Xeng (Roger) Thao (left) and his apprentice Wang Xiong display their Qeej's.
Photo courtesy of Xeng Thao.
The qeej, a free-reed multiple pipe bamboo instrument, is the most important instrument in White Hmong funeral rituals. The sounds of the qeej replicate the Hmong language, narrating the story of the journey back to the ancestors and the subsequent journey to rebirth. Ritual movements accompany the music, including swinging and circular motions. Xeng (Roger) Thao, a master qeej player, regularly performs at funerals, a service that is essential to his community. Both Roger and his apprentice Wang L. Xiong teach the qeej to youth in Long Beach as part of the “Qeej not Gangs” program. Roger has been teaching Wang the White Hmong funeral repertoire, which is played for three days and three nights. For the next six months they will work on “the song of the horse and the ride to the ancestors,” which includes music and movement.
Xeng Thao and Wang Xiong with their young students.
Photo courtesy of Xeng Thao.
top
