Editing Mor lam (section)

==Forms==
There are many forms of ''mor lam''.  There can be no definitive list as they are not mutually exclusive, while some forms are confined to particular localities or have different names in different regions. Typically the categorisation is by region in [[Laos]] and by genre in [[Isan]], although both styles are popular in the other region. The traditional forms of Isan are historically important, but are now rarely heard:

* ''lam phi fa'' (ລຳຜີຟ້າ, ลำผีฟ้า, {{IPA|lo|lám pʰǐː fâː|IPA}}) — a ritual to propitiate spirits in cases of possession. Musically it derived from ''lam tang yao''; however, it was performed not by trained musicians but by those (most commonly old women) who thought themselves to have been cured by the ritual.<ref>''Garland Encyclopedia of World Music'', p. 329.</ref>
* ''mor lam kon'' (ໝໍລຳກອນ, หมอลำกลอน, {{IPA|lo|mɔ̌ː.lám kɔ̀ːn|IPA}}) — a vocal "battle" between the sexes. In Laos it is known as ''lam tat''.  Performances traditionally lasted all night, and consisted of first two, then three parts:
** ''lam tang san'' (ລຳທາງສ້ັນ, ลำทางสั้น, {{IPA|lo|lám tʰáːŋ sān|IPA}}) — ("short form") took up the bulk of the time, with the singers delivering ''gon'' poems a few minutes in length, performing alternately for about half an hour each from evening until about an hour before dawn. They would pretend gradually to fall in love, sometimes with rather explicit sexual banter.
** ''lam tang nyao'' (ລຳທາງຍາວ, ลำทางยาว, {{IPA|la|lám tʰáːŋ ɲáːw|IPA}}) — ("long form"), a representation of the lovers' parting performed slowly and in a speech rhythm for about a quarter of an hour.
** ''lam toei'' (ລຳເຕີ້ຍ, ลำเต้ย, {{IPA|lo|lám tɤ̂j|IPA}}) —  was introduced in the mid-20th century. Similar in length to the ''lam tang nyao'', it is fast and light-hearted, with metrical texts falling into three categories: ''toei thammada'' ("normal toei"), using ''gon'' texts in Isan; ''toei Phama'' ("Burmese toei"), using [[Central Thailand|central]] or [[Northern Thailand|northern]] Thai texts and forms; and ''toei Khong'' ("Mekong toei"), again central or northern Thai in origin. It uses the same scale as ''lam yao''.<ref>Miller p. 24.</ref>
* ''{{lang|tts|lam chotkae}}'' or ''{{lang|tts|lam chot}}'' (ລຳໂຈດແກ້, ลำโจทย์แก้, IPA: {{IPA|lo|lám tɕòːt.kɛ̂ː|IPA}} or ລຳໂຈທຍ໌, ลำโจทย์, {{IPA|lo|lám.tɕòːt|IPA}}) is a variant of ''lam kon'' formerly popular in the Khon Kaen area, in which the singers (often both male) asked one another questions on general knowledge topics — religion, geography, history etc. — trying to catch out their opponent.
* ''mor lam mu'' (ໝໍລຳໝູ່, หมอลำหมู่, {{IPA|lo|mɔ̌ː.lám mūː|IPA}}) — folk opera, developed in the mid-20th century.  ''Lam mu'' is visually similar to central Thai ''[[likay]]'', but the subject matter (mainly Jataka stories) derived from ''lam rueang'' (the subgenre of ''{{lang|tts|lam phuen}}'') and the music from ''lam tang nyao''.  It was originally more serious than ''lam plern'' and required more skilled performers, but in the late-20th century the two converged to a style strongly influenced by central Thai and Western popular music and dance. Both have now declined in popularity and are now rare.<ref name="Garland">Garland p. 328.</ref>
* ''mor lam phoen'' (ໝໍລຳເພີນ, หมอลำเพลิน, {{IPA|lo|mɔ̌ː.lám pʰɤ́ːn|IPA}}) — a celebratory narrative, performed by a group.  It originated around the same time as ''lam mu'', but used a more populist blend of song and dance.  The material consisted of metrical verses sung in the ''yao'' scale, often with a speech-rhythm introduction.<ref name="Garland"/>
* ''{{lang|tts|lam phuen}}'' (ລຳພື້ນ, ลำพื้น, {{IPA|lo|lám.pʰɯ̂ːn|IPA}}) — recital of local [[legend]]s or [[Jataka]] stories, usually by a male singer, with khene accompaniment. In the sub-genre of ''lam rueang'' (ລຳເຣື່ອງ, ลำเรื่อง, {{IPA|lo|lám.rɯ̄aŋ|IPA}}), sometimes performed by women, the singer acts out the various characters in costume.  Performance of one complete story can last for one or two whole nights. This genre is now extremely rare, and may be extinct.<ref name="Miller"/>