Kayaw Pan Flutes (Set of Three)

One exceptional flute, otherwise unknown in the highlands of Southeast Asia, is found in the pan flutes of the Kayan Lahwi (Padaung), Karenni, and Pwo Karen. These edge-blown flutes, also known as panpipes or syrinx, are constructed from bamboo, giant cane, or local reeds in a ‘raft’ form: a series of multiple pipes assembled in gradually increasing lengths that are bound in a single row by strips of rattan.

Between the different Karen subgroups, panpipes appear in two forms, in varying sizes, and with different purposes—the small man puae and the large man juae. Because these flutes have no finger holes, their pitch is determined by the length of each pipe, And as their bamboo pipes are closed at the bottom by a natural node, they sound an octave lower than if the end hole were open. Beeswax may be added to fine-tune a pipe’s intonation.

The Pwo Karen, Karenni, and Kayan Lahwi play bright, high tunes on their man puae—small single pipes and panpipes lashed with two to six flutes tuned in a five-note scale—to celebrate festive occasions.

Male musicians play fixed melodies on the man puae by exhaling across the upper open end of each pipe individually. Blow holes are notched or cut at an angle, so a player can create all chromatic tones in a pentatonic scale, allowing them to bend notes for ornamentation. This range may be extended several octaves by overblowing.

The Pwo Karen, Karenni, and Kayan Lahwi men play in duets on a ‘male’ of five pipes and a ‘female’ of six to mark special celebratory events: greeting guests, new houses, weddings, and thanksgiving. Man puae also inspire New Year singing and dancing to guard the village from malign spirits during the Puae Ga Gwang rite, on the new moon of the fourth lunar cycle.

Ethnic Group: Karenni

Local Name: Man puae

Type: Panpipes (five pipes, three pipes, one pipe)

Class: Sets of End-blown Flutes

Tuning: For man puae with five or six pipes: all chromatic tones in a pentatonic scale, extended several octaves by overblowing

Age: 2010

Materials: Bamboo, rattan

Dimensions:
Panpipes (Five pipes): 25 x 14.5 x 2.5 cm / 9” x 8.75” x 1”
Panpipes (Two pipes): 28 x 4.5 x 2.5 cm / 11” x 1.75” x 1”
Pipe: 11 x 2 dia. cm / 4.2″ x 0.8″ dia.

Location:
Hpruso, Kayah State, Myanmar

Owner / Instrument Maker: Htay Ko Din

Catalog Number: 6280