Lhaphuk
Part 1: The breaktaking location of La-phuk village brought with it a fresh sound.
Our sessions were here organised by the Abbot of the Bon-po monastery that towered high up above the village.
A group of fifteen young musicians joined us in the village grain store. An old television at one end hinted at a second use for the store, as the village cinema. The boys used shafts of sunlight to tune their nescafe can tsi-tsis and we recorded ten songs in a variety of arangements.
The curiosity of the villagers was much higher here and we were forced to block the entrance to the compound during recordings. Please note that all La-phuk dances would usually be performed in circle formation.
Part 2: The expedition enjoyed a first lunch of dried yak meat with the de-robed, and married, Bon-po Abbot before recording the oldest singers in the village.
Chimba 65 had learnt his songs from his father. He stunned us with the youthfulness of his rendition of a local song about the bamboo forests of Nepal. Two ladies, 70 and 63, also performed for us. They had learnt most of their repertoire for the wedding of the daughter of Grandee Gsang Chena, who now lives in Switzerland. They were 17 years old at the time.
The older generation argued that the musical repertoire of La-phuk is dwindling due to a reduction in leisure time. They point towards the increase in field area, more animals, and more external contract work as the key factors explaining this shift.
