In my country, when someone asks the nationality, it means that he/she asks about the tribe name. For me, I am belonging to a Kachin tribe ( a pure Kachin). But when I come to the
Here, most of my time, I enjoy listening to the Kachin songs. When I listen to the Kachin songs, I miss a lot about my places and people. Sometimes, I feel very lonely and homesick but at least I have some Kachin songs which give me remedy for my loneliness and homesickness. Going with the songs' flow, sometimes, I do feel that I am in my place. What a powerful inspiration!
I realize that our Kachin songs are not only for entertaining people but also reminding us with actual facts in the Kachin society which are reflecting our daily life. Even though the songs may not describe poverty and hardship in detail, they give listeners for good pictures how people struggle for survival and how they help each other and share their suffering. Sometimes, they are messengers for the Kachins.
Mostly the Kachin songs are own tunes. Of course, there are some copied songs but very few. Mostly, those songs are produced with the "self-suicide mission" which means probably the producers do not expect profits. Exactly, these musicians are non-profit advocates for the people. For their sacrifice, people still have the opportunity to listen to the Kachin own-tune songs. Bravo!
Recently, I have many Kachin songs given by a friend who visited me last month. I enjoy listening. Now, one of my favorite song is "Ngai Jawng Sara"(I am a teacher) by Ah Tang. Ah Tang is very popular in the Kachin music field because normally his songs are pragmatically reflective and sincerely descriptive about people living in the deep poverty.
I like this song because I can easily relate to it. Probably, I was a teacher once. Precisely, the song gives a lot of inspiration and real pictures about the Kachins who mostly live in highland areas. I heard about this song a lot but I did not have a chance to buy it.
The song give me a good picture about poor education in the highland areas. It is simple but deeply moved for me. In the first verse, I notice that the composer tries to gives a good picture about the students in the school who are waiting for their teacher in the class. In the second verse, the song pictures a glimpse of the students. Those students do not have enough warm clothes to protect themselves from the mist in the cold season. This nature climax seems to torture the poor children in the classroom.
The song reflects reality about people who live in cities and enjoy more chances than those in the mountain. They do not want to go there. This description makes me heartbreaking. The song tries to appeal them to share their joy with the least people in the mountain areas.
Of course, this song reminds me a lot about my old experiences and memories in the mountain areas. As the song goes into the end, it says that "Hpaji chye hkra shakut mu yaw!"(Try your best to get an education.) This line echoes me and it is deeply shaking my heart. It is a message for me.
