La musique des Hmong: Now available online

Eric Mareschal. La musique des Hmong. Paris: Musée Guimet, 1976.

Mareschal's La Musique des Hmong has long been cited as one of the first and most comprehensive sources on Hmong music Laos. Unfortunately, it also also been almost impossible to get. I try every couple of years to get a copy to no avail. There are only a few copies in international libraries and no one is willing to lend it out. I recently found out that Eric Mareschal has uploaded a .pdf of the work to the website Scribd.

For someone like me who is interested in Hmong music and history, this is a pretty monumental event. I've only skimmed the contents, but the amount of detail the book contains is incredible. Mareschal documents secular and ritual songs (including musical transcriptions), qeej performances, and other types of instrumental music. Both Hmong Daer and Mong Leng music is included. The texts of these performances are highly valuable in their own right, but the musical transcriptions hold the potential for an interesting comparison with contemporary practices.

I don't think the full impact of the availability of this text will be realized for quite some time. It will take a while for people to realize it is available and fact that it is in French adds another barrier. Still, I am excited to spend some time with this text to see what it holds.

Kwv txhiaj from the Hmong of Phetchabun

The news from Thailand is not good. 6,000 Hmong refugees from Laos face an uncertain future (although, there have been recent plans to move them to a new camp--probably a better option than repatriation, for the time being.) At the same time, Lao government recently stepped up military action against the Hmong who remain in hiding (afraid of retaliation for their participation in the Secret War). While the UN and the United States have done little to effect change in the region, Hmong people around the world and human rights activists have drawn international attention to these pressing issues. A recent report presented to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (May, 2006) presented personal narratives from several Hmong refugees in the Phetchabun camp. The stories also appear in the documentary, "Hunted Like Animals," produced by filmmaker Rebecca Sommer (some clips from the movie). Both the report and the video contain some very disturbing material that may not be appropriate for all viewers, so use discretion.

On her website, Sommers offers recordings of kwv txhiaj sung by the Hmong now living in Phetchabun province in Thailand. I don't speak Hmong well enough to understand the content of the songs, but it is clear from the voices of many of the singers that they are under a great deal of stress. To be honest, they express such intense feelings that I found it difficult to listen for more than a few minutes. I make note of these recordings here with the hope that more people will learn about these ongoing problems, although it is unlikely that publicity alone will create a solution.

I don't know what can be done about the situation. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to voice them here.

Recent news stories about the refugee crisis:
10/09/06 - Detained Hmong Refugees Released from Prisons
10/19/06 - 438 Hmong Lao Removed by Helicopters
11/09/06 - Lao Troops Fan Out in Jungles where Hmong Hide

The Archive of Traditional Music in Laos Project

From the Lao Language and Culture Learning Resources website (from the Center for Southeas Asian Studies - Northern Illinois University): Information about a recent project to document traditional music in Laos, including Hmong music.

From the website:

Begun in Vientiane in May 1999, the project was funded by DFG (German Research Association) and by GTZ (German Association for Technical Development Cooperation). It was affiliated with the Oldenburg-Ostfriesland-Wilhelmshaven in Emden Fachhochschule in close cooperation with the Museum of Ethnology in Berlin. From May 2001, the Phonogram Archives of project is privately funded by Dr. Gisa Jaehnichen. Tel.: 00856-21-251250

Details of the recordings and current holdings:

Up until May 2002, the project made field recordings in the provinces: Huaphan, Luang Prabang, Xiengkhuang, Vientiane, Bolikhamsay, Khammuan, Savannakhet, Salavan, Attapeu, Sekong, Bokeo, and Champasak. The project includes 1123 audio recordings from 25 different ethnic groups, 1690 minutes video recordings, 764 photographs, 135 transcriptions of music and 70 drawings and descriptions of musical public. instruments, which are accessible for the public.

They have made several tapes of this music available online, albeit with limited documentation. The first tape: Instrumental Music in Laos (Selection 1) features three recordings made of Hmong musicians. Each of the following may be streamed with RealPlayer. (Titles written as they appear on the website [i.e. with some spelling errors])

• Track 3: Hmong Lay Folksong: Tueoti / Pii Hmong (Flute) / Xamtai/1999
  
• Track 5: Hmong Khao Folksong: Khuamhak / Toen / Sam Neua/1999
  
• Track 6: Hmong Lay Folksong: Khithot Phusao / Phi Hmoung (Flute) / Sam Neua/2000
  

[Track 3 is actually a raj nplaim performance. Track 5 is ncas, and track 6 is raj ntsia or a similar flute-type instrument.]

While I enjoyed listening to the recordings (which are of fairly good quality), I am even more fascinated by this tiny glimpse into the music and culture of Laos. Besides a few second-hand reports from Hmong Americans I have spoken with, there is very little information about Hmong music from contemporary Laos. Such a recording at least confirms that as recently as 2000, traditional forms of Hmong music were still practiced by Hmong in Laos. It would be more interesting to know the age of the performers: is the practice being maintained by the younger generation or are these older musicians? It would also be interesting to know more about the holdings of the archives, but I have been unable to find any information on the internet.

The rest of the music is well recorded and it is a treat to hear such a wide variety of performances. Definitely worth a listen. (There are three more tapes available at the website.) It's also worth noting that the SEAsite has lots of language and culture information about other countries in the region. Even the Lao website has much more to offer about Lao literature, arts, and folklore.