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Halloo! When I found out I could go to med school with a Humanities degree with an Ethnomusicology emphasis, I almost peed myself. Here's to me holding it in.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Annotated Source


Ellwanger, Tracy, "“Oh Uncle Pema!” The Role of Musical Agency in the Creation of a Modern Tibetan Identity" (2005). ISP Collection. Paper 415.
http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/415 






"Aku Pema," a popular Tibetan song, is used as a case study for what the title denotes. Interesting ideas from this article are the resistance of Tibetans to Chinese "impurities" in the traditional musics, and the very real ways that Tibetans use musical and other artistic expressions to support Tibetan identity and maintain national pride. 



Lyrics from Wikipedia

"Uncle Pema"
By Palgon (original in Tibetan)
Oh Uncle Pema!
Oh mighty Eagle adorned with a conch-white stripe!
If you soar up heavenwards, you adorn the azure sky,
If you descend earthwards, you gladden the craggy mountains.
And, your absence makes the craggy ledges bereft of any life!
Oh Uncle Pema!
Duck with the golden rosary
If you fly out of the water, you adorn the meadows,
If you swim in the water, you gladden the water’s spirits
And, your absence makes the lake bereft of life and spirit!
Oh Uncle Pema!
Oh handsome Youth, adorned with conch-white teeth like a tiger!
If you go [a]way, you are a credit to your fellow townsfolk, and
If you come this way, you are a star amongst your peers.
And, your absence makes my heart bereft of love and meaning!

1 comment:

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