Hunting and Fishing in a Kammu Village: Revisiting a Classic Study in Southeast Asian Ethnography

• Offers a unique indigenous account of Kammu life.
• A fascinating, illustrated description of hunting and fishing technologies and practices. 

This detailed and fascinating description of traditional hunting, trapping and fishing in northern Laos includes illustrations of traps, weapons, etc., an insight into rites and taboos pertaining to the work, and much more. First published in 1991 and quickly out of print, the book was hailed as ‘an outstanding contribution to Southeast Asian ethnography … [It] is highly recommended not only for specialists in traditional hunting and fishing but also for those readers who wish to gain some insight “from the native’s point of view” into a fascinating tribal minority culture of highland Southeast Asia’ (Roland Mischung, Asian Folklore Studies). The book’s vivid descriptions and illustrations were especially praised.  Over the years, the two authors wrote several books together, often with other partners. In this instance, the major contribution is by Damrong Tayanin, drawing on his earlier life as a Kammu farmer and hunter.

This reproduction of Hunting and Fishing is augmented by new material on food cultivation and its preparation among the Kammu by Kàm Ràw (Damrong Tayanin) together with essays by Håkan Lundström, Olivier Évrard and Magnus Fiskesjö.

About the Authers

Damrong Tayanin/Kàm Ràw  (1938–2011) grew up in a Kammu village in northern Laos. He came to Sweden in 1974 to work in Kristina Lindell's Kammu project. Under his Lao name Damrong Tayanin, he was the author or co-author of several books on Kammu folktales and the traditional Kammu lifestyle.

Kristina Lindell (1928–2005) was Senior Lecturer in Chinese at Lund University, where she started the Kammu project (including work on a dictionary) in 1972. Her main research interest was in oral literature. Together with Kàm Ràw and folklorist Jan-Öjvind Swahn she wrote six books on Kammu oral literature, and several other works on the Kammu.