In Cambodia, there is a shamanic ritual ceremony called Arakk to enter a trance state in which the cause of illness is revealed. The ceremony begins with a song by two female shamans accompanied by bamboo flute and small drum. The ceremony lasts from a few hours to many days, depending on the patients. During the ceremony, the shamans offer various things such as rice, rice wine and a chicken. Once the offering is set, the music by bamboo flute and small drumming sound is played by men while shamans sing the song for a spirit to be a trance. Once the illness is proved, the musicians play a special song while the shamans return to the reality.
credits
from Brao: Arakk Healing Ritual [Ratanakiri, Cambodia],
track released January 21, 2018
This recording is specially done in the community of Brao group, one of the ethnic minority in Northeast Cambodia.
The Brao of Cambodia live in the highland of Northeast Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and the Vietnam. Brao people belong to the Mon-Khmer language group. The Brao people can be found in other names such as Kavey, Kravet etc.Brao people are patriarchal society where men held to a higher status than the women of the family.The Brao people are very skillful with music playing gong from bossed gong to flat gongs including drums, zithers and bamboo flutes. Women are more passionate with singing and dancing. The style of singing and dancing can be similar to other provinces and other ethnic groups of mainland southeast.
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