Chebeu

In 2023, the world mourned the passing of Chebeu, a powerful Puli Hulai Akha shaman, nyi pa, who long ago was summoned in her dreams by shaman ancestor spirits to carry on the age-old practice of conversing with spirits, calling back souls, and restoring balance between the supernatural realm and the mortal world, in a lifework to heal the afflicted.  Hers was a noble, selfless pursuit that required countless hours of training by visible and invisible mentors and an abiding devotion to helping others.

The vital importance of such a Master Shaman goes beyond treating body and soul, however, as Chebeu served as a faithful guardian of ancestral lore, time-honored knowledge, and esoteric practices. A mentor to many generations of young nyi pa apprentices, she was a living link in a dynamic chain of Oral Tradition that has been passed down over millennia.

As a matriarch, Chebeu was a sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother to her thriving extended family, and a friend to her community. Her passing was heart-rending to all. But for the Akha ethnic diaspora as a whole, nay for the world, the loss of her voice and her storehouse of wisdom is incalculable.

“In December 2006 the Pulai Hulai Akha of Ban Nam Mouakha, Muang Sing, Luang Nam Tha, Laos, was the setting of a massive consecration rite, made all the more remarkable because it is only performed every fifteen years. The Nyi Pa Phii Shau Tae Festival, held just before the New Year celebration, unfolded over two days and nights to bless Akha villagers and to renew the protective power of the Akha Spirit Gates, law kaw, sitting sentinel at the village entry. What multiplied my good fortune by an infinite number was the fact that Chebeu, the highly esteemed master shaman, nyi pa, was leading the rites along with sixteen other shamans, all who had trained with her.”

Chebeu with her Sixteen Shaman Acolytes

“Chebeu incanted ritual canon by memory in an intense, raw vocal style, which drove her movements as she rhythmically pounded the teak floorboards with her heels and brandished her ceremonial black fans, bor seu. There is a call-and-response quality to these chants as an apprentice shaman mirrored Chebeu’s every word and every gesture. Not only is there more strength in the dual voices, this also gives the younger shaman the experience to absorb the complicated verses through the ‘Mother Tongue Method.’

In the course of the night lit by candle, Chebeu ascends to the supernatural world on horseback to speak with the spirits. “I want to extend the lives of the Za Nyi (Akha) people. I am asking our ancestors to grant us a long life. I am making the first offering to the spirit of the stone, which lives in the whirlpool. I will guard your soul from wandering to the whirlpool. I will not let your soul leave the village. This night I come to offer a pure cock at the altar of the jm (recent ancestors).”

“When all have gathered, the grand nyi pa, Chebeu, leads a procession of sexteen nyi pa, her escorts, participants in the ceremony, and guests along a path to the Spirit Gate.  I am reminded of a Bergman film at this moment – a parade of villagers silhouetted on the crest of a hill, led by Master Time.

A lone voice emerges from the ritual area, where all of the shamans had assembled. The nyi pa from Ban Nam Mua has cast the first spell; rhythmically, she punctuates the air by raising and lowering a black fan in each hand, accompanied by the pulse of her feet stomping the earth, and a low, primal chant that comes from deep inside and 2 millennia ago. One by one the 17 shamans join in, in their own time or in pairs, so that their melodic mantras crescendo into a dizzying cacophony.

This rite was one of a handful of extraordinary events I have experienced in my nearly two decades of archival work—made all the more special because it may never again take place with such collective ancestral wisdom. . .

It has been the honor of a lifetime to know Chebeu and to document – in photographs, books, and films – some of the ceremonies she performed.  And what a privilege to learn that a photograph I took of her was placed on her caskets during her last rites. May this documentation provide a living memory for her families and a cultural archive for the wider world.” (Victoria Vorreiter)