Shan New Year Songs Part IV: Khur Sor Lai
by Naw Liang (with help from PiJo)

Season's greetings. Or maybe that is a bit early?
The following post is Part IV in All about Shan Studies' look at Shan New Year's songs, one of the expanding array of online content available on Shan New Year. I hope to include sound clips with each song soon, but, for now, please enjoy the lyrics below.

Yin lii nam nam to Pi Jo and many others, particularly friends from the SCA_UK, for sending these through to me. And, as always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

For now, enjoy practicing Khur Sor Lai



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On a tangential aside, I have stumbled upon another Shan group, this time from Singapore, who have astutely produced an excellent and amply named Shan New Year website. The site includes, amongst other new year things, photos of past years and an interview with Sai Htee Saing. Following the link above for details.

The Singapore group is, I am certain, only one of many groups worldwide holding Shan New Year celebrations. As a wide request, I would appreciate any links to other groups, particularly in Northern Thailand and, if possible, Shan State, that readers are aware of so that I might include there details in future postings. Additionally, I plan to arrange a database of Shan groups worldwide in the near future - one of many projects I have in the works for All about Shan Studies - and these links will be invaluable additions to such work.

Yin lii nam nam for your help in advance.

Naw Liang

Roads to Eastern Shan State
A preview of posts-to-come
by Nicholas Farrelly (New Mandala)
Summary by Naw Liang

Mai soong kha everyone!
Noticeably shorter than previous posts, the following has been included to serve one key purpose: to introduce everyone to New Mandala, an excellent academically-focused and easily accessible online South East Asia information and discussion source. It is administered by major contributors Andrew Walker, a well-known anthropologist at ANU (see profile and publications and his groundbreaking work Legend of the Golden Boat), and up-and-coming SE Asian development expert Nicholas Farrelly (see profile (with Andrew Walker). These two prolific and insightful thinkers are joined by a growing list of expert South East Asia researchers and watchers worldwide. I have always found it a great place for information and debate on current and future research into South East Asia, including a growing number of Shan-focused pieces. That, and they have a fantastic dtabase of back-dated work. I urge each and everyone of you to check it out when time permits.

You won't be disappointed.

For now, the above link - in the headline - is a precursor to a longer article I am working on following my visit to Eastern Shan State, Wa State and Yunnan in June/July of this year. Although our topics are only slightly overlapping - road conditions in Eastern Shan State - and the difference in content considerable, this short article has great photos and expert and thought provoking comments.

That said, our content is only so accurate. I am certain that I (and any commenter to the New Mandala post) am not the most recent or widely travelled visitors to this area, and I hope that these posts will encouraged others to share their Shan State and beyond travel tales here. Write in and tell us your stories. We can all benefit from these experiences.

For now, enjoy the New Mandala post by Nicholas Farrelly, and keep your eyes open for my in-depth article to follow soon.

Jom lii kha,

Naw Liang