How it began
The khaen is a mouth organ of the Lao people, and it is the national instrument of Laos. The sources consulted do not give a date or a named maker for its first appearance. UNESCO describes it as an instrument that resembles panpipes but is made with bamboo tubes of varying lengths, each with a metal reed, and records that its music is popular in all regions of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
How it works
The pipes are usually bamboo and are joined by a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which the player blows. Each pipe holds a free reed made of brass or silver, and the pitch depends on the size of the tube. Instruments are built in two rows of pipes: the khaen hok has 12 pipes, the khaen jet 14, the khaen pet 16, which is the most common, and the long khaen gao 18. The music uses five pentatonic modes, each with its own drone pitches.
How it spread
Beyond Laos the khaen is used by the ethnic Lao of Isan in Thailand, by Tai groups such as the Tai Dam and by the Muong in Vietnam, and by the Lao population of Stung Treng in Cambodia, where it leads a dance drama called lakhon ken. Lao refugees carried it to the United States in the early 1980s. The master player Bounseung Synanonh performed at the White House in 1987 and at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2007, and the instrument appeared on an Aerosmith album in 1989.
What lasted
UNESCO states that khaen music is an integral part of Lao life that promotes family and social cohesion. It is usually part of village festivals, where listeners customarily join the songs and dances instead of only watching. Because the instrument is made of bamboo, UNESCO also links the practice to natural agriculture. Families play the main role in passing on the art.
Where it stands today
Khaen music of the Lao people was inscribed in 2017 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Player associations exist in many local communities, and an Association of Khaen Arts was established in 2005. Local groups promote the art through formal and non-formal education in response to urbanization and other changes in lifestyle. Composers outside Laos have also written notated music for the instrument.
