Khaen Musical Instrument

Laos’ then-National Assembly President Pany Yathotou presented this gift to then-President Halimah Yacob while the former was in Singapore for the 39th General Assembly of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly from September 3 to 7, 2018.

^{Dimensions: 45 × 15 × 23 cm}

This gift is a model of a khaen – a 4,000-year-old musical wind instrument made of bamboo with varying lengths. It has a reed for blowing, much like a mouth organ. It is believed to be the oldest musical instrument in the country and has long been an integral part of festivals.

In 2017, it was inscribed into UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.