Six images of mouth harp players from different ethnicities arranged in two rows. Some of the player are wearing traditional dress. The right hand player in both rows is a man; the others are women. Each picture is labelled with the name of the ethnic group. Clockwise: Hmong, Lahu, Karen, Akha, Kokang, Khamu. The Hmong and Kokang instruments are metal, the others bamboo.
Some of the mouth harp players I recorded on my travels in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Once popular in most ethnic groups. Soft seductive sounds made them an ideal courting instrument. These days an Iphone is more effective.
#ethnomusicology #JewsHarp #Thailand #Laos #Burma