Karen Side-blown Flute

Favored by both men and women, the hpi ou side-blown, or transverse, flute is widespread among all Karen subgroups in the Golden Triangle. Craftsmen fashion the hpi ou from bamboo, cane, or local reeds that have first been soaked in water to ensure that any holes have been sealed. At one end a blow hole is lanced with a knife, and lower, along the same plane, six finger holes are pierced by a hot poker. These have been carefully measured and marked in relation to each other for true pitch.

A musician produces sound when the air he blows through the mouth hole strikes the flute’s sharp inner edge, thereby creating a vibrating airstream that moves through the bamboo body. The length of this airstream, as determined by the length and width of the bamboo bore, shapes the hpi ou’s timbre.

Stirring Karen melodies rooted in a chromatic scale in two octaves occur when the player covers the finger holes fully, covers them only partially, called ‘half-holing,’ or uses ‘forked’ fingerings, where one hole remains open while the next lower one, two, or three holes are covered. Musicians can further extend the range of the flute’s fundamental tones, creating a harmonic register above them, by ‘overblowing,’ that is, by increasing the pressure of the breath and the tension of the lips.

With its dulcet tone colors and lyrical melodies, the hpi ou proves to be an ideal instrument to express deep-seated emotions and to ‘voice’ dreams and hopes. The flute is also a tender way to woo a mate, As courtship often takes place in the fields or after harvest, the hpi ou can often be heard between young Karen couples as they share call-and-response verses with each other.

Ethnic Group: S’gaw Karen

Local Name: Hpi ou

Type: Side-blown Flute

Class: Aerophone

Tuning: Pentatonic scale that can be extended to a chromatic scale in two octaves

Age: Late 20th c.

Materials: Bamboo

Dimensions: 37 x 2 dia. cm / 14.5″ x 0.8″ dia.

Location:
Baan Mai Phatthana
Galyanivadhana District
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Owner / Instrument Maker:
Father of Suchiwan Phatthanaphraiwan, a well-respected musician among the Karen

Catalog Number: 6266