Every year around August or September, Luang Prabang celebrates the Boat Racing Festival (Boun Suang Heua). The races consist of two long boats each carrying a team of about 50 rowers divided in two rows. Traditionally, each village of Luang Prabang has its own boat. While the event used to be a ritual performed to ensure fertility for the land and the benevolence of the water nagas, today the event is more of a sporting and social gathering. Listen to the shout of the rowers while they race for the first place!

Soundscape: The shout of the rowers, the sound of the water

The “dadoula” is an ephemeral instrument played by the Lahu ethnic group. Lahu women carve and play these flutes for courting or entertainment. Ms. Beu carved this piece of green bamboo before our eyes, blowing it to create this nice melody. The instrument, very fragile as it dries, is usually thrown away after use.

Instrument: Ephemeral Flute of the Lahu

Tai Dam traditional songs (called "khap") are performed for entertainment, to give advices, welcome guests, or express personal feelings. Here, a man named Siiphone performs a love song during a party in Houa Phan province, Northern Laos.

Singing: Expression of Tai Dam Love

This very sonorous instrument is called "dzat". It is a double reed instrument used by Yao Mien ethnic group during big celebrations such as New Year or weddings. The double reed of the instrument is nowadays made of a piece of plastic straw. The player uses circular breathing (inhaling air by the nose while exhaling by the mouth) to offer a continuous sound to the dancers performing on his music.

Instrument: the Yao Mien double reed "dzat"

Listen to the story of Keo, a young Katu woman leaving her village of Southern Laos to rejoin her sister Mone in the Northern city of Luang Prabang. This story is about migration and family, and not being able to go home again, after all.

Story of Keo Jumany
Conception: Marie-Pierre Lissoir (TAEC)

Storytelling: From the Plains of the South to the Mountains of the North, Keo's Story (English)

This is the story of Sengphet, a basket weaver from Luang Prabang province, Northern Laos. Sengphet is a member of the Kmhmu ethnic group, very well known for its talented bamboo basket weavers. In Lao, the national langage of Laos, Sengphet tells us about his practice of basketry, but also the issues related to this endangered craft. Sengphet would be so happy to pass on his knowledge to younger generations. 

Story of Sengphet Southnavong
Conception: Khamchanh (Ton) Souvannalith

Storytelling: Weaving the Bamboo, Sengphet's Story (Lao Language)

In this rare recording you can hear the "khap-mot", the singing performed by a male ritualist accompanied by a free-reed pipe player during the Tai Dam healing ceremony called "sen". The khap-mot is a way to communicate with spirits and lasts for several hours, supported by the continuous sound of the pii-luang free-reed pipe. This audio recording was made in a Tai Dam village of Houa Phan Province in 2009.

Singing & Instrument: Tai Dam Healing Ceremony

Oma ethic group, Oma New Year, Phongsaly Province, Lao PDR, December 2017

This collective circle dance and singing is traditionally performed when the Oma settle a new village. Today, it can also be part of the New Year celebrations dances. The circle of dancers welcomes the new land and asks for its benevolence (to have good crops, etc.).

Singing: Oma song and circle dance

The traditional singing of Tai Lue ethnic group is called "khap Tai Lue" ("khap" means "song" and "singing" of northern of Laos). The singer is traditionally accompanied by two musicians playing a free reed bamboo tube called "pii ku". As the sound of the instruments is very strong, the singer places a fan in front of her mouth to reverberate her voice.

Singing and Instrument: Tai Lue Sounds and Voices

This song is called “Siang Feum” (or sound of the loom’s comb). It is a lively patriotic song popularised in Laos in 1970’s. It was often broadcast on the radio, and is still popular today among the elder generation. The song describes the sound of the comb, a tool used to move the weft yarns into place on a weaver’s loom. The comb beats the cotton or silk thread that is woven, creating the rhythmic sound evoked in the song. The lyrics liken the contributions of women weavers with men in the army, participating in the development of the newly independent nation. 
 
This was recorded in the Tai Lue village of Nayang Tai during TAEC’s music research dissemination trip in 2019.

Singing & Instrument: The Song of the Loom

Mr Bounsou is playing a bamboo jaw harp he crafted himself. The instrument is made of bamboo, a razor blade, and bees wax for the tuning. The player places the instrument in front of his mouth and flicks the pointed end while moving his mouth and tongue to modify the sound.

Instrument: Bamboo Jaw Harp

This Hmong iron rattle is used by the shaman when traveling to the underworld to look for a lost soul. The rattle is used during the shamanic session as a magnifying glass to find the soul and a lasso to capture it.

Soundscape: Hmong Rattle for Healing Ceremony

Sharing sounds of Laos from the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre in Luang Prabang, a museum focused on preserving the ethnic diversity of Laos.

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre

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