Songs of Memory
2021 Newsletter
If a village has no music,
How can it be called a village?
Akha Saying
Lollopho Girls Singing and Dancing
Celebrating after Harvest
Ban Nong Bua, Muang Sing
Luang Nam Tha Province, Laos
On this the eve of the Winter Solstice of 2021, I send my warm wishes for a blessed holiday season. May this find you and yours safe and well and thriving in all ways. . .
Once a year, I share my newsletter with you as I look back at how my archival projects have moved in the world. Even during this quiet pandemic year—half spent in Chicago, the other half in Chiang Mai—energy and enthusiasm continue to shine brightly. Below you will find the events and materials that have appeared during this time.
Yet for all the external activity that has been going, a great deal of internal plans have also been evolving, quietly and without fanfare, as my focus turns to shepherding the Songs of Memory project to its next incarnation. I look forward to telling you more about this in the New Year.
Please take special care as the world opens up. 2022 Blessings, Victoria
Victoria Vorreiter
vvorreiter@yahoo.com
Facebook: Victoria Vorreiter
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Multi-media Presentation (with Recordings)
Bridging the Realms of Mortals and Deities
Hmong Spirit Intermediaries and their Numinous Powers
3rd Symposium of Music and Dance in Cross-Border Ethnic Groups
between South China and Neighboring Countries
Yunnan Arts University
Kunming, China
21 – 24 November 2021
Shaman Txiaj Vwj Invites Spirits to his Altar, Thaj Neeb
Healing Ceremony, Ua Neeb
Ban Nam La, Luang Nam Tha, Laos
Photo-Essays
Songs of Memory Journal
Conversations with Remarkable Mystics
October 2021
Shebeu, Pulai Hulai Akha Master Shaman, Nyipa, and 15 Acolyte Shamans
Shaman Blessing Ceremony, Nyi pa phii shau tay
Ban Nam Mouakha, Muang Sing, Laos
Facebook – Victoria Vorreiter
Daily Posts: Stories, Photos, and Music from the Golden Triangle
New!! Launched in November 2021
Series 1: Yao Headwear – A Portal into Yao Culture
Hmong Ancestor Wisdom: Surviving Covid-19
Silver Neck Ring, Xauv ncais
Soul Locks, Phiaj xauv
Soul Effigy, Moj zeej
Torqued Silver Dragon Bracelets|
Kauj tooj npab
Your beautiful piece, ‘Hmong Ancestor Wisdom: Surviving Covid-19,’ fits into our upcoming three-week cycle dealing with different aspects of the coronavirus pandemic, including the moralities that inform health security practices, such as mandatory masking, imposed curfews, lockdowns, and quarantines in different countries. The Hmong’s sense of communal responsibility for its members and ritual practices, such as the defensive spirit gate and protective symbols on individual homes, offers a fascinating glimpse into another way of managing the uncertainties of this pandemic. We have heard many times that “we are not all living the same pandemic,” and this is a fine opportunity to appreciate the traditions and rituals that are being mobilized by people from other cultures with whom we are sharing this moment in our collective history.” (January 2021)
Dr. Megan Graham, Professor of Anthropology
‘Applied Ethics in the Medical Humanities’
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
I was delighted to read Victoria’s article ‘Hmong Ancestor Wisdom: Surviving Covid-19,’ which is a thoughtful and detailed description of how many Hmong villages in northern Thailand and Laos have adapted traditional spiritual techniques to safeguard themselves against the pandemic. I’ve seen endless media coverage of the plight of local and indigenous peoples in the face of Covid-19, most of which focuses on tragedy and desperation. Given this, Victoria’s article was a breath of fresh air, reminding us that groups like the Hmong, who are famous for their resilience and adaptability, are not taking the current health crisis laying down, but are rather including traditional practices of protection and treatment. If you’re interested in realistic and balanced coverage of local responses to Covid, read this piece! (August 2021)
Alex Greene, Ethnobotanist, Researcher
In Hmong Villages in New Guinea and Nimes, France
To read the Photo-Essay, please visit:
Hmong Ancestor Wisdom: Surviving Covid-19
Educational Curricula
Hmong Songs of Memory Book/Film
Resting in over 70 museums, cultural centers, schools, and universities worldwide, this work was most recently acquired by: University of Wisconsin, Green Bay; University of Wisconsin, White Water; University of Wisconsin, Osh Kosh; University of Wisconsin, Stout; Eastern Michigan University; University of Texas; Wesleyan University; Cornell University; Marathon County Library, Wisconsin; University of Pennsylvania; University of North Carolina; State University of New York; Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC); University of Nottingham, England; University of Paris-Sorbonne; Ethnography Museum Geneva, Switzerland; Xieng Khouoang Museum, Laos.
