Thailand · Woodworking / Musical Instrument Making
การทำเครื่องดนตรีไทย (Kan Tham Khruang Dontri Thai)
Thai classical musical instrument making encompasses the production of the instruments of the piphat and mahori ensembles — the primary classical orchestras of Thailand. The northern Thai tradition, centered in Chiang Mai, produces instruments with distinct Lanna characteristics: the ranat ek (xylophone), ranat thum (bass xylophone), khong wong yai (gong circle), khong wong lek (small gong circle), and pi (double-reed oboe). Each instrument category requires a distinct combination of skills: woodworking (for ranat frames and keys), metalworking (for khong gongs), and reed-making (for pi). The ranat key tuning process — identical in acoustic logic to Gamelan (CRAFT-0140), Kolintang (CRAFT-0186), and Angklung (CRAFT-0199) — is performed entirely by ear, using wood (not bronze) and therefore requiring very different material removal techniques.
Risk level: Endangered · Not inscribed; Thai classical music on national ICH list
High-fired stoneware produced in the Sukhothai Kingdom (13th-16th century) at over 200 kilns in Si Satchanalai using advanced updraft kiln technology.
Inlaying of a black alloy (niello — silver, copper, lead, and sulfur) into engraved channels on a silver or gold base, followed by filing and polishing to produce high-contrast black-on-silver metalwork.
Carving and assembly of smaller (50-80cm), articulated leather shadow puppets for southern Thai Nang Talung shadow theater.
Carving and piercing of large dried buffalo hide panels (1-2m tall) to create the silhouette figures used in Nang Yai shadow theater.
Geometric supplementary weft pattern weaving on cotton.
Complex supplementary weft brocade silk weaving producing interlocking geometric and floral patterns on a plain silk ground.
Gong making in Sabah, centered on Kampung Sumangkap near Kudat, where about 30 makers produce gongs from iron, brass and copper — including kulintangan, canang and other ensemble gongs — as well as small souvenir gongs.
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The gong culture of Vietnam's Central Highlands — practiced by the Ede, Jarai, Bahnar, Mnong, and other highland ethnic groups — was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2005 as one of the first Vietnamese UNESCO nominations.
The making of the berimbau — a single-stringed musical bow consisting of a curved wood bow (verga or arco), a steel string (arame), and a resonating chamber made from a dried, hollowed gourd (cabaça) — the leading instrument of capoeira,…
Two defining Cambodian instruments: the chapei dong veng (two-stringed long-neck lute for philosophical poetry performance) and roneat ek (21-key bamboo xylophone).
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