WANDEE SUNTIVUTIMETEE

Music is able to create an imagined community among people living in different times and places.

Dictatorships can try to prohibit music by banning the distribution of cassettes or compact discs, but lyrics can overcome this restriction. Likewise, listeners can memorise the lyrics of forbidden songs, then reveal — and spread dissident sentiment — by repeatedly performing them in secret. Whenever listeners appreciate the lyrics of a banned song, they reaffirm their imagined community, one without borders, unrestricted by governments, military force or political systems.

The Burmese military government has severely limited the reach of the music of the Shan or Tai - the largest ethnic group in Burma and whose communities can be found along the borders of the country, as well as Yunnan, China and northern Thailand — especially songs that express opposition to the regime or criticism of the political situation.

Still, Shan music has spread beyond the borders of Burma and is thriving among Shan communities living in neighbouring Thailand and China. Through music, specifically songs, the Shan cultural identity can be sustained and even flourish.

A free homeland for the Shan…
Peace we agreed upon at Panglong
The vows and promises so solemnly made
And now, though it has never been told,
by whom the promises were broken?
We know who betrayed whom,
but the Shan have always been true.
Where are the vows and promises of Panglong
Have they all gone with Aung San?

If songs are a mirror of society, this famous song, entitled 'Lik Hom Mai Pang Long' or 'Panglong Agreement', well reflects the feelings of the Shan people toward what is for them a most painful historical event — the betrayal of a commitment to allow the Shan state to regain autonomy after a 10-year period after Burma's independence from Britain in 1947.

This song, written by Sai Kham Lek, was originally sung by Sai Sai Mao, the most well-known Shan singer of this period who was arrested in 1968 after his song became widely known among Shan communities. He was in jail for two years and 17 days.

The broken promises the song talks about refer to the aspirations of the Shan state, which was an independent entity before the British annexation of Burma. As such, Burma was ruled under a monarchy with 33 kingdoms governed by Sawbwas (Shan prince). In 1947, Shan Sawbwas joined General Aung San, who led the effort toward Burma's self-rule, and several ethnic leaders in signing the Panglong Agreement obtaining independence from the British. The terms of the agreement, including autonomy for the Shans, was not fulfilled due to the assassination of General Aung San and the subsequent rejection of the accord.

From 1958 onwards, about a decade after the Panglong Agreement, the Shan people began to fight for their own homeland.

In 1983, a group of Shan soldiers established the first Shan musical band called 'Gern Laou' or 'Freedom's Way', launching it amid the boisterous noise of gunfire one day. During Freedom Way's first decade, it released more than 10 albums mostly about the social situation in Shan State and various aspects of soldiers' lives — love, suffering, and hope.

'Ne Win Jon Cap Joice' or 'Ne Win the Banknote Robber', is the title of another song and album by Freedom Way, touching on the impact of General Ne Win's policy that cancelled 50 and 100 kyat notes in 1966. The song 'Hor Luang Kengtung' ('Kengtung Palace') condemns the regime's destruction of the palace, a Shan cultural symbol it converted into a hotel.

Although songs containing political content are banned from being played in public, they are still able to reach people all over Shan state. Many political songs are discreetly sung in Shan festivals. The most famous song is 'Tai Tuek Tong Yoo' or 'The Shans Still Remember', which reminds Shans and outsiders of the Shan kingdom, their ancestors, and their land. This song is always performed in Shan New Year celebrations.

Since the Burmese government has banned political songs, many composers have learned to overcome this restriction by expressing political ideas through metaphors in love songs. Some love songs indirectly encourage the Shan people to be proud of their identity, language and culture.

"My albums always include at least one or two tracks encouraging Shan people to appreciate the value of our language and culture. It's our duty to preserve our cultural identity," says Sai Sang Som Fa, the Shan singer who lives in Muse, a town in Burma just across the border from China.

FAME DOESN'T COME EASILY

Shan-language radio stations promoting Shan songs do not exist in Burma, which means it is far from easy for Shan singers to be known by audiences. Only a few — like Sai Sang Som Fa, and Sai Sai Mao — have become famous in Shan communities both inside and outside Burma.

Singer Sang Jom Fa: Fame doesn't come easy.

"The best-selling album since I have opened my shop belongs to Sai Sai Mao. At this time, the most popular male singers are Sai Sang Som Fa and Sai Jern Han. The most popular female singer is Nang Kham Nong. The sales of other singers' albums are not as popular as these three singers," says Sai Aun, whose 'Tai Lang' music shop in Muse has been around for 17 years.

Sai Sang Som Fa launched his debut album in 1995, while studying at Mandalay University. He did the album with Nang Kham Noi Lek, daughter of Sai Kham Lek, the most renowned composer in Burma who wrote the famous song 'Panglong Agreement'.

