Vo J.VI, No. 11.] A Lisu Jew's Harp from Yunnan. 591 



[N.S.-] 



harmony by the movement of the fingers of the right hand 

 over the projecting spurs. By breathing out or in, and by 

 movements of the cheeks which cause an alteration in the 

 shape of the resonant cavity of the mouth, a variety of 

 different notes can be produced, and, as a rule, the result is a 

 pleasing and tuneful measure. 



The instrument is carried and played by both girls and 

 young men, and it is by no means uncommon to see them 

 sitting over the fires after nightfall and playing for hours at a 

 time. The instrument is used by the youths for serenading 

 as amongst the Chin, Naga, Kachin and other tribes. It also 

 takes its place in the Lisu orchestra with other native musical 

 instruments. 



The late Prince Henri d' Orleans who met with the black 

 Lisu of the Upper Salween in the course of his journey from 

 Tonking to Assam writes as follows regarding the use of the 

 Jew's harp by this section of the tribe. 



" One of these Lissous produced a curious musical instru- 

 ment formed of three small palettes of bamboo with stops. 

 By applying the stops to his teeth and making them vibrate 

 in turn with his finger, his open mouth acting as a sounding 

 board, he drew from them a soft and plaintive tone, so low 

 that one had to be quite close to hear it. The instrument is of 

 Loutse origin, and the Lissous will sit for hours amusing 

 themselves with it. 55 l 



" Our hosts at Lameti consented to perform a dance for 

 our benefit, and a threshing floor having been turned into a 

 ball-room, the orchestra tuned up. It consisted of four musi- 

 cians, — a flageolet, a violin with two strings, a guitar with four, 

 and an instrument of slender bamboo strips made to vibrate 

 on the teeth. This last was played by an old woman who was 

 also mistress of the ceremonies. The air, though not very 

 varied, was soft and rhythmic." 2 



The "Loutse" or " Lu-tzu" tribe referred to by Prince 

 Henri d' Orleans inhabit the part of the Salween valley between 

 about Lat. 27° 30" and 28° 30'. The term " Lu-tzu" is the 

 name given to them by the Chinese and means M people of the 

 Salween River." Very little is known about this tribe, though 

 Davies from a study of their language has recently classified 

 them with the Moso and Hsifan tribes, in the Hsi-fan group of 

 the Tibeto-Burman family in his scheme for the classification 

 of the Sinitic languages of Yunnan. 3 There is evidently 

 considerable similarity between the Jew's harp used by the 

 black Lisu of the Salween and the one here described. 



1 Prince Henri d 'Orleans. " From Tonkin to India by the sources of 



the lrawadi ' ' , English translation 1898, pp. 191-192. 



* foe. cit., pp. 191-197. v , f 



8 H. R. Davies. ** Yunnan, th link between India and the Yangtze, 

 p. 337. 



