"Bamboo on the Mountains"

Cover of "Bamboo on the Mountains"
24" x 23", oil on canvas, 2014

Today's painting depicts two Kmhmu Highlanders from a group of five musicians on a bench in Nan, Thailand. I can't be sure but the woman on the right might very well be either Ya' Ak Keodaeng or Ya' Seu Keodaeng who perform the Teum song that was recorded by Frank Proschan, and appeared on the CD Bamboo on the Mountains: Kmhmu Highlanders from Southeast Asia and the U.S. (Smithsonian Folkways, 1999). The recording was made in 1992 in the exact area (Chon Den subdistrict) in Northern Nan where the photograph was taken (be it on a different date).