Description: The bawu is an aerophone classified as a "flute having a brass read". In China, Yunnan province is located in the “golden triangle area” in which borders with Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. The bawu is played amongst the Yi, Miao, Hanis and Dai who are the Thai people living in Southern China. Prior to the 1950s the distribution of the bawu was limited amongst the Chinese Minorities. After the 1950s the bawu has grown in popularity throughout the rest of China. Today the bawu can be heard in a wide range of genres. Outside of mainland China the bawu recently became quite popular in the West and elsewhere due to its warm and haunting timbre.

The Bawu in Mythology: There is a beautiful legend in Southern Chinese mythology concerning the origins of the bawu. "Two young Hanis fell in love with each other and in one day a demon grabbed the girl. Then the demon had cut off her tongue, and then this demon threw the girl into the deep mountains. Following upon a bird's advice that bamboo can talk; she made an instrument with bamboo pouring out her misfortune through it. On hearing her sad voice the villagers came to kill the demon and relieved the girl". Since then the bawu has became a talking instrument.

in Vietnam: The bawu is almost identical to the Chinese bawu, although the tunings are quite different from each other and so are their scales. The Vietnamese bawu vary in different sizes some are quite long in length. My two specimens of Vietnamese bawu are quite short in length. They both have 6 finger holes and a brass reed. The Vietnamese bawu is surprisingly loud for such a small instrument.

Anatomy of the Bawu: The construction of a bawu begins with a piece of small bone this is the mouth piece, it is sanded down and then two holes are drilled opposite to each other approximately 1cm apart. An ovoid hole is carved formed by carving together the drilled holes. A thin brass read is then placed underneath the bone mouth piece and secondly a sound hole and the finger holes are then carved. Two pieces of brass tubing are selected from different diameters one smaller than the other. This creates the joint that connects the two pieces of flute that make up the bawu. The brass joint is secure and adjustable this allows for the ease of playing the bawu for the performer. This allows for the bawu being disassembled mobile transportation. A desired length and diameter of bamboo is selected for the flute. Seven finger holes are carved in for the bawu this includes a thumb hole. Two pieces of animal bone are added to each end as ornamentation.