Myanmar

Religious music

Buddhist chant and music for spirit possession ceremonies, arched harp

pwe

performance occurring at an outdoor event, festival, ritual, theater, offering, or party

Bamar

largest ethnic group

Theravada Buddhism

“way of the elders”, stylistically conservative, rhythm is steady and often phrased around the line of text, ornamentation is restricted and the style is very syllabic. Music is inappropriate to the habits of someone pursuing a religious life

Sangha

monks

Pali

ancient Indian language used by the sangha

Nat cult

popular in Upper Myanmar, nats are animistic spirits, belief in which predates Buddhism. Spirits of “green” unjust deaths like murder. Engaged at nat pwes where offerings of money, food, alcohol, and music facilitate communication. Failure to acknowledge the nats may result in bad luck

Spirit possession ceremonies

songs to cultivate a trance-inducing atmosphere. Hsaing waing ensemble from the early Burman court music tradition flourishes still. Generally played outdoors in loud festival or ritual context, the instruments are usually soloists so little way of doubling parts and little unison or synchronicity of parts

Saung gauk

arched harp

hsaing waing ensemble

outdoor ensemble. Patt waing (drum circle of 21 double headed barrel shaped drums, melody in right hand with supporting left hand), kyi waing (tuned set of bronze gong chimes, play versions of the melody) each of these sets is played by one musician by hand while the bronze pot gongs are played with a stick beater. Hne (wooden, double reed aerophone, adds to the melodies with their own version)

Patt sa

tuning paste to tune the patt waing. This is added or subtracted from the top heads of the drums.

Patt waing

right hand plays the main melody while the left plays supporting polyphonic pitches, the musical and organizational leader of the ensemble, set of 21 double headed, barrel-shaped drums in a circular frame

Saung Gauk

prominent instrument in the court for intimate, indoor, chamber or solo music. Use modal system of 7 tones (5 primary and 2 secondary), arched harp

Wa

a slit node of bamboo or pair of stubby wooden sticks, helps keep times, rhythmic patterns

Si

two bells

Purposes of chant

prayer, meditation, protection, mark of education and authority among monks and devout laity. Usually a group activity, sounds like music but monks don’t count it as music

Pa-O

a subgroup of the Karen ethnic group, many gongs, each musician held a single gong except for the last pair who held a large gong slung between them. A set of cymbals improvise with the gong pulses, and elder male dancer moved to the front arms raised high and alternatively thrust in the air at each pulse

Authoritasim

use music stars to show pro-democracy music

Copy thachin

youth culture has absorbed foreign music from other countries. Copy thachin literally means copy song, new lyrics are written in Burmese that often imitate the sound of the original but bear little or no relationship to the original

maung

a set of tuned gong chimes/pot gongs resting horizontally on a rack in a row

kyi waing

tuned set of bronze gong chimes resting horizontally on a circular rack