Chol lu or Proposal Song, is an engagement song. It is sung when the parents first inform the girl of marriage plans for her. This happens before the chang or beer ceremony, where the groom’s family formally asks for the hand of the girl. A group of female relatives come together and they start singing a special kind of chol lu (this informs the girl that there are plans to get her married). The song tells about how the daughter does not want to get married and leave her mother, but the mother is telling her daughter that she had also got married and marriage is a good thing.
This song is not being sung anymore. According to Nima Dolma’s explanation, marriages arranged by parents have become rare. Most young people choose their partners for themselves, so the occasion to sing this song does not rise anymore.
Sung by Nima Dolma, in her fifities, from Tsazar village.

Interview with Tashi Lamo, a woman around thirty.
Tashi Lamo is originally from Karsha (a village in the Zanskar valley), but she got married in Zangla. Her husband works as a wage-laborer. They both belong to the community of Lakshes, considered a low or ‘untouchable’ caste. In the interview she talks about her life as a low-caste orphan, the local caste system (in a Buddhist setting) and the discrimination and difficulties faced by her family. She also explains how the village community works and how important chores, like cleaning the irrigation channels, are assigned among the villagers. She also talks about her traditional (winter) crafting activity, explaining how they buy their wool from other people, or sometimes from a shop, as they don’t have their own sheep. They first spin the yarn from wool and then make nambu, the local home-made and home-died cloth used for traditional clothing. She describes the process of making nambu in detail, through all the stages.

Amchi Phuntsog Tonyot is an amchi or traditional medicinal healer, as well as a farmer. He is a native of Tsazar, a village in Zanskar valley.
In the interview he explains how he had learnt the art of being an amchi from his father. He talks about the volumes of medicinal texts (six volumes according to him) that an aspiring amchi has to become familiar with before he can start to practice. He himself inherited his volumes from his father, who had brought them from Tibet. He also tells about the changes taking place in the village and how they are influencing the work of amchis, whose importance is fast diminishing with the introduction of Western-style medicine. Another radical innovation is the ‘amchi’s pharmacy’ (men-tse-khang), where amchis like Amchi Tsazar now buy their own medicines, instead of collecting special herbs in the mountainsides and making the medicines themselves.

Gyalses Nima Nurboo, age eighty four, is the descendant of the royal lineage of Zangla. He is still referred to locally as the ‘king of Zangla.’ Zangla Gyalgyud is an account of the oral history of Zangla, or rather of its royal family, as told by Gyalses Nima Nurboo.

Wangail is in his seventies and used to be a lurspon or semi-professional wedding singer. He was famous for this skills as a lurspon and used to be invited to wedding ceremonies all over the valley. He became a lurspon following the footsteps of his elder brother and father, who were also lurspons. His own son, however, a village teacher, was not interested in becoming a lurspon, putting an end to the family tradition. In the interviews made with him he talks about the role and duties of lurspons, and about how weddings were celebrated in the past, before modernization and the consequent social transformation changed the traditional way. Wangail is also singing the Weddings Songs (Bagston Glu) that are part of this collection.

Wangail is in his seventies and used to be a lurspon or semi-professional wedding singer. He was famous for this skills as a lurspon and used to be invited to wedding ceremonies all over the valley. He became a lurspon following the footsteps of his elder brother and father, who were also lurspons. His own son, however, a village teacher, was not interested in becoming a lurspon, putting an end to the family tradition. In the interviews made with him he talks about the role and duties of lurspons, and about how weddings were celebrated in the past, before modernization and the consequent social transformation changed the traditional way. Wangail is also singing the Weddings Songs (Bagston Glu) that are part of this collection.

A religious song, which is not sung anymore these days.
The singer, a woman in her sixties, asked that her name be withheld. She is from Tsazar village in Zanskar valley. She consented to sing only one song, one of a religious nature.
The song is sung about the Dalai Lama, asking him to visit and bless people. It also describes how people go to visit the Dalai Lama, but those with a pure heart are lucky, as they can see him in their mind’s eye when they look at the stupa. It sounds like a traditional song, however the singer is calling on the Dalai Lama by his given name (Tenzin Gyatso), suggesting that this is a song using traditional formulas and music patterns, but some of the content, or at least the name, may be changed. The singing pattern suggests that it is usually accompanied by daman and surna.

This recording was made during the preparations for an actual wedding, in July 2018, in Zangla village. It was made the day before the groom’s party goes to fetch the bride from her father’s house. All the people who have been invited to take part in the wedding (to help with the proceedings) are invited to the groom’s house on this day. They drink the chang prepared by the groom mother, they discuss how to prepare for the coming wedding and what time to leave for the bride the next day. From time to time they sing wedding songs.

