘bird’ etc. given in italics. The same goes for categories like ‘name’, ‘title’, ‘measure’ etc. Apart from this the following signs are used: 0 meaning unknown, [?] meaning uncertain, [ ] (in Kammu text:) inaudible, obvious mistake, [ ] (in English text:) explanation, Alt. alternative words or lines of a trnƒ≥ƒm are given immediately after the interpretation, clf classifier, exp expressive (the word in question expresses a certain quality such as how something looks, sounds or feels), exp beat expresses how one beats, exp look expresses how something looks, exp sound expresses how something sounds, here special use, n noun, p particle, pro pronoun, verb, V, ar variation. Code numbers of songs: Code in the right-hand column, for example ‘7c1’. Code numbers of lines: Code in the right-hand column, for example ‘2b1’ referring to the model in Example 35. xi - I will sendKORR090531.indd 11 09-05-31 19.36.15 - I will sendKORR090531.indd 12 09-05-31 19.36.15 PROLOGUE: A DEPARTURE A number of people are gathered in a house in Lampang in northern Thailand on 19 July 1974. Among the people is a man in his mid-30s who comes from Laos and belongs to the ethnic group called Kammu. Very soon he will leave this place and go half-way around the world to Sweden. What he certainly doesn’t know is that more than thirty years later he will still be there. His name is Kam Raw, but he is also known by his Thai name, Damrong Tayanin. This is a farewell party in the Lampang Field Station of the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. It also happens to be a birthday party for Kristina Lindell, Swedish field-linguist who will accompany Kam to Sweden.