Yunnan, China
Dai (Thai) and the Yi People

Gourd, bamboo, reeds, silk, ebony, cloisonne
Mid-Late 20th century
Length: 15.5″ x Width: 3″
Aerophones – Free Aerophones – Free Reeds

A professional hulusi, or the cucurbit flute, which is a free-reed aerophone that is played amongst the Dai (Thai) and the Yi minorities in Yunnan China. The Dai people call the instrument a bilingdao.  Traditionally the Dai men would play the hulusi to express love and courtship songs toward a particular woman.  Other minorities in the same area (the Chinese side of the Golden Triangle area), use the instrument to communicate when working in the fields.  It is a solo instrument with a range of 3 octaves and is widely appreciated for its haunting timbre.  Composed of a gourd, main pipes, reeds and auxiliary pipes, the hulusi (cucurbit flute) sounds beautiful and heartwarming.  As mentioned above, it is ideal for expressing soft and tender feelings. As the sounds are as soft and graceful as shaking silk, the flute is sometimes called ‘Bottle Gourd Silk’.