This is a song specifically sung the day before the wedding, during the preparation. It tells about how the villagers will participate in the wedding and help unite two souls in marriage.

Sharchok riva karpo is a zhung glu, that is, a congregational or praise song. It is sung in praise of a mythical stupa or chorten (which, today at least, does not exist). It describes the blessed nature of the chorten and how uniquely it was built. As a zhung glu, it is sung at social gatherings. If there is a religious event, which ends with a social gathering and drinking, it may also be sung during the latter part (however, not during the ritual part itself). The singer is Gyalses Nima Nurboo, a descendant of the royal lineage of the former kings of Zangla. According to Gyalses Nima Nurboo, a slightly different version of the same song exists in Ladakh, called golang ba la serai yi thi.

A funny tale told by Tsultrim Falke, the story of Skit-tsil, a dumb boy who takes to thieving and robbing and becomes rich. He does a lot of stupid things, but somehow they always turn out well for him. Two brothers want to kill him, making up ways to kill him, but he always escapes, while the brothers eventually fall in their own trap and are thrown into the river shut in a box.

Auspicious Song of Five. Sung by Gyalses Nima Nurboo, aged eighty-four, the descendant of the royal lineage of Zangla. He is still referred to locally as the ‘king of Zangla.’ This is a so-called ‘auspicious song’ or stamdal. ‘Auspicious songs’ are sung on various happy occasion: during marriages, childbirth (Lda-Gang ceremonies), or when one is going to ask for a girl’s hand (when people are already seated inside the house). They are sung not only in Zanskar, but all over Ladakh as well. They are among the few songs that are still widely sung, despite the decline of traditional songs in the region. There are different kinds of stamdal songs, this one is referred to as the ‘fifth.’ The song tells about how before celebrating anything, happiness comes first; the language of the song belongs to a formal, high register, not to the everyday spoken language. It is near to Classical Tibetan.

Tsetan Angmo, a woman in her seventies, is from the village of Stongdey. Her father used to be a man famous for knowing many tales and she had learnt from him. However, she has forgotten most of them, due to the lack of an interested audience. The Gyalpo Dawa dang lunpo Dawa zangpo tale is about the king Dawa and his minister Lunpo Dawa. The king was a very generous person and fulfilled everyone’s wishes. However, knowing his generosity, once a demon named Bimbersur seduced the greedy minister or lunpo of the king, promising to make him rich and powerful, if he got the head of the king for him. The lunpo went to the king asking for his head. The king cut off his own head and gave it to the lunpo, who took it to the demon. The demon, however, died when seeing the head of the king, and the lunpo, frustrated in his ambitions, died as well.

Abi May-may (Old lady – Old man) is a tale about the daughters of a very poor old couple, who are abandoned by their parents. After a number of miraculous events, the girls meet the Gold King and the youngest sister marries the Gold King and the other sisters became her servants. The two older sisters become jealous of their youngest sister and try to destroy her children. They thwarted several times and at last throw them into the river in a box. They are rescued by a (Muslim) old man, who brings them up, building a palace for them. After further adventures, their evil aunts finally meet their karmic punishments and are swallowed by the earth. Tsewang Norzom, aged eighty-three, is a farmer’s wife in the village of Kumik. She is the oldest person in her village and was suggested as someone who still remembers old tales. She learnt the tales from other people as a child. She can still recall the times when people were still coming and asking her to recite the tales.

Sharchok ling gyalpo, yorchok lu gyalpo (Heavenly King and the Subterranean Lu King) is a story about the King of Ling (Heaven) and the King of Lu (Subterranean Kingdom) and their meeting in the mythical place of Ling and their agreement to marry their future children. Tsewang Norzom,

Taklay Bumba is the story of a king with seven sons, for whom he wants to find wives. The tale tells the story of how the sons find themselves wives, after going through a number of adventures. Tsewang Norzom, aged eighty-three, is a farmer’s wife in the village of Kumik. She is the oldest person in her village and was suggested as someone who still remembers old tales. She learnt the tales from other people as a child. She can still recall the times when people were still coming and asking her to recite the tales.

Tsewang Norzom comes from a family famous for a legend associated with a mysterious wall surrounding the village. (No other village in the Zanskar valley is surrounded by such a wall). According to legend, this wall is believed to have been built by a Balu, a small human-like supernatural creature (or ‘dwarf’) possessing magical powers. The grandmother of Tsewang Norzom caught the Balu and took his cap and stick so he couldn’t escape. He had to follow her orders, which included building the wall around the village. This story is known to everybody in the village and even in other villages, though not in such detailed form as her account. There is even a stone in the field next to the village with footprints. Villagers say this is the footprint of the Balu, when he was carrying the stones for building the wall and took a rest at this spot. Tsewang Norzom, aged eighty-three, is a farmer’s wife in the village of Kumik. She is the oldest person in her village and was suggested as someone who still remembers old tales. She learnt the tales from other people as a child. She can still recall the times when people were still coming and asking her to recite the tales.

