This research began in 2019 during a residency in Shanghai (OFFSHORE), following a meeting between Benjamin Husson and a traditional Chinese mourner (Sichuan).
"survival" practices
Benjamin Husson's "Global Mourning" research project proposes a contemporary reflection on the notion of "mourning" in our societies in transition, through the recording of lamenting rituals inherited from Ancient Egypt and still practiced on a large part of the planet.
The notion of "survival" (Nachleben) developed by art historian Aby Warburg, could be defined as: the life (Leben) of forms after (nach) the death of their time. Benjamin Husson's approach to "survival" enables him to inscribe the lament, the traditional mourner, not as a phenomenon of the past, but as a living phenomenon. A survival phenomenon, then, drawing its strength from millennia of evolution and practice, which Benjamin displaces and questions in the face of certain current issues (over-industrialization, climate crisis...). The result is a fragile ecosystem of encounters, sounds, texts and forms that nourish the vision of a present situated at the crossroads of an infinite number of histories.
This research results in sound sculptures, conferences, collective listening sessions and exhibitions (...).
Georgia
A look back at some of the unique moments I experienced during my recent investigations in Georgia, in relation to traditional lamentations and oral practices associated with the process of mourning. Here is a fragment of the recordings I’ve done.
Moments during which emotions mingled with theoretical research.
1/4 Giorgi & Ioseb // Svaneti
Giorgi Mukbaniani and his brother Ioseb singing and playing two traditional Svan (from Svaneti, a region of Georgia) instruments, the Changi (small wooden harp) and the Chuniri (which resembles a 3 strings banjo played like a cello, with a bow). Both are related to the history and specific practices of lamentations and mournings.
For example, the Changi legend—Giorgi told me— is about a mother who, while out walking, found the bent arm of her eldest son, who had been missing for years in the Georgian mountains. She created an instrument to accompany her grief, stretching her own hair between the ends of her missing son's stiff arm. Since then, the people of Svaneti have used the Changi to sing their sorrows.
Setting off from the airport town of Kutaisi, it took me all the efforts in the world to reach Giorgi’s village in Svaneti, trying to complete the last 15 kilometers by feet in the pouring rain, carefully avoiding falling rocks and mudflows.
I met him at the step of his house, situated on the road linking Lentekhi to Upper-Svaneti. Once inside, I met his family, seated around the table as they made a toast in honour of Giorgi's birthday.
Giorgi comes from an historical and esteemed family of Georgian singers, composers and musicians. He carries on the family traditions by practicing many traditional songs, dances and instruments.
2/4 Levan's Family // One, Racha
I’ve met Levan Berelize on my way to Oni, Racha region. I was waiting for him, sheltered from the torrential rain by the side of the road, drinking instant coffee. He was driving back from a teaching singing class with his daughter Marta and his niece Barbare.
After a short introduction, they started rehearsing all together a song in the car (video 2), which they were going to perform that evening.
I recorded this 3 voices polyphonic song at his place a few days later. Levan is playing the Chianuri, a 2-string version of Svaneti's Chuniri, ‘the instrument that always cries’. In certain configurations, this instrument is traditionally played around the body of the deceased during the funeral wake.
As the neck has no fret and as the instrument is highly sensitive to temperature/humidity variations, the notes are highly volatile and are sometimes played at the limit of the note above or below, producing a rather melancholy effect. The fact that it is played with a bow and not by plucking or percussion on the strings reinforces this effect.
3/4 Zari, Giorgi's Family & Friends // Svaneti
The Zari is a very specific and unusual polyphonic funeral chant from Georgia, it shows a juxtaposition of consonant and dissonant chords, and not includes words.
It is sung by a minimum of 3 voices.
I recorded this song in a small roadside shop not far from the family house (it is traditionally forbidden to sing in one's own home for the 6 months following the loss of a family member).
They agreed to get together to sing this Zari in front of me, as a rehearsal for a neighbour's funeral that would take place in the village in the following days.
Like many other funerary rituals, polyphonic lamentation supports the dramaturgical aspect of the situation while providing a setting for extreme and potentially dangerous emotions (threatening the physical integrity of the living) both for the singers and for the audience.
As a recorder and the only audience here, I experienced the full evocative and emotional power of this complexly structured song.
4/4 Zruni // Glola, Racha
Zruni is a type of singing that originated in the Racha region of Georgia: a solo woman singer followed by polyphonic choirs and exclamations. Unlike the Zari, this lamentation chant is not sung at the funeral site, but rather at home or in places associated with the deceased. The village of Glola, where Levan took me from Oni, is one of the cradles of this tradition. The recording was done inside a small room with a wood stove, protecting us from the snowstorm that was happening outside.
China
Archive of my first encounter with a mourner, nearby Chengdu, China, 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OH82PC-nzM