The Gong of Pa Noh: Music, Rituals and Beliefs of Ethnic Groups in the uplands of Southern Lao PDR.

Abstract

A variety of ethnic groups in the uplands of southern
Laos are mostly of Austroasiatic speakers who have inhabited
for long periods of time the southern part of Lao PDR. They
have their unique ways of life, traditions, rituals, and shared
beliefs especially in “animism”. Music plays a prominent role
in rituals. It is performed according to beliefs in order to make
requests for their the well-being. These ethnic groups play the
“Pa Noh”, a kind of flat gong percussion idiophones made of
bronze. It is called “Pha Haad” in Lao language and “Phang
Haad” in Northeastern Thai. The Pa Noh is composed of a flat
plate gong and a gong stick. The Pa Noh has 3 different
sounds: “Phang”, “Thuek”, and “Tueng”. The performance is
unfixed with an emphasis on rhythm. The Pa Noh is used in
the rite of killing buffalo offered to ancestors, the rites of
death, and tribal warrior dances, etc. They believe that the
sound of the Pa Noh is a signal to contact with the
supernatural beings. Moreover, the Pa Noh symbolizes power
and wealth of the owner.