A riddle told by Tsewang Norzom.

Tsultrim Falke is in his sixties, from the village of Pishu. He is the head of the village and a traditional farmer. Tsultrim Falke can be said to represent the meeting of traditional and modern culture. Unlike most people his age, he can write in Tibetan and he has also traveled outside the valley. His understanding of the Gesar epic also reflects both oral and modern written tradition. According to his account, he learnt the Gesar epic (or the tales he was familiar with) in the traditional, oral way from his elders, that is, from his grandmother and another female relative from the village of Hongchat. Though he probably listened to these tales as a child, he consciously started to pay attention to them and committing them to heart at the age between fifteen and twenty. It must also be mentioned that Tsultrim Falke was familiar with written, book-versions of the Gesar epic, as well as the fact that the Gesar epic is known “everywhere,” that is over a wider geographical region. During his travels, he had found a book in Varanasi (India), in which there was a text of the Gesar epic, complete with pictures. He claimed to have another book of the Gesar epic in his possession, brought from Tibet by his grandfather. How far these bookish versions influenced his own recall of what he had first learnt in the oral way, remains to be determined. Finally, he was also aware of folklorists and other researchers’ interest in these texts (which made securing his cooperation easier). He once made a visit to Morup Namgyal, the singer and collector of Ladakhi folk/traditional songs, in Leh, even taking his volume of the Gesar epic along. He requested that they make a recording together. However, this recording finally did not materialize. During being recorded, Tsultrim Falke first explained the storyline and then sang the epic. This mixture of poetry and prose, or the chantefable style, is the traditional way to perform the Gesar epic.

Tsultrim Falke is in his sixties, from the village of Pishu. He is the head of the village and a traditional farmer. Tsultrim Falke can be said to represent the meeting of traditional and modern culture. Unlike most people his age, he can write in Tibetan and he has also traveled outside the valley. His understanding of the Gesar epic also reflects both oral and modern written tradition. According to his account, he learnt the Gesar epic (or the tales he was familiar with) in the traditional, oral way from his elders, that is, from his grandmother and another female relative from the village of Hongchat. Though he probably listened to these tales as a child, he consciously started to pay attention to them and committing them to heart at the age between fifteen and twenty. It must also be mentioned that Tsultrim Falke was familiar with written, book-versions of the Gesar epic, as well as the fact that the Gesar epic is known “everywhere,” that is over a wider geographical region. During his travels, he had found a book in Varanasi (India), in which there was a text of the Gesar epic, complete with pictures. He claimed to have another book of the Gesar epic in his possession, brought from Tibet by his grandfather. How far these bookish versions influenced his own recall of what he had first learnt in the oral way, remains to be determined. Finally, he was also aware of folklorists and other researchers’ interest in these texts (which made securing his cooperation easier). He once made a visit to Morup Namgyal, the singer and collector of Ladakhi folk/traditional songs, in Leh, even taking his volume of the Gesar epic along. He requested that they make a recording together. However, this recording finally did not materialize. During being recorded, Tsultrim Falke first explained the storyline and then sang the epic. This mixture of poetry and prose, or the chantefable style, is the traditional way to perform the Gesar epic.

Tong-lang nyilo-mai glu is a wedding song sung by Wangail, a wedding singer or Lurspon- May-may, in a traditional question-and-answer format. As part of the wedding ceremony, the groom’s party is going to the bride’s house to collect the bride from her father. The bride’s party previously put some stones, each a few meters from the other, forming a path leading to the bride’s house. The stone-path starts some fifty or hundred meters from the house and finally stops at the door. The groom’s party has to stop at each stone and they have to answer a question raised by the party of the bride. Both the question and the answer are in song form. The leader of the bride’s party holds a willow stick and if he is not satisfied with the answers, he beats the members of the groom’s party. After a successful answer is sung, each stone is kicked over. The recording contains both the questions of the bride’s part and the answers of the groom’s party.

When the last stone is reached during the ceremonial procession to the bride’s house, this song is sung (after the last stanzas of the tong-lang nyilo-mai zung). According to Wangail, the wedding singer or Lurspon- May-may interpreting the song, this song is no longer sung these days.

This is the song sung at the door of the bride’s house, after having ‘finished’ the stone-path. According to traditional custom, the bridegroom’s party come to ‘purchase’ the bride. The bride and her wedding party are barricaded inside the house and they demand proof of the purchaser’s identity, before opening the door. The questions and answers of the gonpheb song form a ritualized dialogue. The song is sung by Wangail, a wedding singer or Lurspon- May-may.