Jingde (景德)

Singer: Yu Kan La. Ding player: Ai Wan Luo. Recording and transcription: Leonardo D’Amico (Manxi village 2017)

Suǒ (索): «Suo are love songs usually sung in duets. For example, here in Manxi we are very fond of singing the kayou (卡尤) and we always sing it in the village. In the same way we sing ximei (西美), jingmai gao diao (景迈高调) and jingmai di diao (景迈低调). Ximei and katian (卡田) are our love songs duet. No matter what the occasion is, we can sing it. As long as you are happy, depending on what tune you sing, you can sing in duet with love songs. For example, the beng duo (崩多) is usually sung in duet with the boy from Xiding region, but for us who live in Manya or Manyung region we love to sing jingde (景德). If we sing to the boys who come from outside, we use sandao (三岛). In some big occasions, we use humorous jingmai gao to entertain the guests, as well as the ximei that sound so lively, even if the guests cannot understand the meaning […] Another song is kading (卡玎), that means “wishes” and it is usually sung in the temple» (Yu Kan La, personal communication, Manxi village, 2017).