A molam artist life (2)
Obituary for Molam Intaeng Keobouala
Part 2 of my tribute to Molam Intaeng: the glory years
Intaeng became famous around 2014-2015 in her early twenties when people from both sides of the Mekong started to notice her voice and beauty. She was invited to perform in Vientiane at the ASEAN meetings and youTube videos increased her reach. See here when her voice matures and she is in full command of her art with this video uploaded in 2016 about a boxer preparing for a match and his fighting spirit Muay Khadtakon (ມວຍຄາດຕະກອນ múaykʰâːt tá kɔ̀ːn):
At the peak of her career, the band performs at 2 or 3 events a day, involving all night long performances. One can admire across the videos the care she took for wearing traditional Lao national silk costumes, the skirt sinh (ສິ້ນ sȉn) and double breasted blouse seuapay ເສື້ອປ່າຍ sɨ̏apāːy, her hair wrapped neatly in a bun decorated with Lao gilded jewelry. Her posture is impeccable, the back straight while seating for hours with her legs folded sideways according to the Lao proper way for women nang phab pheb (ນັ່ງພັບແພບ nāŋ pʰāp pʰɛ̑ːp).
In community events, she thrived, radiant and at ease, improvising poetry depending on the context and the interaction with guests. In this clip, Taeng One (ແຕງອອ່ນ tɛːŋ ɔ̄ːn young gourd) she participates in a Buddhist ceremony at the temple in Don Mak Ek, in Champassak Province (March 2018). She was neat and strict, versing about the ceremony, the monks and the faithful.
As it is well researched, the lam can be sexually suggestive, whether between the singers courting or with passionate guests – whether men or women - letting themselves loose after a dose of alcohol. She managed situations with mastery as one can see in this clip lam Tai Lam Siphandone (dated May 12, 2019) where the host is a bit overwhelming and encouraged by other women in the assembly.
We can see her improvise verses narrating the situation, asking wittingly if he is married or looking for adventure, and turning her back apologizing that she has to take care of other guests, bringing laugh among attendants. Molam create the same excitement among women as can be seen in this clip when they start to dance on the lively music (community event in Muong Vapi District, Champassak Province, video uploaded in 2017 :
These clips provide a great sense of how singers are responding to each other and the festive ambiance that molam bring to an event.
The toll of COVID19
In this video uploaded in June 2020, Kae lam van saravan (ແກ້ລຳຫວ້ານສາລະວັນ kɛ̑ːlámwȁːnsǎːlā wán) one can see Intaeng perform at her house with her band just before or at the start of COVID19 pandemic. She is still radiant and self-confident with her musicians.
One talks extensively about mental health in western countries but we ignore the impact in poorer countries like Laos. Artists and most of the population live without safety net. Intaeng and her group were not able to perform during the COVID19 pandemic. Her father narrates “there are days, we don’t even have enough money to go to the market”. She tried to diversify her income by opening a stall selling papaya salad, went into selling cosmetics on her Facebook page and tried to keep her fans updated with her daily life. We see her going ungroomed to look for fishes or bamboo shoots, planting rice, sharing her bad dreams or performing on request on Facebook live. We can witness the toll of COVID, her body changed over the three years1 and so are the topics of her discussions with her public.
As she resumed her performance after COVID19 lockdown, we hear her practice and create magic. On November 20, 2021, for one hour and forty-four minutes, she goes on Facebook Live with just the sound of the Khene.
Rumors went wild that she killed herself because of debt, misusing 300 million kips entrusted by her father, letting others borrow from her, while she borrowed from shark lenders. But her father still had houses that could be sold to keep going. What are 300 million kips? 18,000 dollars that could have been fundraised in a couple of days with her fans or the Lao diaspora. Then came the request from her Lao-American fiancée to renounce to marry her, just two months before she decided to take her own life. The song “COVID 19” asks why he does not pick up her call, is that because of COVID or of intention to leave her:
The authorities said we can’t travel because of COVID, we must stay in our own house, beware of spreading COVID, it is forbidden for the community to meet and party, making impossible for you and I to see each other, drifting us apart day by day. Was it an opportunity for you to look elsewhere and separate? I call you every day, why don’t you pick up? Is it because of COVID or an excuse for you to break our engagement?
The shame of asking for help. “My only regret is that she has not talked to me” said her father, “if she did, we could have solved this. I wish I could take her place and die so she could return”. Before the fateful day, she kneeled in front of her parents to ask for pardon and went roaming two nights in a row. Then parked her car at the Lao-Japanese Friendship bridge, wrote a Facebook farewell message and left us forever.
In a true molam fashion, Intaeng is remembered by her peers with tribute of lam saudade songs. A dozen molam from both Laos and Northeastern Thailand composed songs in her honor, loaded with sadness but celebrating her life and talent. Here are some tributes. Kae Phetheuanseng laments “On September 19, I heard the news, you said goodbye to go to heaven, you tell home that you can’t fight anymore (…) you have a legacy, of your works, you are a molam singer from the south, of Lam Siphandone.”
Isaan Northeastern Thailand molam singer Ekaphone Mantra also bids farewell to Intaeng in a tribute; as well as Lang Sengaphone. The lyrics are all in the same register, sharing their sadness, wondering why she left, and that singers from both sides of the Mekong are unified in their grief.
I wish we all could remember Intaeng as a gifted artist who brought so much joy to all of us with her voice, her energy, her beauty. Get transported in listening to her a last time in this recent live performance. The host Oudomsok joins the dance with an harmonious lamvong gesture and we can hear in the background guests giving the tempo yeuk yeuk (ຍຶກ ɲɨ̄k) that accompanies the khène in all Lao ceremonies such as a wedding ritual. This atmosphère is very Lao and molam Intaeng with her Lam Siphandone is forever part of our fabric.
(performance in a private ceremony in Pakse on February 19, 2021).
Good bye, molam Intaeng, may you travel to the nibbhana without bad encounters, may your good deeds protect you in your journey to find eternal peace. Sathu, Sathu, Sathu.
If you or someone you know has a mental illness, there are ways to get help, do not hesitate to reach out. If you are touched by this story, support her molam group Dokfaphetphonthong to commission works (856-20)-588-68-111- or (856-20) 546-55-999 or provide donations.
Researches show that COVID19 had stressed our body in different ways. Even if one has not been infected by COVID19, the lockdown has changed habits in how we eat, how we exercice and how we are dealing with the situation. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/smarter-living/the-pandemic-is-stressing-your-body-in-new-ways.html