Iu Mien End-blown Flute 1

The Iu Mien end-blown flute, hao dong ngou, is constructed of wood from the Mai Hia tree to a size no more than twenty centimeters long and two centimeters wide, making it shorter, thinner, and higher-pitched than flutes of other ethnic groups in Southeast Asia.

In comparison with end-blown flutes with an open edge, the hao dong ngou is fashioned with an external block, referred to as a fipple or duct, that is secured to the embouchure with twine.  This creates a narrow channel so a musician is able to direct his breath easily onto the edge of the mouth hole, thus creating a more focused tone quality and stable pitch.

Marked with seven finger holes and a thumb hole, Iu Mien musicians perform expressive melodies embellished with lyrical turns, a mellifluous timbre, and a continuous line achieved through circular breathing, that is, inhaling air through the nose while simultaneously expelling stored air from the mouth.

Seeing as the Iu Mien have no tradition of playing lutes or multiple reed-pipes, instruments commonly heard in other highland groups during the courting season, young Iu Mien couples build intimacy through the hao dong ngou flute, with its sweet, high-pitched timbre, and poignant tunes.

In a tradition now waning in Southeast Asia, the strains of the hao dong ngou were also heard during ancestor rites, in particular in the fee ong kong ha ceremony, when an Iu Mien family sought merit to restore health to an infirm relative or to memorialize a parent after death.

Though no longer played in Southeast Asia, Iu Mien musicians once performed on a side-blown (transverse) flute at the tom sai ordination rites of young initiates tasked with climbing a ritual sword ladder, symbolically showing the initiate’s courage and level of mastery in sacred Iu Mien tenets. This feat is commemorated in the Tom Hoi Fan scroll, as an ensemble of musicians herald the disciples’ ascent.

Recording
Courting Song, played on a hao dong ngo end-blown flute (Iu Mien)

Gau Zang, Ban Chong Ka, Muang Sing, Luang Nam Tha Province, Laos, November 2006

Ethnic Group: Iu Mien

Local Name: Hao dong ngou

Type: End-blown Flute

Class: Aerophone

Tuning: Pentatonic Scale

Age: Late 20th c.

Materials: Wood, cotton

Dimensions: 28.5 x 1.7 dia. cm / 11.25″ x 0.7″ dia.

Location:
Ban Chong Ka
Muang Sing, Laos

Owner / Instrument Maker: Gau Zang

Catalog Number: 5825