Abaw Buseu Jupoh [DV CAM 24]
[TC 00:41:11]
I live in Saen Cheroen village, my name is
Abaw Buseu. My age: this year is the year of the rabbit when I am 66 years old.
The name of the village is Saen Cheroen, Mae Suay district, Chiang Rai
Province.
[TC 01:20:10]
I live in Saen Cheroen Village. In the past, I didn't know anything outside. In the year 1974, the government came to establish village headmen, after that, we had to attend a meeting in the district office once a month. Then I was village head for 20 years. When I was village head, I set up a school for the village. Students from Bangkok came to help, more than 100 students. Also we set up a water system, which was 6km far from the villages. The budget was more than 300.000 Baht. Then, I built the village hall for the use of the villagers, the money for the meeting hall came from the Netherlands. This village hall is for community service. Before we started building, we discussed where we should build it. But others were afraid of deforestation. Then I said ok, if the other villages donıt want to set up a meeting hall in their villages, I will set it up in my village.
I proposed it at the meeting, at the
district office, and then the government gave me a chance to build this.
[TC 04:16:08]
Then, about ID card and birth certificate:
It is very useful for the villagers. But before we got an ID card, they offered
us a ³coin². We carried those coins for 5 years, after that they were converted
into ID cards. The public welfare came to help in the village. They helped a lot
with agriculture, because they came to train us about agriculture. We followed
every step of what the public welfare was teaching us. Then they also built a
road to the village. I donıt remember exactly around which year, maybe around
1974-78.
[TC 06:07:19]
After the road was made, -we have our own community forest but
never thought that they were coming for logging!
We were very happy at the beginning that
the road was made. But soon after, the Forest Department sent people to mark
the big trees along the road. One tree can build one house, but all big trees
and fruit trees and chestnut trees are gone now, probably they logged more
than 600.000 - 700.000 trees.
[TC 06:53:15]
Nowadays there is also a road in the
mountains. After that , the electricity system came. Many people wanted to use
household appliances, and also television.
The television set you can get for many different
prices, expensive ones or cheap ones. Many people are watching television,
they don't go to the dancing ground in the villages any more.. Everybody thought
television is good and concentrated on Chinese movies only, This is why I
think that the dancing ground in the village will not be used anymore.
thatıs why I am worried about the future
and if we will loose our culture. They donıt talk about their own culture and
way -of-live any more.
I think I would like to write down all the
information about our culture before all those who are knowledgable, die, but
one man cannot get done it all.
[TC 07:55:08]
Regarding the ancestral service: actually
we are having services 12 times a year, but the Akha people are saying 9 times
a year only. But we have to think clearly. Many people are still saying that
we do the ancestral service 9 times a year. However, actually we don't even
realise that we do the ancestral service 12 times a year.
We should also keep our community forest,
and the water sources. This type of knowledge, we should write down on paper.
Why? Because the young generation nowadays goes to school studying within
the Thai system, so they don't learn anything about their own culture. The
youth will not know about their old culture.
[TC 09:11:23]
Talking about Yani way of life. This way
of life we didnıt set up in Thailand but we maintain from Kunming. The village
has a Dzoema, [...], Pima or Reciter, and then the Elderly. If it hasn't these
four things, the village structure is not strong enough.
[TC 09:55:00]
The problem is that as long as we live the
culture is losing and losing. Nowadays, our culture seems to be weak, because
the young generation doesn't understand our culture very well any longer.
Just like the village heads from the government side, they think that they
are strong enough for everything without asking the elderly.
[TC 10:40:20]
In the past we solved all the problems in
the village by ourselves. Now all the things by Thai law are more important
than our way of life. In the past, if you were just consulting with somebody,
it is a great way of life. However, now, they are only using the Thai law,
even if they don't exactly know what the Thai laws are about.
