Abstract

This qualitative research examines the transformation and adaptation of the Luang Prabang Pinphat Ensemble following the city’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This study seeks to determine the current status of the Pinphat ensemble and the progress it has made since Luang Prabang became a World Heritage City. The study involved primary research in the form of documentary research, formal and informal interviews, and participatory and non-participant observation to study and analyze the main functions, nature, and adaptation of the Pinphat ensemble in the cultural and economic environment of Luang Prabang as a World Heritage City. The findings of this research would suggest that the ensemble was a meaningful element in local rituals, and that it went through a decline after the political revolution in 1975. Nevertheless, it regained that status in 1986 and applied to the tourism industry by transforming performances and instruments, creating an inventory of traditional Lao music mixed with Western music. Moreover, some economic changes involved the online distributing and creation of souvenirs to enable the ensemble to maintain his identity and at the same time react to the social and economic transformations.