Lonely Planet Laos

by Lonely Planet

  The Lao Thoeng have a much lower standard of living than any of the three other groups. Most trade between the Lao Thoeng and other Lao is carried out by barter.

  The Htin (also called Lawa) and Khamu languages are closely related, and both groups are thought to have been in Laos long before the arrival of the Lowland Lao, tribal Tai or Lao Soung. During the Lao New Year celebrations in Luang Prabang the Lowland Lao offer a symbolic tribute to the Khamu as their historical predecessors and as 'guardians of the land'.

  Lao Soung

  The Lao Soung (Highland Lao) include the hill tribes who live at the highest altitudes. Of all the peoples of Laos, they are the most recent immigrants, having come from Myanmar (Burma), southern China and Tibet within the last 150 years.

  The largest group is the Hmong, also called Miao or Meo, who number more than 300,000 in four main subgroups: the White Hmong, Striped Hmong, Red Hmong and Black Hmong. The colours refer to certain clothing details and these groups are found in the nine provinces of the north, plus Bolikhamsai in central Laos.

  The agricultural staples of the Hmong are dry rice and corn raised by the slash-and-burn method. The Hmong also breed cattle, pigs, water buffalo and chickens, traditionally for barter rather than sale. For years their only cash crop was opium, and they grew and manufactured more than any other group in Laos. However, an aggressive eradication program run by the government, with support from the US, has eliminated most of the crop. The resulting loss of a tradeable commodity has hit many Hmong communities very hard. The Hmong are most numerous in Hua Phan, Xieng Khuang, Luang Prabang and northern Vientiane Provinces.

  The second-largest group are the Mien (also called Iu Mien, Yao and Man), who live mainly in Luang Nam Tha, Luang Prabang, Bokeo, Udomxai and Phongsali. The Mien, like the Hmong, have traditionally cultivated opium poppies. Replacement crops, including coffee, are taking time to bed in and generate income.

  The Mien and Hmong have many ethnic and linguistic similarities, and both groups are predominantly animist. The Hmong are considered more aggressive and warlike than the Mien, however, and as such were perfect for the CIA-trained special Royal Lao Government forces in the 1960s and early 1970s. Large numbers of Hmong–Mien left Laos and fled abroad after 1975.

  Other Asians

  As elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the Chinese have been migrating to Laos for centuries to work as merchants and traders. Most come directly from Yunnan but more recently many have also arrived from Vietnam. Estimates of their numbers vary from 2% to 5% of the total population. At least half of all permanent Chinese residents in Laos are said to live in Vientiane and Savannakhet. There are also thousands of Chinese migrant workers in the far north.

  Substantial numbers of Vietnamese live in all the provinces bordering Vietnam and in the cities of Vientiane, Savannakhet and Pakse. For the most part, Vietnamese residents in Laos work as traders and own small businesses, although there continues to be a small Vietnamese military presence in Xieng Khuang and Hua Phan Provinces. Small numbers of Cambodians live in southern Laos.

  Religion

  Buddhism

  About 60% of the people of Laos are Theravada Buddhists, the majority being Lowland Lao, with a sprinkling of tribal Tais. Theravada Buddhism was apparently introduced to Luang Prabang (then known as Muang Sawa) in the late 13th or early 14th centuries, although there may have been contact with Mahayana Buddhism during the 8th to 10th centuries and with Tantric Buddhism even earlier.

  King Visoun, a successor of the first monarch of Lan Xang, King Fa Ngum, declared Buddhism the state religion after accepting the Pha Bang Buddha image from his Khmer sponsors. Today the Pha Bang is kept at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang. Buddhism was fairly slow to spread throughout Laos, even among the lowland peoples, who were reluctant to accept the faith instead of, or even alongside, pĕe (earth spirit) worship.

