A multi-component project by poet/artist Inra Jaka (co-author of the contemporary music/dance piece Palao) in collaboration with Cham and Vietnamese artists and researchers, around the Cham music heritage and its relationship with folklores and legends, encompassing a publication, audio archived materials, the creation of new musical pieces (in collaboration with Phu Sa Lab associates), and filmic documentation.
“Among Cham traditional instruments, the ginang percussion plays the most important role. In the past, there would be one gru (teacher) and one student going to a distant place or into the forest for training. The custom was not only for the student to fully focus on his sounds and to master skills, but also to attain knowledge of the rituals, and the origin story of each rhythm. The sound would thus differ accordingly – fast, powerful, playful, melancholic. There are only a few masters left that can still recall the ancient legends whilst most of the musicians currently play the patterns by memory without full awareness of what lies behind the music.”