The ''hulusi'' (), also known as the cucurbit flute and the gourd flute, is a

free reed A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, it is number 412.13 (a member of ...

wind instrument from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, and the

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

, played also by the indigenous people of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. It is held vertically and has three

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

pipes that pass through a

Calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvest ...

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...

wind chest; the center pipe has finger holes and the outer two are typically

drone Drone or The Drones may refer to: Science and technology Vehicle * Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot ** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone *** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle ** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone ** Unma ...

pipes. It is not uncommon for a ''hulusi'' to have only one drone pipe while the second outer pipe is merely ornamental. The drone pipe has a finger hole which allows it to be stopped. Advanced configurations have keyed finger holes similar to a

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

, which can greatly extend the range of the ''hulusi'' to several octaves. The ''hulusi'' was originally used primarily in the

of Myanmar,

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

province in southwest China, and

in northeastern India by a number of ethnic-minority groups, in particular the Dai people who call the instrument "pi lamtao" (Chinese: 筚朗叨 or 筚郎叨); the word ''pi'' means "woodwind instrument," and the word ''lamtao'' comes from ''namtao'', meaning "gourd." Additionally, the

Achang The Achang ( zh, c=, p=Āchāngzú), also known as the Ngac'ang (their own name) is an ethnic group. They are one of Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman languages speaking people. They form one of the List of Chinese ethnic groups, 56 ethnic g ...

call it ''paileweng'' (拍勒翁), the De'ang call it ''wogebao'' (渥格宝), and the Wa call it ''baihongliao'' (拜洪廖). The ''hulusi'' has gained nationwide popularity throughout China and is also used by various indigenous ethnic groups of Assam; similar to the popularity of the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

in the West, and "improved" versions have been produced outside the indigenous realms. In Vietnam, the instrument is referred to as the ''sáo bầu'', which means "gourd flute." Like the related free reed pipe called ''

bawu The ''bawu'' (; also ''ba wu'') is a Chinese wind instrument. Although shaped like a flute, it is actually a free reed instrument, with a single metal reed. It is played in a transverse (horizontal) manner. It has a pure, clarinet-like timbre a ...

'', the ''hulusi'' has a very pure, mellow clarinet-like sound. A similar instrument called ''

hulusheng The gourd mouth organ is a free reed mouth organ played across East and Southeast Asia. It consists of a gourd wind chest with several bamboo or bronze pipes inserted on top of it, the numbers of pipes differing from region to region.Sachs, C. ...

'' is a mouth organ with a gourd wind chest.

Etymology

The instrument's name comes from the ''

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

'' word ''húlu'' ( 葫蘆絲/ 葫芦丝), meaning "

gourd," and ''si'', meaning "silk" (referring to the instrument's smooth tone
HULUSI
The instrument is called ''pi lamtao'' in the Dai (Tai Nuea) language of

Dehong The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in western Yunnan province, China. It is bordered by Baoshan to the east and Myanmar's Kachin State to the west. Its titular ethnic minorities are the Dai and Jingpo ...

and "pi namtao" in Lue language (

Sipsong Panna Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

), Khun language (

Kengtung Kengtung ( , ), also spelt Kyaingtong (; ), classical name Tungapuri, is a city in Shan State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the principal town of Kengtung Township and the former seat of Kengtung State, a minor principality. Kengtung is locat ...

), Yuan language (Northern Thailand),

Lao language Lao (Lao: , ), sometimes referred to as Laotian, is the official language of Laos and a significant language in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Spoken by over 3 million people in ...

and Thai language. It is also called Huluxi in Assa
hulusi

Performers

Although the ''hulusi'' is still predominantly performed in Yunnan (China), Shan State (Myanmar) and Assam it has in recent years been adopted by European composers and performers. Rohan Leach and Jack Reddick from England, Raphaël De Cock from Belgium, Sara Bentes from Brazil, Nadishana from Russia and Herman Witkam from the Netherlands have all taken the instrument in new directions.

References

External links

Hulusi page
from Pat Missin site
Hulusi page
from ASZA.com site

Etymology

Performers

References

External links

See also