  Theravada Buddhism is an earlier and, according to its followers, less corrupted school of Buddhism than the Mahayana schools found in east Asia and the Himalayas. It's sometimes referred to as the 'southern' school since it took the southern route from India through Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

  Theravada doctrine stresses the three principal aspects of existence: dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness, disease), anicca (impermanence, transience of all things) and anatta (nonsubstantiality or nonessentiality of reality; no permanent 'soul'). Comprehension of anicca reveals that no experience, state of mind or physical object lasts. Trying to hold onto experience, states of mind and physical objects that are constantly changing creates dukkha. Anatta is the understanding that there is no part of the changing world we can point to and say 'This is me' or 'This is God' or 'This is the soul'.

  The ultimate goal of Theravada Buddhism is nibbana (nirvana in Sanskrit), which literally means the 'blowing-out' or 'extinction' of all causes of dukkha. Effectively it means an end to all corporeal or even heavenly existence, which is forever subject to suffering and which is conditioned from moment to moment by kamma (karma, intentional action). In reality, most Lao Buddhists aim for rebirth in a 'better' existence rather than the goal of nibbana. By feeding monks, giving donations to temples and performing regular worship at the local wat, Lao Buddhists acquire enough 'merit' (Pali puñña; Lao bun) for their future lives. And it's in the pursuit of merit that you're most likely to see Lao Buddhism 'in action'. Watching monks walking through their neighbourhoods at dawn to collect offerings of food from people who are kneeling in front of their homes is a memorable experience.

  Lao Buddhists don't visit the wat on a set day. Most often they'll visit on a wan Sĭn (ວັນສີນ), meaning 'Precept Day' (or rule day), which occur with every full, new and quarter moon (roughly every seven days). On such a visit, typical activities include the offering of lotus buds, incense and candles at various altars and bone reliquaries, offering food to the monks, meditating, and attending a táirt (Dhamma talk) by the abbot.

  POST-REVOLUTION BUDDHISM

  During the 1964–73 war years, both sides sought to use Buddhism to legitimise their cause. By the early 1970s, the Lao Patriotic Front (LPF) was winning this propaganda war as more and more monks threw their support behind the communists.

  Despite this, major changes were in store for the Sangha (monastic order) following the 1975 takeover. Initially, Buddhism was banned as a primary-school subject and people were forbidden to make merit by giving food to monks. Monks were also forced to till the land and raise animals in direct violation of their monastic vows.

  Mass dissatisfaction among the faithful prompted the government to rescind the ban on the feeding of monks in 1976. By the end of that year, the government was not only allowing traditional giving of alms, it was offering a daily ration of rice directly to the Sangha.

  In 1992, in what was perhaps its biggest endorsement of Buddhism since the Revolution, the government replaced the hammer-and-sickle emblem that crowned Laos' national seal with a drawing of Pha That Luang, the country's holiest Buddhist symbol.

  Today the Department of Religious Affairs (DRA) controls the Sangha and ensures that Buddhism is taught in accordance with Marxist principles. All monks must undergo political indoctrination as part of their monastic training, and all canonical and extracanonical Buddhist texts have been subject to 'editing' by the DRA. Monks are also forbidden to promote pĕe (earth spirit) worship, which has been officially banned in Laos along with săinyasąht (magic). The cult of khwǎn (the 32 guardian spirits attached to mental/physical functions), however, has not been tampered with.

  One major change in Lao Buddhism was the abolition of the Thammayut sect. Formerly, the Sangha in Laos was divided into two sects, the Mahanikai and the Thammayut (as in Thailand). The Thammayut is a minority sect that was begun by Thailand's King Mongkut. The Pathet Lao saw it as a tool of the Thai monarchy (and hence US imperialism) for infiltrating Lao political culture.

  For several years all Buddhist literature written in Thai was also banned, severely curtailing the teaching of Buddhis
m in Laos. This ban has since been lifted and Lao monks are even allowed to study at Buddhist universities throughout Thailand. However, the Thammayut ban remains and has resulted in a much weaker emphasis on meditation, considered the spiritual heart of Buddhist practice in most Theravada countries. Overall, monastic discipline in Laos is far more relaxed than it was before 1975.

