Voices of the Wind: Traditional Instruments in Laos

This is TAEC’s first major venture into ethnomusicology, and features an immersive approach to exhibition design, including re-creations of a Hmong khaen maker’s workshop and a Tai Dam sen (healing) ceremony. It also includes over 200 videos and photographs on interactive kiosks.

In Laos, music and musical instruments are a part of everyday life. For entertainment, courtship, or rituals, to banish loneliness, teach children, or communicate with the spirits, musical practices touch every member of a community during every part of the year. However, while singing is still vivid in many parts of Laos, traditional musical instruments have become scarce, often replaced by new media such as CDs. With this exhibit, TAEC highlights the variety and complexity of musical instruments used among minority groups of Laos. The exhibition features different types of mouth organs (khaen), often considered the national instrument of Laos, but also a great variety of uncommon or ephemeral instruments such as the Lahu dadoula flute, the leaf played by the Akha, and the free-reed pipe used in Tai Dam rituals. A collection of audio recordings of these instruments are available online.

Ethnomusicologist Dr. Marie-Pierre Lissoir curated this exhibition while studying the traditional singing of the Tai Dam ethnic group in Houaphan Province for her PhD, she observed the incredible cultural richness of musical instruments, but also their rapid disappearance.

This special exhibition will be on display through Fall 2020.

“Music can be explored in so many ways. There is the role of music in traditional ceremonies and celebrations, but also the crafting of instruments, playing techniques, and the decline of apprenticeship. Laos is particularly fascinating because many instruments are used to communicate, whether to pass a message through the mountains with the powerful sound of a leaf, or to express ones love with the discreet sound of the jaw harp. Speaking about music is speaking about life in Laos, its changes and challenges.”– Dr. Marie-Pierre Lissoir

Mr. Neng Chue Vang, a local Hmong instrument maker and musician adds, “There are so many people making qeej, but if I am the one who is able to help document the process of making it from the beginning to the end, then I hope my knowledge is able to inspire people not to let go of their culture and traditions, not to let go of your ancestors and family spirits… I want to leave this message behind for the future generation.”

Additional resources are available to learn more about music and musical instruments in Laos. Visit www.taeclaos.org.