Zhangha of the Dai ethnic group

Meaning “singers” in the Dai language, Zhangha is a popular performance art among the Dai people, who inhabit Southwest China’s Yunnan province. It originally only involved folk song singing but came to include storytelling in the first half of the 15th century. The art, an important carrier of Dai culture and history, is also acclaimed in the neighboring countries that share similar languages and customs with the Dai people, including Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

The performance forms of Zhangha can be divided into two kinds: solo and antiphonal singing. The latter is somewhat like a competition. It is mainly accompanied by two featured Dai musical instruments – the bowed-string dinggana that is usually played with love songs or ballads, and the bi, a wood pipe one with a single reed. The Zhangha performance covers impromptu singing, highly-formulated songs featuring blessings, prayers, and some narration. Its melodies, soft and lyrical in most cases, are closely related to the intonation of the lyrics.

The Zhangha art plays an indispensable role in Dai social life and is performed on many festive occasions, such as New Year celebrations, weddings, housewarmings and babies’ one-month-old feasts.