Ger Xiong performs on the raj nplaimin a clip from "Speaking Musically"
The raj nplaim gets its characteristic "buzzy" sound from a small, brass reed embedded in the wall of the bamboo tube, not unlike a ncas. This makes it a free-reed pipe rather than a flute. Typical of a performance on the raj, Ger plays in a variety of scales and styles, called suab. Except for a few formulaic notes played at the beginning and end of some phrases, each pitch he plays communicates a word. In this performance, he speaks using conventional topics and sayings, including the sadness of being far from family and friends. While relevant to the experience of the diasporic Hmong community in the United States, these themes are rooted in the oral traditions practiced by Hmong in Laos who immigrated from China in the 18th- and 19th-centuries.
Copyright © Nicholas Poss, All Rights Reserved