Hmong Songs of Memory Book and Film
To request a copy for your university, library, or home
Order
Outreach
The Minnesota Opera is developing Hmong author Kao Kalia Yang’s inspiring book, “The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father,” into a children’s operetta with its world premiere in 2022. Team member Mackenzie Zenk researched Hmong musical traditions as a preparation for the opera using the Hmong Songs of Memory Book and Film as a resource.
Coming Events
Presentation
Bridging the Realms of Mortals and Deities
Hmong Spirit Intermediaries and their Numinous Powers
Payap University
Chiang Mai, Thailand
May 2022
Exhibition
Songs of Memory Multi-media Exhibition
Kent State University
Kent, Ohio, United States
22 October 2022 – 27 February 2023
The Kent State University Museum, Ohio, will host the Songs of Memory Collections from 22 October 2022—27 February 2023. We are so honored to collaborate with students and faculty of the Departments of Ethnomusicology, Costume Design, Textiles, Religious Studies, and Anthropology in a number of exciting programs, presentations, and concerts. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Book and CD
Songs of Memory – Traditional Music of the Golden Triangle
A new edition of the Songs of Memory Book and CD is on its way! Including new research and photographs of rarely heard instruments, and a CD with detailed liner notes, this work explores the traditional sacred and secular music and ceremonies of the Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Akha, Hmong, and Iu Mien of the Golden Triangle, bringing to life the men, women, and spiritual leaders who perform them. Hold that thought – announcements are coming soon. . .
Pages 152-153: Traditional Akha wind instruments played by women
Preview the New Edition:
Songs of Memory Book and CD
Comments
21 January 2021
Victoria, The Hmong Songs of Memory book and DVD arrived safely yesterday… and I am loving them! I have already read the section on secular music, and watched the corresponding parts of the film. I am certain I will re-read and re-watch it all multiple times. I have learned a lot even yet: for example, I did not know the Hmong had a folk clarinet, or that their music mimics language… so fascinating! Thanks!
Cole Nagoda, High School Student
Idaho
December 2020
Victoria, I just read your Newsletter 2020 and I’ve come to the conclusion that you, like Shakespeare, are actually not a single individual but a committee. This is what you’ve spent your life doing, and you will be leaving more than a trace of having been here. True, you haven’t gotten mass attention and sold millions of books, but your work is very important to a reasonable number of people. We do these things just because we do them. You’ve been fortunate that you could devote your life to this, but you’ve paid a heavy personal price in terms of accumulating wealth and material things. You don’t wear a saffron robe, but you exemplify an academic version of the robe. Carry on.
Dr. Terry Miller, Ethnomusicologist
Kent State University, Ohio
Appreciation
To the Songs of Memory Founding Patrons and to this year’s Donors, you whose faith in the importance of this archival work remains strong, please know how deeply significant is your support for the project to grow. You have given this independent researcher the wherewithal and courage to continue documenting indigenous cultures in this corner of the world, while she also attempts to shepherd it into the bigger universe to share with others.
My gratitude knows no bounds. . . Now I look forward to showing you around the Songs exhibition in Ohio in late 2022 and to sharing with you all the future initiatives my colleagues and I have in store in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Gratefully, fondly, Victoria
Founding Patrons
Marsha and Philip Dowd
The Frankel Family Foundation
Leslie and David Bosch
Golden Triangle Gallery
Jim Thompson Foundation
2021 Donors
The Frankel Family Foundation
Stuart Mieher, Select Equity Group Foundation
Mary Averill
Dorée Huneven
Karen Vorreiter
Wayne Madsen
David Shifrin
Helen Brunner
Tracey Baetzel
Karen and David Stokes
The International Documentary Association (IDA) has accepted
The Music of the Golden Triangle project in its Fiscal Sponsorship Program
allowing it to receive non-profit status in the US.
IDA Letter of Endorsement
If the Songs of Memory archival work resonates with you,
please consider helping it continue.
Sponsorship Information
Donate Now
To order the Songs of Memory materials, please visit:
https://www.tribalmusicasia.com/order.php
Victoria Vorreiter
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