BI BEI VILLAGE, YAO MAN

This mountain-top village of the Yao people was one of the highlights of the trip. We were told that we were the first Westerners to visit so I can only imagine what they thought of our entourage. One of the interpreters asked the older gentleman if he would sit for us so we could paint him and offered him a Coke as payment, which he gladly accepted. Not long after we started painting, his friend, apparently jealous of the attention, brought out his horn and began playing right next to him. The music he played was different than anything I had heard before, but was most impressed with his circular breathing technique which allowed him to play continuosly without a break. After we were finished with the portrait, our model casually got up and started chopping wood so he could cook his dinner. All in a days work.