Even for Sai Sang Som Fa, it has not been an easy journey to fame. "To promote my album in the beginning, I had to frequently participate in live concert events at Shan festivals such as the Shan New Year celebration. This was the most effective way to introduce myself and to make my songs recognised by the public," he says.

Apart from appearing at Shan festivals, a new, more effective way to promote songs in this digital age is to appear in Shan song advertisements at the end of film discs, which are very popular forms of entertainment among Shan people along the Chinese-Burmese border. These video compact discs (VCDs) are usually copied collections of Thai television series. Shan-language advertisements are inserted in these copies made in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, and then distributed to the Shan community on the both sides of the Chinese-Burmese border.

Nang Kham Nong, 32, is fortunate to have a producer to manage the production of her albums. This leaves her time to improve her craft without having to worry about marketing and promotion. Currently, her name is in the top chart of Shan singers; she has performed several major concerts in Burma, Thailand and China.

"I have to study singing performance and techniques from several talented singers both inside the country and in western countries," she explains. "We have to develop ourselves to improve our work."

But not many are as fortunate as Nang Kham Nong. Many new singers face obstacles in composing and recording their own songs, and have to look after marketing and promotion on their own. Shan albums are sold in tape cassettes, compact discs and karaoke videos, and these require at least 1,750 U.S. dollars in initial investment.

Singers struggling with smaller budgets spend a lot of time producing their own albums, and a failed first album often becomes too difficult a hurdle for many new singers to overcome.

Twenty-eight-year old rock singer Sai Tee Luu shares his experiences in putting out a first album with his own funds. "I have been singing in rock style for a long time but I couldn't produce an album because I didn't have enough money," he relates. "Then, I started saving money and began to record songs for my first album. Still, the money I saved was not enough. Although I borrowed from my friends, it was still not sufficient to produce an album. So, I had to suspend recording and went back to work. It took months to earn enough money to produce my first album."

Sai Tee Luu handed out CDs and cassette tapes to some friends, asking them to spread the word about his music. "I also distributed my album in tape cassette stalls in several Shan villages. I have been waiting for seven to eight months for the sales. Besides that, I performed in many Shan festivals as often as I could to be more recognised."

In short, the rocker concluded: "To be a successful Shan singer, we have to dedicate all of our energy. We have to work hard and be patient through the whole process of each album. We have to think about composing songs as well as developing a marketing plan."

Like other artists today, Shan singers need to contend with piracy and copied albums. This has discouraged many singers, some of whom have given up seeking their music careers because they cannot earn decent royalties from their work.

"This is the worst thing to happen to singers who pour all of their energies and hearts into music," explains Sai Jerng Harn, a popular Shan singer with silky long hair. " We spend a lot of money but we cannot get what we should as a result. I always tell the fans not to buy copied CDs but it's useless because copied albums are much cheaper and easier to find than the original ones."

OLD SONGS ALIVE AND WELL

While there are newer Shan songs today, the songs of old remain famous — and playing them and singing them sustains the Shan community across the borders. The reproduction of old songs by new artists signifies that through time, the social situation in Shan state, reflected in song, remains little changed.

For instance, a female Shan rocker who did not want to be identified has chosen to include in her new album some of these old songs that have indirect political meanings — composed and originally sung by Sa Kha Ha, a singer and composer from Freedom Way. "I was impressed the first time I listened to the song 'The Shans Still Remember' during the Shan new year celebrations in 1997. Since then, my interest began to focus on political songs and I began to sing this song in concerts," she explains.

"The audience's reaction was favourable. I was requested to sing this song every time I was on stage. That's why I would like to redo some of Freedom Way's tracks for my album. The selected tracks do not directly talk about politics but have a profound interpretation," she adds. "For example, the track titled 'Hur' (Boat) literally means a rolling boat, but symbolises the future of the Shan people controlled by their leader — and they don't know whether the destination is good or bad."

A couple of months after the release of her album, sales rapidly reached 2,000 copies. This is quite an achievement, since new singers usually test the market by producing just 1,000 copies at first.

The popularity of her album shows that the demand for political songs among Shan people has not changed since the glory age of Freedom Way.

CHALLENGES

Shan singers have to deal with myriad challenges - political restrictions, a watchful military regime wary of Shan nationalist sentiment, piracy, limited budgets - all at the same time.

Large music companies are unable to take on the production aspects of the singers' albums and local radio stations are prohibited from broadcasting Shan songs, while Shan singers struggle to pursue their art.

But as long as songs continue to be written and produced in the Shan language, Shan music will weave its way through its people, binding them together regardless of which side of the border they live on.

*Wandee Suntivutimetee of the 'Salween Post' wrote this for the 'Our Mekong: A Vision amid Globalisation' programme.