Sala (Traditional Qiang lyric & melody arr. by D.Liang & A.Washburn)

Performed by Luo Shuang (罗霜)

The Qiang ethnic minority of western Sichuan traditionally dances around the fire when they sing this song. Luo Shuang sang this during our traditional US and Chinese music exchange class at the middle school. The Qiang people were hit harder than any other minority group during the earthquake. The official numbers show that 10% of the Qiang died in the earthquake, but word among the Qiang is that at least 30% are still missing. A Qiang minority teacher told us that the words sung in Sala are Qiang words with no meaning except to inspire dancing.

Sala Field Recording (click to view)