Art : Musical instruments

Every tribe has the music in its heart but differs in the detail of singing the song. Hmong musical instruments are unique, but much has been lost from the Hmong way of living and the new generation now. Hmong musical instruments fall into two categories.       1. Blowing instruments such as Jing-Nong, Jang, Flute and reed mouth organ or Keng in Hmong language.       2. Percussion instruments such as Drum or Jua.

Blowing instruments.       1.1. Jing-Nong (Ncas)       This musical instrument is beside the Hmong teenagers. This instrument is passed down from the ancestor generation to generation and Hmong believe that Jang has haunted. They blow Jing-Nong to express their feelings. Jing-Nong is the Hmong musical instrument that mediates between lovers.       They blow Jing-Nong to express admiration for each other or they use this instrument as a tool to explain how they feel to the woman they love. They can learn to play Jing-Nong by themselves.

Therefore, they use Jing-Nong as an instrument of courtship. The man will go to the woman’s house and call the woman; if the woman does not reply, the man will go back, or if the woman replies that it is late at night, the man will go back to his home and find the solution and one is to blow Jing-Nong to express his feelings.        However, the Jing-Nong has been lost from the lifestyles of modern Hmong teenagers.

1.2 The reed mouth organ or Qeej in Hmong language.        The reed mouth organ or Qeej is made from bamboo and hardwood. It is the one of the Hmong’s oldest musical instruments. The Hmong have a story to explain this instrument’s origins: there once was a Hmong family with seven siblings. One day, the father died. The seven siblings wished to have a funeral for their father but did not know how to go about it. They asked for the advice from the god “Zee-Yee”. The Hmong believe that this god is very important for religious ceremonies. The god Zee-Yee gave the suggestion that one go find a hide to make a drum and another six go find some bamboo different in size and length. One was to play music by tapping the drum while the other six people blew on the bamboo and walked around the drummer, singing songs.

When the god Zee-Yee told them about this, the seven siblings went back home and held a funeral for their father in the manner that the god advised. Afterwards, one of siblings died and there were not enough people left to blow the bamboo in accordance with the ceremony. So the siblings went to ask the god Zee-Yee for guidance again. This time the god told them to combine all the bamboo into the one instrument and use only one person to play, leaving the others to make food offerings to the gods or prepare foods.

This funeral ceremony continues to be practiced in the present day and has become the tradition for the funerals of the Hmong people. The reed organ comprises six pieces of bamboo. Each piece is different.       The instrument makes a pleasant sound when played. Each of the six pieces of bamboo that add up to be a reed organ has its own name. Hmong people use the reed organ as the main instrument in their funeral ceremony to guide the spirit going to the next world or to the ancestor land. Therefore, they cannot play or practice the reed organ in their house.

The role of the reed organ in a funeral ceremony. Ntiv is an overture. Pluas cim qeej cim nruag Tap the drum together with the reed organ song. Lwm qab nruag The person who plays the reed organ goes under the drum crossbeam. Xub tuag Introduce the reed organ song. Quas xub tuag End up the introduce song. Zaj qeej tuag Start the melody. Quas zaj qeej tuag Sing a song to the next world. Qeej rov qaab or raib leev. The step that takes you back from the next world.  Zais roj zais neev This step covers up the way back from the next world, because the Hmong believe that the spirit will follow them back from the next world if they do not cover up the way.  Xaus qeej The end of the song.

The categories of songs in the funeral ceremony.  Qeej tu sav The first song sung for the dead body. Qeej qhuab ke The song to guide the spirit to the next world or the ancestor land. Qeej nce neeg The song then moves the dead body to the litter. Qeej hlawv ntawv The song when they burn money so that the spirit can use it in the next world. Qeej sawv kev This song for moving the dead body from the house.       Additionally, the Hmong play the reed organ for entertainment, especially during the New Year festival. They would play as follows for the New Year festival: Ntiv, the overture. Xub, introduce. Nuj nrws, the story Quas nuj nrws, repeat the story Pluas, summarize Xaus, the end.

1.3 Play the flute.       The flute is the musical instrument of Hmong people that they use to call their soul mate, as well as for entertainment. The Hmong flute is made from bamboo and PVC plastic. They play the flute to express their feelings and will play it on important occasions such as New Year.

2. Percussion instruments.       Drum or Jua in Hmong language.       The drum can have either one or two faces. They use animal hide to make the drum’s face. Holes are made in the hide and string is threaded and tightened with a peg so that the hide is tense. When they tap the finished drum, it should reverberate and produce an appealing sound. They use this drum during the funeral ceremony, to allow the spirit to enter the next world.

http://hmong.hilltribe.org