SUEBUE MUSIC: BELIEFS AND CULTURAL TOURISM OF THE LISU ETHNIC GROUP IN PHET DAM VILLAGE, KHAO KHO DISTRICT, PHETCHABUN PROVINCE

Abstract

The Suebue music instrument is found among the Lisu ethnic group. This qualitative research employed fieldwork and interviews as primary methods of data collection. The study aimed to analyze the relationship between Suebue music a unique instrument found exclusively among the Lisu ethnic group and their beliefs, alongside the role of this music in rituals and cultural activities. The data obtained were subsequently utilized to construct a questionnaire gauging tourist satisfaction, thereby proposing guidelines for cultural tourism development using Suebue music as a central medium. The findings reveal that Suebue music is closely linked to the belief in expelling inauspicious elements from households during the transition from the old year to the New Year. During this festival, Suebue music is performed to accompany the Kwa-Kheya dance, commencing at the spiritual leader’s house and continuing through all 260 households in the Ban Phet Dam Lisu community. Nine Suebue pieces were identified during the New Year celebration, featuring a distinctive performance technique of finger-tapping on the strings present in most tracks. This musical practice represents a conservative cultural activity, functioning as a ritual tool that serves society. These unique characteristics demonstrate high potential for cultural tourism development. Focus group meetings were organized to collaboratively establish tourism development guidelines, leading to a tourist satisfaction survey. The evaluation showed that overall satisfaction was excellent across all aspects. The tradition and culture dimension received the highest mean score of 4.54. Notably, 83.92 percent of tourists expressed a strong desire to participate in the Lisu New Year tradition. These findings reflect that Ban Phet Dam possesses robust cultural capital sufficient to attract tourists and promote sustainable repeat visits in the future.