Hulusi

Hulusi

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The hulusi (simplified Chinese: 葫芦丝; traditional Chinese: 葫蘆絲; pinyin: húlúsī), also known as the cucurbit flute^[1] and the gourd flute,^[2] is a free reed wind instrument from China, Vietnam, and the Shan State, played also by the indigenous people of Assam. It is held vertically and has three bamboo pipes that pass through a Calabash gourd wind chest; the center pipe has finger holes and the outer two are typically drone 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 or oboe, which can greatly extend the range of the hulusi to several octaves.

The hulusi was originally used primarily in the Shan State of Myanmar, Yunnan province in southwest China, and Assam 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 call it paileweng (拍勒翁), the De'ang call it wogebao (渥格宝), and the Wa call it baihongliao (拜洪廖).^[3]

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 in the West, and "improved" versions have been produced outside the indigenous realms.^[4][5] In Vietnam, the instrument is referred to as the sáo bầu, which means "gourd flute." Like the related free reed pipe called bawu, the hulusi has a very pure, mellow clarinet-like sound.

A similar instrument called hulusheng is a mouth organ with a gourd wind chest.