Wo Humming Top

"If the top spins but makes no sound, you have not thrown the top hard enough." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not stated, CC BY 4.0)

Choose bamboo 4-6 cm wide and cut it about 6.5-7.5 cm long. Cut wooden plates about 0.5 cm thick, larger than the bamboo section. Glue them over both ends so they seal tightly and leave to dry for at least 1 day, then trim the plates with a knife until they are round and flush with the bamboo.

Drill a hole through the centre so it lines up on both ends. Whittle a post about 20 cm long: the upper part the size of the hole, the lower part larger than the hole. Push the thin end in from the bottom up. Cut a sound hole in the body of the top about 0.5 cm wide and about 2.5 cm long, and bevel the left edge of the hole at 45 degrees so it slopes toward the right.

Whittle a stick that fits the hand, about 15 cm long, and drill a hole near the top for the string. Cut a string about 50 cm long.

Photo of a real wo humming top (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author not stated, CC BY 4.0)

Wind the string clockwise around the post in neat turns, leaving about one hand-span at the end. Pass the end through the hole in the launching stick. Pull the string with one hand while pushing the stick away with the other, both at once, hard and fast. The top drops to the ground and spins with a loud "wo".

The northern tung pole has long holes cut along its bamboo sections, slanted inward like a wedge, and the holes in each section face different ways, so whichever way the wind blows it sounds "wo". The wo humming top came from making these tung poles. Take care with the knife while trimming and whittling the wood. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, folk tools database, "ลูกข่างโว้", author not stated (CC BY 4.0 licence) **Limitation** The source does not name the wood for the end plates or the launching stick.