Ku (Bainitang) audio word list

On April 16, 2013 in Bainitang Village 白泥塘, Shede Township 舍得彝族乡, Qiubei County, Yunnan, China, I interviewed Ang Yongming 昂永明, a 65-year-old man. His family genealogy record says that the Bo people are from Yibin County 宜宾县, Sichuan. Ang says the history and sacrificial songs cannot be translated, since they are in an archaic ritual register language; only those who can sing those songs will actually know the history of the Bo people.

Cultural items among the Bo include bronze pieces (with hole in the middle; for funerals) and lute. The Li clan 李家 still practices the “hanging coffin” custom; same language as the rest of the village.

There are only 2 men in the village who can sing traditional Bo songs, namely Ang Yongming 昂永明 and Zhu Yingchang 朱应昌. Zhu, who is a 75-year-old man, can sing the most folk songs, but has impaired hearing.

Other than Bainitang 白泥塘, mutually intelligible varieties of Ku are also spoken Liuwanpo 六湾坡 and Luozidi 罗子地.