  Monks & Nuns

  Unlike other religions in which priests or nuns make a lifelong commitment to their religious vocation, being a Buddhist monk or nun can be a much more transient experience. Socially, every Lao Buddhist male is expected to become a kóo-bąh (monk) for at least a short period in his life, optimally between the time he finishes school and starts a career or marries. Men or boys under 20 years of age may enter the Sangha (monastic order) as náirn (novices) and this is not unusual since a family earns merit when one of its sons takes robe and bowl. Traditionally the length of time spent in the wat is three months, during the pansăh (Buddhist lent), which coincides with the rainy season. However, nowadays men may spend as little as a week or 15 days to accrue merit as monks or novices. There are, of course, some monks who do devote all or most of their lives to the wat.

  There is no similar hermetic order for nuns, but women may reside in temples as náhng sée (lay nuns), with shaved heads and white robes.

  Spirit Cults

  No matter where you are in Laos the practice of pĕe (spirit) worship, sometimes called animism, won't be far away. Pĕe worship predates Buddhism and despite being officially banned it remains the dominant non-Buddhist belief system. But for most Lao it is not a matter of Buddhism or spirit worship. Instead, established Buddhist beliefs coexist peacefully with respect for the pĕe that are believed to inhabit natural objects.

  An obvious example of this coexistence is the 'spirit houses', which are found in or outside almost every home. Spirit houses are often ornately decorated miniature temples, built as a home for the local spirit. Residents must share their space with the spirit and go to great lengths to keep it happy, offering enough incense and food that the spirit won't make trouble for them.

  In Vientiane, Buddhism and spirit worship flourish side by side at Wat Si Muang. The central image at the temple is not a Buddha figure but the lák méuang (city pillar from the time of the Khmer empire), in which the guardian spirit for the city is believed to reside. Many local residents make daily offerings before the pillar, while at the same time praying to a Buddha figure. A form of pĕe worship visitors can partake in is the bąasǐi ceremony.

  Outside the Mekong River valley, the pĕe cult is particularly strong among the tribal Tai, especially the Tai Dam, who pay special attention to a class of pĕe called then. The then are earth spirits that preside not only over the plants and soil, but over entire districts as well. The Tai Dam also believe in the 32 khwǎn (guardian spirits). Mŏr (master/shaman), who are specially trained in the propitiation and exorcism of spirits, preside at important Tai Dam festivals and ceremonies. It is possible to see some of the spiritual beliefs and taboos in action by staying in a Katang village during a trek into the forests of Dong Phu Vieng National Protected Area (NPA).

  The Hmong–Mien tribes also practise animism, plus ancestral worship. Some Hmong groups recognise a pre-eminent spirit that presides over all earth spirits; others do not. The Akha, Lisu and other Tibeto-Burman groups mix animism and ancestor cults.

  Other Religions

  A small number of Lao, mostly those of the remaining French-educated elite, are Christians. An even smaller number of Muslims live in Vientiane, mostly Arab and Indian merchants whose ancestry as Laos residents dates as far back as the 17th century. Vientiane also harbours a small community of Chams, Cambodian Muslims who fled Pol Pot's Kampuchea in the 1970s. In northern Laos there are pockets of Muslim Yunnanese, known among the Lao as jęen hór.

  Women in Laos

  For the women of Laos, roles and status vary significantly depending on their ethnicity, but it's fair to say that whatever group they come from they are seen as secondary to men. As you travel around Laos the evidence is overwhelming. While men's work is undoubtedly hard, women always seem to be working harder, for longer and with far less time for relaxing and socialising.

  Lao Loum women gain limited benefits from bilateral inheritance patterns, whereby both women and men can inherit land and business ownership. This derives from a matrilocal tradition, where a husband joins the wife's family on marriage. Often the youngest daughter and her husband will live with and care for her parents until they die, when they inherit at least some of their land and business. However, even if a Lao Loum woman inherits her father's farmland, she will have only limited control over how it is used. Instead, her husband will have the final say on most major decisions, while she will be responsible for saving enough money to see the family through any crisis.

