Black Hmong And Mapuche: Both Cultures Using This Same Instrument
Exploring Cultural Connections: The Similarities Between Black Hmong and Mapuche Tribal Music
I thought these videos were cool. They show both cultures using this same instrument. What are your thoughts on it?
Explore the cultural connection between Black Hmong and Mapuche tribal music, highlighting shared instruments and rhythms that bridge traditions from different continents.
Black Hmong Tribal Music
Exploring Cultural Connections: Black Hmong and Mapuche Tribal Music
When we think of traditional tribal music, we often imagine unique sounds and styles tied to each culture. However, when we look deeper, we find surprising similarities that connect us across continents. In particular, both the Black Hmong from Southeast Asia and the Mapuche from South America use remarkably similar instruments in their music, reflecting a shared human connection in how we create and experience rhythm.
In the videos linked below, you’ll notice fascinating parallels between Black Hmong and Mapuche music. Both feature instruments that produce hauntingly resonant sounds, evoking images of their natural landscapes and spiritual beliefs.
Watch these videos to see for yourself:
These videos showcase the remarkable use of traditional instruments in both cultures. The Hmong’s use of bamboo-based instruments, for example, often creates a melodic sound that resonates with the mountains and forests they inhabit. The Mapuche, too, use instruments that connect them to their landscapes, especially with wooden flutes that echo their forests and open plains.
Common Instruments and Techniques
The similarities between these two music styles can be traced to their shared love for nature-inspired sounds and communal storytelling through song. Both cultures use wind and percussion instruments crafted from natural materials such as bamboo, wood, and sometimes animal parts. These instruments produce sounds that are integral to rituals, celebrations, and storytelling, and each carries centuries of tradition.
For the Hmong, their music is closely tied to spirituality, with each instrument carrying its own symbolic meaning. Mapuche music also has a strong spiritual component, often performed in ceremonies to honor ancestors and nature. Both Black Hmong and Mapuche songs follow a rhythm that flows like the natural environment they represent, embodying the land they cherish and protect.
A Bridge Across Continents
One of the most captivating aspects of these videos is how they illustrate a shared cultural rhythm, despite the vast geographical distance. Through music, both cultures show us that the way we experience and express life’s essence can be strikingly similar. This mutual connection serves as a reminder of our shared human heritage and the power of music as a universal language.
What do you think about these cultural connections? Do you think the similarities in their music reflect something deeper? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
By exploring these musical connections, we celebrate the diversity and unity within our world’s cultural tapestry.
Holy cow she’s even wearing the same dress design outfit. We call this instrument “cha”, loosely spelled. In the Romanization it’s spelled Ncas. The “h” in “cha” is silent and the “c” is not pronounced with the “k” sound. What do the MAPUCHE people call this instrument?
Hey there. I don’t know what the they call this instrument.
But it is amazing.
Nus Vaj – I think the Mapuche called them “pifilca”.
Nus Vaj – pifilca (pee-feel-ka) I had to use Google translate to figure it out. lol.
haha the funny thing is we use this instrument to court girls at night when their parents are all asleep. A young man would sneak outside at night and find where a girl room is at and play this instrument to her outside of her room. She will answer back by playing it too. They would communicate threw these instrument using sweet melody that can be translate to words to win a girl heart. I still don’t know how they understand and can translate the instrument.
Nus Vaj – I’m sorry I posted the wrong instrument. The one that you are talking about is called trompe (trom-pay), its like a Jews harp or something like that.
Robert Vang – I heard that because the Hmong language is a tonal language that when a person speaks you can hear sounds of instruments and that is why they can understand what the music is saying.
yeah that is true our language is base on tone. Probably explain why there’s so many hmong singers hahaha. Every instrument that a hmong plays even a leaf can speak.
its really hard to understand it. You’ll have to actually grew up with it surrounding you. Now i believe there’s is no young generation that can translate an instrument.
Check out this article about the instrument. It has no relation to Jewish people, but it’s called a jews harp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jew's_harp
Here is a Chukchi woman with the same instrument.