Mor lam had its roots in the
heartlands of Laos and Northeast Thailand known as Isan. The song originated in
the musical traditions of Tai tribes that migrated from southern part of China
and northern Vietnam. Chinese, Mon-Khmer, Indian and Malay influences also have
noticeable effects on the dances, instrumentation and melodies of mor lam.
In 18th and 19th
centuries, Siam stretched its influences over Laos which started the spread of Laos
music in the regions of Thailand while forced migration from Laos into Isan
region and what is now Central Thailand accelerated the taking in of mor lam in
Thai heartlands. In 1865, Mongkut banned public performances of mor lam as they
conceive it as a threat to Thai culture and they assumed the song as a cause of
drought at that time. From then on, mor lam performances became local affairs
mostly confined to festivals in Isan and Laos. However, as time passed by, Isan
people started to migrate throughout the country and their music came with
them. The first known mor lam performance of the 20th century took
place at the Rajdamneon Boxing Stadium in Bangkok in 1946.
In 1950s and 1960s, educational
aspect of lam was attempted to be used in politics in both Thailand and Laos by
recruiting mor lam singers to include propaganda in their performances hoping
to convince the rural population to support their cause. However, due to
insufficient amount of performers for audience’s demands, the attempt became
unsuccessful in Thailand.
It was in late 1970s and early
1980s that mor lam started to spread more across Thailand as more people left
Isan to work across different regions. Mor lam was given more attention as
performers started to appear on television led by Banyen Rakgaen and soon, the
music has gained a national profile.
Contemporary mor lam shows a
lot of difference from its previous generations. The traditional Isan genres
were no long performed today. Nowadays, singers perform three minute songs
which are combined with lam segments with luk thung while comedians perform
skits in between blocks of songs. The modernized version of the song is known
as mor lam sing where in performances consists of medleys of lam songs
accompanied by electric instruments. Sing in mor lam sing came from the English
word racing which is shown in the fast pace of the song.
Terry Miller in his Traditional
Music of Laos identified five factors which helped in the production of various
genres of lam in Isan, including animism, Buddhism, story telling, ritual
courtship and competitive folksongs. Of these, the concept of animism and story
telling exemplified by lam phi fa and lam phuen are the oldest while mor lam
gon which deals with ritual courtship and male- female competitive songs are
considered as the ancestor of the commercial mor lam being performed nowadays.
Indeed, mor lam is now widely
recognized across different parts of Thailand and it is getting more attention
as people starts to appreciate its beauty. To better appreciate the rich
musical culture of Isan, here is a song which displays a great combination of
Isan and contemporary music. Enjoy!
Post by The Isan Project.
