Gourd mouth organ: China musical instrument

A gourd mouth organ is a traditional wind musical instrument that is seen in the nations of the East and Southeast Asia. The musical instrument is a free reed mouth organ that is analogous to the Chinese sheng instrument but with a wind chest produced from a dried bottle gourd instead of metal or wood. The pipes of the musical instrument are carved out of bamboo and it has free reeds that may be constructed of bamboo or metal.

source: fascinatingmalaysia.com

In china, the mouth instruments are referred to by the general name ‘hulusheng’. The instruments are used as folk musical instruments by minorities like the Lahu, Lisu, Akha and the Naxi, who have their own names for the musical instrument in their own local languages; the musical instrument differs in construction and in performance patterns from ethnic group to ethnic group. The musical instrument is often found in the china’s southwestern region of Yunnan and in many other regions of the southern china.

Analogous musical instruments are found in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam Bangladesh and Borneo. Open holes on the bottom of the pipes in some gourd mouth organs permit for the bending of tones. The lusheng of the Hmong , Miao and the people of Dong has an analogous name but its wind chest is produced from an elongated tube of wood instead of gourd.