Mabu is a single-reed air-sounding instrument unique to the Yi people. In Yi language, "horse" means bamboo, and "cloth" means reed pipe, which means a bamboo air-sounding musical instrument with a reed pipe, also known as cloth.

The structure and appearance of the horse cloth are similar to those of the small suona, but the body is made of bamboo instead of wood, and the whistle is not a double reed but a single reed.

The tube body is mostly made of a bamboo tube that is transparent from top to bottom. The tube length is 15 cm to 22 cm and the inner diameter is 0.6 cm to 0.9 cm. There are five to eight circular sound holes on the tube body, and the upper end of the tube is equipped with a bamboo. Reed pipe, the lower end of the pipe has a horn made of horn. The reed pipe is made of a thin bamboo tube with a length of 4 cm and an outer diameter of 0.6 cm. There is a bamboo joint at the upper end and an open end at the lower end. A bamboo reed is carved on the side of the tube wall under the section. The length of the reed is 2.5 cm. The tip of the tongue is facing up, close to the bamboo joint, and the lower end of the open mouth is inserted into the upper mouth of the tube body.