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UNESCO representative list

Khaen music of the Lao people

La musique du khène du peuple lao

Source SupportedContext Required1 supporting sources

Overview

The khaen music of the Lao people is played with a mouth organ that resembles panpipes but made with bamboo tubes of varying lengths, each with a metal reed. The player blows into the instrument through an air chamber and the sound produced depends on the size of the tube. Khaen music is popular in all regions of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic due to its harmonic richness. It is usually part of village festivals and it is customary for people listening to it to become active participants in the songs and dances, rather than merely spectators. Khaen music is an integral part of Lao life that promotes family and social cohesion. Thanks to the use of bamboo, the practice is also linked to natural agriculture and healthy lifestyles. Families play an important role in transmitting the art and khaen player associations exist in many local communities where young people can learn the...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Languages
Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Countries
Lao People's Democratic Republic

How the System Works

The khaen music of the Lao people is played with a mouth organ that resembles panpipes but made with bamboo tubes of varying lengths, each with a metal reed. The player blows into the instrument through an air chamber and the sound produced depends on the size of the tube. Khaen music is popular in all regions of the Lao People’s...

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

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Field-Level Provenance

title
UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle
UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary
UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type
UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries
UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories
ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships
UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl
UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights
UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Review and Corrections

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