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Bayview Music
Madison, WI
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Hmong Music at Bayview
Pakou | Zoe |
Martin | Kyle | Nick
| Mackenzie
Pao | Brett | Pao
| Alice | Lowell | Erika
Mr. Tong Chaj is playing a qeej and singing. The
song is about a boy who doesn't' have any parents. Mr. Tong learned to
play the qeej by a qeej master player that was hmong. Mr. Na Yee was dancing
with the qeej, which sounds sounds soft and beautiful. --Pakou
Mr. Na Yee showed us other instruments. He brought 2 flutes to show us. One was short and the other was long. The flute is to blow for someone you miss. --Pakou
The k'eng is a long, thin-tubed instrument made out
of a light wood, that resembles bamboo. The singers sang in a voice that
sounded quite similar to the k'eng, a low and high pitched tone with jumps
here and there. While singing, some of them danced in circles, fast, then
slow; one way, and then the other. --Zoe
My first session was on the k'eng music and its
significance in Hmong culture. We learned that K'eng was mostly played
at funerals. They used to play it at weddings, but now they don't. We
learned that even the most talented K'eng players have to practice almost
everyday. K'eng players used to battle with one another to show that they
were the best. But now they don't. -- Martin
There is other hmong music, too. Much of it has to do with courtship between young men and women. The young man would come down to his girlfriend's house, and play the jaw harp -- a twangy instrument that fits in your mouth.
The k'eng player helps give the spirit of the dead to the other world..
--Kyle
When that guy played K'eng(traditional Hmong instrument)
I thought the sound was like a bird singing and a human voice. --Nick
Another thing is ... that usually after you play the song [on the Hmong instrument], you sing the same song you played. --MacKenzie
It is a real honor to play one of these instruments at any ceremony,
especially to play the k'eng at a funeral. To the Hmong, it is a belief
that the K'eng player talks to the deceased person, and the music is taking
them in harmony to the other world. They have a conversation like this:
"Should I go to the other world?" "Yes, there is nothing
else for you here." --MacKenzie
The person that passes away and blows the k'eng gives
them good wishes. --Pao
Only very good k"eng players can do this [play
at a funeral] because they need to play for the right amount of time.
If they don't play long enough the spirit will never get there. If they
play too long, their [k'eng player's] spirit will go with the spirit of
the dead person to the other world. --Brett
The k'eng has this nice rhythm. Now he is singing what the k'eng sound means. His voice is not that low and not that loud. The k'eng has words to it when it is played. --Pao
AThe first k'eng player learned to play the k'eng
when he was 9, 10 or 11, and it took six or seven months to just learn.
It took much longer to master. --Alice
The k'eng, made of bamboo, sounds to me slightly
like a bagpipe, but in a strange way. --Lowell
Both the k'engs that we saw had decorations on it, like coins and bead,
I think to show wealthiness. --Lowell
Music has been part of the Hmong culture for ages.
They have beautiful instruments that make incredible sounds when played.
Take the k'eng -- it can talk. What I mean by that is the tone. Very excellent
players can tell a fake from a real player. And a good player can tell
whether or not the person is happy or sad. --Erika