“One Song Sends You Knocking on Seven or Eight Artists’ Doors”

Lhasa — Young Tibetan cultural activist Karma Tashi Choejor has fully collected and edited 537 Tibetan folk songs over the past 12 years, while work to complete the lyrics of an additional 40 songs remains ongoing.

Speaking about the challenges of folk song collection, Karma Tashi says, “The complete lyrics of any song cannot be collected all at once. To piece together the scattered fragments of most songs, you have to visit elderly folk artists in village after village. Sometimes, for the lyrics of a single song, you end up knocking on the doors of seven or eight different artists.”

Alongside collecting songs, he is also studying their historical background and performance styles. “Nowadays, recording a song is not that difficult technically — a recorder and a notebook will do. But learning the true essence of the singing and dancing of veteran artists is not a matter of one or two years; it requires a long period of dedicated practice and countless rehearsals,” he says. “This process demands patience, perseverance, and deep trust.”

Among the senior artists from whom Karma Tashi has learned are two figures of note: Rigzin Wangmo, a national-level intangible cultural heritage custodian (Guge Shonbro), and Tashi Dondrub, the Shonna intangible cultural heritage custodian of Tshada County. His collection journey is progressing under the watchful guidance and goodwill of both veteran artists.

Rigzin Wangmo says, “Karma Tashi came to our village time and again. I have seen him arrive at the doorsteps of many homes, collecting songs from elderly men and women. Now he can perform many songs, and he is doing very well in every respect.”

Likewise, Tashi Dondrub remarks, “Karma Tashi is passing on his experience to the younger generation, telling them, ‘I have a teacher called Tashi Dondrub. He taught me this way, and it will be good if you also do the same.’ If we go on like this, everyone will improve step by step.”