Like in the past, if someone was going to
do something wrong to other people, the person had to pay pigs or whisky
offerings to the elderly people. Everybody was believing in the elderly people,
thatıs why there were not many problems. However, now there are serious
problems, because the village head from the government side doesnıt exactly
know the Thai law he is acting after. So if I am talking about this point I am
getting very tired on it.
[TC 12:18:00]
Talking about the elderly. In the past,
when there was a ceremony or funeral, they were supposed to join, they had to
go there. When they did the ceremony in the family, the elderly of the village
had to join the ceremonies. For example, the wedding ceremony, or funeral, or
other ceremonies in the village, also the reciting of the buffaloes at the
funeral, the elderly had to do this ceremony together. I think this system is
very weak now. In the past, when I was 20 years old, I learned from the
elderly. I learned most of the cultural ceremonies already when I was 20 years.
As the Akha use to say, the Akha people
within 30 years build an understanding, and then this whole knowledge cannot be
learned by one alone but they have to help each other. Therefore, we should
record the voice and keep photographs and show them to the younger generation,
because today the younger generation is only watching television. Then we
should write everything down on paper, the funeral ceremony, everything of our
culture, and we should show it on TV as well, so the kids can see it on TV. If
we donıt keep many things I believe that our culture wonıt survive for long.
[TC 15:25:10]
Now, I see, I have been traveling around
in different countries, and nobody studies the Pima knowledge anymore. In the
past, they could recite the funeral ceremony for 10 buffaloes, but nowadays, it
is already difficult to find someone who knows to recite 3 buffaloes and one
horse.
Also the reciter system should be recorded
on video.
[TC 16:25:20]
One thing I believe is that the reciter
should also teach in the school where the kids are studying. The Pima himself
has secret words, they donıt teach them to everybody, but I think in these days
we should teach it. If we keep it secret in the future, nobody will know about
our old culture. In the past, they were learning by memorising through
practising, but now not many people like to teach this knowledge anymore. I
think if it was taught in the writing system, one can learn it quicker than in
the past.
Trip to China
[TC 17:40:04]
Now when I come to Chiang Mai, I met
Asseu, the radio speaker, and I met Lawgaw, the one who is writing the Akha text. He records the
cultural texts. I said, oh thatıs very good, writing in Akha scripting system,
and discussed it with him. Then I met a foreigner, Dara, which is very good.
[TC 19:03:40]
I heard they were talking about sitting in
aeroplanes, but I never sit in aeroplanes. The Akha people said in the past
that we have the ability to reach any point by walking. That's true, because
when I actually sit in the airplane, I looked down to the mountains, and I
see the valleys and I can see the overview. There is nothing to be afraid
of, I feel very safe.
I went to an Ajo Akha village. It was my
first trip ever to an Ajo Akha village. We talked together. They showed us
the village structure. The site, where they set up the village is very strong,
and also their style of building a house looks very strong. They build a house
without digging a hole for the pole. They then showed us the theatre. At lunchtime
they killed a chicken at the villages' head home. The elderly of the village
came to eat with us. We discussed cultural issues. They also have their own
culture, that's very good.
[TC 21:20:17]
About the conference...oh there were many
people. I think it's good, some people were filming, some taking photographs.
I asked many people their opinions and they also said itıs very good, because
the conference discusses Akha culture. We should maintain this kind of conferences
as long as possible.
[TC 22:10:09]
After the conference, one night, we went
to the theatre. They were to show dancing and the culture. But what I think
is that they imitated from Bajaj Balue [?] culture. The rhythms, most of the
songs, they imitate from the Chinese, it wasn't the original old culture.
[TC 23:01:05]
We have 2 days at the conference to
present papers, they were allright. We discussed how we should maintain our
culture in the future. I see those who became Baptist are not interested in
discussing culture. When we discussed culture they seemed a bit unhappy. When
we spoke about the different countries, where Akha are living, China, Thailand,
Laos, Burma or Vietnam, if one can set up a meeting in all countries, I think
it would be perfect. After each country has hosted a meeting, then on the top
of this there could be a meeting with all countries coming together that would
be perfect. If we could set up this kind of conference more and more, we would
be able to discuss cultural matters more in depth. In the past, we didnıt have
meetings among different countries wherever the Akha people live. The
conference is great, useful.
