If any of you would like to have recorded cassettes of zaj tshoob and
other Hmong oral arts, please email me. July 4th is coming and I know
that an expert mejkoob in St. Paul has recently recorded most of his
knowledge in the hopes of passing it on to the next generation of Hmong
youths who would like to learn. This man is a regarded expert and those
of you who live in St. Paul will know him. His name is Nkaj Huas Yaj.
Some of you may recognize his name as he's been cited as a cultural
consultant for Dr. Yang Dao and other Hmong scholars. He is extremely
knowledgeable in Hmong traditional rituals. He has a series of 5 90
minute cassettes. These are as below.
1. Zaj Tshoob Txhiaj Txhais
2. Txiv Xaiv Foom Lus Suav (All in Chinese so youths won't know what is
being said, but if you live in St. Paul, and really want to know and
learn I'm sure he's willing to spend time with you)
3.Txiv Xwm Kab/ Tsav Txheej Meej
4. Tsheej Xwm Hmoob (I have no idea what this is)
5. Paj Lug & Nrhiav Lug
Again, I'm going up to St. Paul in a few days and for those of you who
are visiting the region for the 4th tournament and would like to obtain
these recordings, you can contact me via email.
Mai Na
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Before you buy.
I take it it's not for free? :) I like to get a hold of these tapes, if
it's within my reach.
Tommy, as you know, books are very expensive. Jane Hamilton-Merritt's
_Tragic Mountains_ costs about $45.00. Compared to these kinds of books
and given the level of expertise of the person who spent his whole life
learning and acquiring these oral arts, the cost of these cassettes are
reasonable. Also, remember that we have many experts in our midst, but
each expert is regarded for his distinctiveness and style. It is like
singing kwv txhiaj, right? Individuality counts, and I can assure you
that this man's singing technique (voice, intonation, etc) is highly
regarded by Hmong who know him. Those people from the Naj Mub, Xieng
Khouang area probably already know him by reputation. I, of course, have
no idea about these things and cannot give you my personal assessment.
In addition, unlike book scholars, Nkauj Huas is accessible and anyone
who is really interested in further learning after listening to his
cassettes can personally seek him out for explanations, clarifications,
translations, etc. For me, my main interested lays in his personal
history more than the contents of these cassettes so after listening to
a few sections (I have not heard them all--too much to absorb in one
sitting), I would inquire about how he began learning these things,
difficulties he encountered, memorization techniques he used, his
opinions about retaining such arts in Hmong society, what meaning these
sayings hold for him, what meaning these things should hold for future
Hmong generations, etc.
More later...