Akha Oral Tradition School Concert

On 24 February 2024, after eighteen weeks of inspirational teaching by six Master Akha Musicians and dedicated practice by their twenty-two students of the Akha Oral Tradition School, the Akha youth presented their first public concert.

This twenty-minute video takes viewers on a journey from their first lessons in singing, dancing, playing and making musical instruments – the Chudu End-blown Horn, Pipa Leaf, Jabo Bird Caller, Hulupeu Whistle Flute, and Meli Melo Reed Pipe – to this performance in Ban Saen Suk, Chiang Rai, Thailand, as they renew the heritage of their ancestors. Now they too are able to share Akha traditions with others in their family, community, and beyond.

Yet for all that, the ancestral wisdom they acquired goes beyond the oral traditions they learned. The steady, weekly classes the Akha Oral Tradition School offered also infused the children with a sense of identity, unity, and pride. Perhaps this is the true purpose of what our Akha teachers are attempting to impart – an invisible, indefinable, primal connection to their roots.

Truly, this first Living Legacy Project has been deeply moving, humbling, and wondrous.

Gulung guma deh to students of the Akha Oral Tradition School, their inspirational Master Teachers – Athu Pochear, Abiya Pochear, Miju Manpo, Apa Ayii, Mawleu Jupoh, and Asaw Jotaw – and the leaders and community of Ban Saen Suk.  Masses of gratitude are also extended to our donors, who believe in Cultural Crossroads Asia's vision and set us on our way.

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