Entertaining “Chineseness”: Chinese Singing Clubs in Contemporary Bangkok

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“…Not only do laments-that is, sound-complemented performances in honour of the dead, conveying grief and sorrow-exist in most cultures but, intriguingly, they also often take diverse forms in different layers of the same culture. 8 In the West, they are widely present in the oral environment, but its literate tradition as well has cultivated all along forms and genres meant for mourning.…”

“…Such behaviour was considered by outsiders (such as members of the English Ascendancy) to be quite inappropriate to the presence of death, but, in Roy Foster's words, 'the Irish affected to dwell in a different abstract world', where death was often referred to mockingly. 8 In Bakhtinian terms, humour makes death easier to live with; in Freudian terms, it makes grieving a whole and healthy practice. 9 At a moment when nature has asserted its supremacy over culture, it is the momentary return of the repressed.…”

“…Her second husband, Fred Sloane, forbade her mentioning the name of her ex-husband. 8 Separation and remarriage continue a family pattern begun by Sally's mother, a pattern reflected in the narrative of the song significant for the number of performances recorded in Sally's repertoire: 'Green Bushes.' The narrative in this song is a serpentine tale of two young men: a stranger and the betrothed, who are wooing a girl waiting near the Green Bushes.…”

“…The chanter that I heard a couple of times when I was younger chanted her connection with the deceased and while chanting she let people know what a great loss there was. 8 Relying on improvised or preset texts, kanikau serve as a means through which individuals cry and explain their sorrow that the deceased has passed away. They are also poetic creations in praise of the one departed.…”

“…7 Certain Altai Urianghai musical genres are now being included in this cultural veneration as genres that link Mongolia to an ancient past. 8 In my doctoral research, I focus on how Altai Urianghai people in and from 4 'Population and dwelling, 2010 National Census-Results-Sum/District [Hün Am, Oron Suutsnii 2010 oni Ulsyn Toollogo-ür dün-Sum/Düüreg]', viewed 29 July 2012, <http://www.toollogo2010.mn/yazi. php?category=Result> 5 The total number of Altai Urianghai people in Mongolia is 26 684, with most located in western Mongolia (ibid.).…”