I Will Send My Song: Kammu Vocal Genres In The Singing Of Kam Raw (kammu Worlds)

Today, the Kammu are an upland people mainly found 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 detail. What this volume offers is an ethnomusicological presentation of one person's vocal performance of rather 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. Contents 8 Preface 10 Kammu Pronunciation 11 Symbols and Abbreviations 12 Prologue: A Departure 14 1. Introduction 16 2. Kam Raw – His Cultural and Musical Background 40 3. Vocal Genres Other Than For Feasts 60 4. Teem Performances 84 5. Elaborate Teem Performances 102 6. Nature Imagery and Meaning 134 7. Teem Dialogues 152 8. Concluding Discussion 176 Epilogue: A Return 190 Appendix 1: Glossary of Kammu Terms and Names 194 Appendix 2: Index of Kam Raw’s Repertoire 198 Appendix 3: Recordings and Samples 208 Appendix 4: Song Transcriptions 214 Appendix 5: Music Transcriptions 216 Appendix 6: Contents of Compact Disc 232 Sources and References 236 Index 248 An ethnomusical presentation of one person's vocal performance of varied texts and manners of performance. Vol. 1. I will send my song - Vol. 2. Kammu songs.