Di Lao Nuo is a seasonal musical instrument, played according to Yi people's customs and busy farming activities. The players are all young men from the Yi family. They often play at night, and the sound is like crying and complaining, and it spreads far.

Di Lao Nuo has a low pronunciation and a beautiful and soft tone. The roasted pottery Di Lao Nuo has a louder volume and brighter tone than the clay one, and can be used for solo performance.

Generally, it is played from the second and third day of the first month of the lunar calendar every year, indicating the beginning of the year and the arrival of the new year. By then, Yunnan has entered the farming season. When the spring sowing comes, inside and outside the village or in the mountains and fields, the music of Di Laonuo comes one after another, accompanied by melodious folk songs. This is the happiest day for Yi servants to sow happiness and hope for a good harvest. When it came to the busy autumn harvest season in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, Di Laonuo's voice gradually became silent.