  This fits with the cultural beliefs associated with Lao Buddhism, which commonly teaches that women must be reborn as men before they can attain nirvana, hence a woman's spiritual status is generally less than that of a man. Still, Lao Loum women enjoy a higher status than women from other ethnic groups, who become part of their husband's clan on marriage and rarely inherit anything.

  Women in Laos face several other hurdles: fewer girls go to school than boys; women are relatively poorly represented in government and other senior positions; and although they make up more than half the workforce, pay is often lower than male equivalents. If a Lao woman divorces, no matter how fair her reasons, it's very difficult for her to find another husband unless he is older or foreign.

  In the cities, however, things are changing as fast as wealth, education and exposure to foreign ideas allows, and in general women in cities are more confident and willing to engage with foreigners than their rural counterparts. Women are gradually pushing into more responsible positions, like Pany Yathortou, a Hmong woman chosen as President of the National Assembly.

  Arts

  The focus of most traditional art in Lao culture has been religious, specifically Buddhist. Yet, unlike the visual arts of Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, Lao art never encompassed a broad range of styles and periods, mainly because Laos has a much more modest history in terms of power and because it has only existed as a political entity for a short period. Furthermore, since Laos was intermittently dominated by its neighbours, much of the art that was produced was either destroyed or, as in the case of the Emerald Buddha, carted off by conquering armies.

  Laos' relatively small and poor population, combined with a turbulent recent history, also goes some way towards explaining the absence of any strong tradition of contemporary art. This is slowly changing, and in Vientiane and Luang Prabang modern art in a variety of media is finding its way into galleries and stores.

  Weaving is the one art form that is found almost everywhere and has distinct styles that vary by place and tribal group. It's also the single most accessible art the traveller can buy, often directly from the artist.

  Lao Buddha: The Image and Its History (2000), by Somkiart Lopetcharat, is a large coffee-table book containing a wealth of information on the Lao interpretation of the Buddha figure.

  Literature & Film

  Pha Lak Pha Lam, the Lao version of the Indian epic the Ramayana, is the most pervasive and influential of all classical Lao literature. The Indian source first came to Laos with the Hindu Khmer as stone reliefs at Wat Phu Champasak and other Angkor-period temples. Oral and written versions may also have been available; later the Lao developed their own version of the epic, which differs greatly both from the original and from Cambodia's Reamker.

  Of the 547 Jataka tales in the Pali Tipitaka, each chronicling a different past life of the Buddha, most appear in Laos almost word-for-word as they were first inscribed in Sri Lanka. A group of 50 'extra' or apocryphal stories, based on Lao-Thai folk tales of the time, were added by Pali scholars in Luang Prabang between 300 and 400 years ago.

  Contemporary literature has been hampered by decades of war and communist r
ule. The first Lao-language novel was printed in 1944, and only in 1999 was the first collection of contemporary Lao fiction, Ounthine Bounyavong's Mother's Beloved: Stories from Laos, published in a bilingual Lao and English edition. Since then, a growing number of Lao novels and short stories have been translated into Thai, but very few have seen English-language translations. One of the most popular was 2009's When the Sky Turns Upside Down: Memories of Laos, a translation of short stories, some of which date back 60 years, by prominent Lao authors Dara Viravongs Kanlaya and Douangdeuane Bounyavong.

  Not surprisingly, Laos also has one of the quietest film industries in Southeast Asia, and 2008's Good Morning, Luang Prabang is only one of a handful of feature films produced in the country since 1975. Starring Lao-Australian heart-throb Ananda Everingham and led by Thai director Sakchai Deenan, the film features a predictably 'safe' love-based plot that nonetheless required the close attention of the Lao authorities during filming.

  The Betrayal – Nerakhoon (2008) is a documentary directed by American Ellen Kuras, with the help of the film's main subject, Thavisouk Phrasavath. Shot over a 23-year period, the film documents the Phrasavath family's experience emigrating from Laos to New York City after the communist revolution.

  In 2013, The Rocket, the story of a young Lao boy who builds a rocket to regain his family's trust, was released.