Iu Mien Mouth Harp 1

Iu Mien men and women play two styles of mouth harps made with distinct materials and designs. Though historically crafted in bamboo, most Iu Mien now play a slender brass kheu chin mouth harp, akin to the Hmong ncas. Forged from a small flat piece of metal, the instrument’s thickness decreases gradually from handle to pointed blade. A flexible ‘reed’ is then finely incised into the brass body.

As he holds the frame firmly against his front teeth, a musician plucks the kheu chin’s tip, thereby causing its tongue to vibrate. With his jaw and mouth acting as a resonator, he is able to amplify the volume of this scarcely audible instrument. And by further changing the position of his lips, cheeks, and teeth, and the amount of air inside his mouth, a player can then create ringing overtones above the fundamental tone, shaping them into cadenced phrases that convey ancestral Iu Mien poetry.

Seeing as such a slight instrument can easily be misplaced, brass kheu chin are secured by a string that runs through its bamboo case, carved with stylized geometric motifs, dyed red or blue, and trimmed with red tassels.

Note: This hundred-year-old kheu chin is paired with an exquisite bamboo case that has been intricately engraved with diamond- and triangular-shaped patterns encircling its circumference, and stained deep burgundy to match the decorative wool tassels that are attached to ensure the mouth harp cannot be separated from its case.

Unlike other groups in Southeast Asia, the Iu Mien have no tradition of strings or reed pipes. Thus, affection is expressed between a courting couple through the lyrical tones of mouth harps and flutes.

Indeed, due to the subdued timbre of the kheu chin requiring intimate call-and-response verses tête-à-tête between two players, the otherworldly soundscape created by ethereal overtones and harmonics, and its ability to imitate to an undeniable degree the tones, cadence, and nuances of Iu Mien language, the mouth harp is an ideal instrument for a suitor and his fiancée to court and spark.

Iu Mien musicians treasure their mouth harps and, as they are small enough to slip into a bag or pocket, carry them everywhere, should spontaneous courtship arise.

Ethnic Group: Iu Mien

Local Name: Kheu chin

Type: Mouth Harp / Decorative Case

Class: Plucked Idiophone (Lamellophone)

Tuning: Free-tuning – based on a fundamental tone on which harmonic overtones extend to several octaves

Age: Early 20th c.

Materials:
Harp: Brass
Case: Wood, dye, cotton

Dimensions:
Mouth Harp: 8 x 0.7 x 0.1 cm / 3″ x 0.25″ x 0.04″
Case: 9 x 1.3 x 0.7 cm / 3.5″ x 0.5″ x 0.25″

Location: Thailand

Owner / Instrument Maker:

Catalog Number: 5806