Happy Times
This party took place on the vast northern plain situated between Porong village, and the dark mountains to the North. Many people camped in fine yak hair summer tents for the three day festival, others arrived on carts for a day out.
The Ga She, an ancient song cycle that defines the Porong-ba in the context of the surrounding landscape was performed over three days. In the evenings there followed folk songs in the old style; accompanied by a single drum as in the shamanic rituals of old. Many of these songs can be confidently aged at around 600 years and Porong-ba claim that they have changed little in all those years.
Members of the community are attempting to create a written archive. However, there are few literate among the population and they believe it impossible to complete all the songs before they start to dissapear.
The music was accompanied by horse racing, dancing, and revelry. Barley beer (chang) was provided by the Xiang. Great pride is attached to skillful horsemanship among the local men, and we witnessed a series of impressively executed horseback stunts.
