Creation and Chanting of Lik Yaat

Original title こころを架けることば ―リックヤートの創作と朗誦―

This film focuses how people share a collective sense of history through the auditory experience. Dehong Tai people embrace Theravada Buddhism. In order to live better in this world and the next, they perform dignified rituals and acquire \”merit\”. For the rituals they spend years and save money, then they do a good deed like contribution of Buddhist statues and building the bridges. Chief donators commission an intellectual to write historical scriptures to hand down the good deed to posterity. It is called \”Lik Yaat\” in Tai and written with beautiful words and rhyme. After the cultural revolution, only a few intellectuals can create and chant \”Lik Yaat\” now. There is a woman, Wan Xiang-ya, who strives for the tradition of “Lik Yaat”. She should be their first and last female intellectual who can write \”Lik Yaat\” in Tai history.

Author/s ITO, Satoru

Director ITO, Satoru He studied Cultural Anthropology and Ethnomusicology in The Graduate University for Advanced Studies[Sokendai]. Now he is a Ph.D. candidate and Visiting Researcher of National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka. He had done his 3 year fieldwork at Tai village in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. This is his first Anthropological film and awarded as \”The Best Film, Debut Competition, 6th Moscow International Festival of Visual Anthropology, 2012\”. International Film Competitions – selected & screening: 12th RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film (23 – 26 June 2011, London, England) 9th WorldFilm – Tartu festival of visual culture (19–25 March 2012, Tartu, Estonia) 6th Moscow International Festival of Visual Anthropology (8-12 October 2012, Russia)

Research ITO, Satoru
Photography ITO, Satoru
Sound ITO, Satoru
Editing ITO, Satoru