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Intellectual Cultural Heritage
47
“
So
” means to sing in response to other’s singer’
song. These folk songs are native to the eight northern
provinces of Thailand, including some areas of Sukhothai,
Uttaradit and Tak provinces.
So
singing has duet parts in the
manner of courtship ritual dialogue, or solo part to narrate a
story or describe anecdotes or happenings, accompanied by
folk music.
So
singers are called chang
so
in vernacular dialect.
The male and female singers who respond to each other in
the duet are called
khu thong
. They must be well-trained,
skilled, and have a quick wit for improvisation so that they
can promptly and spontaneously respond to the other singer.
They must be knowledgeable and have a good memory so
that they can use their general knowledge in their singing.
They must also memorise all the standard tunes by heart.
The lyr i cs for the so s inging are improvi sed,
depending on the circumstance and occasion. For example,
if it is an ordination ceremony, the chang so will sing about
filial piety.
So songs and tunes are divided according to the
cultural geography into two sub-regions:
- West Lanna sub-region, which comprises Chiang
Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, and Lamphun provinces. So
singing in this sub-region is called “So Chiang Mai” and is
accompanied by a pi or a Wong Pi Chum (a pi chum band).
A pi chum is a single-reed woodwind instrument made of
bamboo, with a metal reed. The music from the reed
instrument is the principal accompaniment. So Chiang Mai
has seven principal standard tunes: Tang Chiang Mai,
Chapu, Lamai, Ngiao, Phama, Ue, and Phra Lo or Long Nan;
- East Lanna sub-region, which includes Nan, Phrae,
some parts of Chiang Rai, and Phayao provinces. So singing
from this sub-region is called “So Nan” and is accompanied
by a salo and a
pin
(sueng)
.
So
Nan’s standard tunes are:
So
Long Nan
,
Lap Laeng
,
Dat Phrae
, and
Pan Fai
.
So
Chiang Mai is generally faster than
So
Nan in
tempo. So singing performance begins with the rite of Paying
Homage to the Teachers, fol lowed by a
Hom Rong
(Overture), a
Kroen
(Introduction) before entering the main
section, and ends with a
Phleng La
(Farewell song).
So Lanna
So
singing has evolved through the ages. For
example, during King Rama V’s reign, Queen Consort Chao
Dara Ratsami ini t iated
Lakhon So
(
So
Dance Drama)
in Chiang Mai Province; and in 1965,
So
St r ing,
a contemporary orchest ra, was created to play the
adaptations of some so tunes in Western-style orchestration.
So
has a long history. It is an important and prominent
cultural identity of the Lanna people and is associated with
the lifestyle of the Lanna people in various ways–with their
beliefs, values, tradition and customs, religious life, family,
profession and livelihood, food and clothes. In addition
to that, the lyrical beauty of the verses in vernacular dialect
or
Kham Mueang
reflects the intellectual heritage that
was developed and refined through generations of their
ancestors -- a gift to be cherished and passed on to the
future generations.
Regrettably, today
so
singing does not receive as
much interest as it should be because of the popularity
of modern music and TV soap operas. It is fading into
oblivion -- a similar fate that awaits the other traditional
folk singing and songs in Thailand.
Prominent
so
Lanna singers are: National Artist Mae
Khru Chansom Saithara, National Artist Pho Khru Khamphai
Nuping, Mae Khru Buason Thanombun etc.