[TC 25:25:23]
I came for the conference tonight, there
are many foreigners saying it is the year 2000. Many people say it is the
year 2000. Tonight I don't feel very well. I miss my friends, the elderly,
the children, my nephew and nieces, I miss them a lot.
[TC 26:20:00]
In the night of the 27th my village has
New Year celebration. This is the day of buffalo. The past year is the year of
the donkey, and this is the year of the rabbit. Whatever we are talking about,
our age is becoming more and more, and when New Year is coming I remember also
my age is getting more.
[TC 27:04:08]
This year is the Rabbit year. The Akha people
are counting the years in animals. We count the second circle after 13 years,
therefore the third circle after 27, the 4th circle after 45 years, 85 years
are 7 circles.
Akha Wedding
[TC 27:57:21]
When we went to the Ajo village, they welcomed
us with bamboo drumming, trumpets, and offering lots of whisky. They welcomed
all the people coming from various countries to visit in the village. We went
to the center of the village, and then we attended the wedding. It was good
fun, many people around. We came to the house of the groomıs family. The couple
was covered in bamboo mats. We got into the house, there, a table was set
up, and on the table, they put a pigs' leg. They prayed the songs for wellbeing
of the ancestors.
[TC 29:35:18]
After the wedding, we were gathering at the
central dancing place in the village. The Ajo group, Ajl [?] group, Akha group
together - in one village alone they don't have so many people, so they called
the neighbouring villages in for the welcome. Then they were dancing, the
3 different groups of Akha. Each group was wearing the old costumes, it was
very well done, I appreciated how each group was wearing it's own costumes.
[TC 30:53:05]
The conference in China: nowadays the Akha
live in 5 countries: Laos, Thailand, China, Burma and Vietnam. But 2 countries
didn't come, Laos and Vietnam. Why? The Laotian government doesnıt allow their
people to travel, and another problem is that they donıt have any money to
travel. This might be the reason. So these 2 countries couldnıt come. Those
who participated came from Thailand, Burma and China. This time those Akha
people who live in Laos and Vietnam couldnıt come, but I hope that they will
be able to participate with us in the future.
Creating the World
[TC 32:11:21]
Jiabialong is the one who gave life to
plants and animals and human beings. Sumi-O is the first ancestor name we are
counting. Another are Patong [?], there are many different groups of human
beings and I think also the way of live and culture is different from Patong.
The Akha proverb says: The Akha people are
belonging on this Earth, we first come from China, and then moved to Burma and
Thailand and Laos and Vietnam. Now the Akha people live in 5 different
countries.
[TC 33:53:20]
Nowadays there are still many elderly in
the villages who have the knowledge about herbal medicine. We should also learn
about that. When you get a disease, you have to take medicine. Many of the
younger generation get knowledge about modern medicine by studying in the
school system. Maybe they can develop the herbal medicine, too. I think it
would be very good to develop herbal medicine.
[TC 34:41:14]
In the past, apart from herbal medicine,
we planted cotton and made clothes by ourselves. Nowadays we buy clothes at the
market and our old cotton is no longer needed.
[TC 35:13:22]
[TC 35:16:24]
We have proverbs that get forgotten
nowadays, nobody hears the proverbs anymore these days - we have so many of
them.
The buffalo can be killed, but the string
tied on the head cannot change.
[TC 35:48:11]
The woman can remarry many times, but she
cannot change wearing the white skirt. A new house can be built many times, but
one cannot change the ancestral services.
[TC 35:58:16]
Even if one can change the rice field many
times, one cannot change the ceremony-of-the-rice-field.
[TC 36:07:12]
Thatıs why the proverbs are very useful,
please don't forget them!