Literature of Laos
The people of
Literature in Lao society
Traditionally literature is held high regard in Lao society. Lao literature spans a wide range of genres including religious, philosophy, prose, epic or lyric poetry, histories, traditional law and customs, folklore, astrology, rituals, grammar and lexicography, dramas, romances, comedies, and non-fiction.[4][5] Lao thematic elements frequently combine the religious and philosophical with secular works and folklore. It is important to appreciate that for the Lao, to engage in study or writing was in essence to pursue a deeper philosophical or religious meaning.[6] Equally important is that oral traditions continue to exist along with written literary forms, and there is difficulty to distinguish the two as separate traditions as they are essentially coexisting and complementary.[7] Written texts, in particular classical or religious, frequently do not have individual authorship nor do they have a fixed form, they are subject to continual retelling, reinterpretation and elaboration.[8]
Most works of Lao literature have been handed down through continuous copying and have survived in the form of palm-leaf manuscripts, which were traditionally stored in wooden caskets and kept in the libraries of Buddhist monasteries.
Scripts
Traditionally texts were kept as
Less common script variants include Tai Dam, and Khom (Ancient Khmer) scripts. Khom script was mainly used for Buddhist texts, works on language, medicine, cosmology, astrology and numerology, protective and astrological formulas (mantra and yantra) in Pali or Sanskrit, based upon the belief that it was a sacred script and special knowledge was required to produce and to use these manuscripts. In the early periods, knowledge of Khom script was originally exclusively attributed to court Brahmin from Angkor. Khmer Brahmin priests were recruited by Lao kings for the purpose of carrying out certain ritual functions at the royal courts.[11]
Historical Overview
The Lao trace their linguistic, cultural, and political history to the Kingdom of
From 1707-1713 the
The twentieth century was period of immense upheaval and conflict, but also a gradual renewal of Lao literature. Both French and Thai nationalist policies aggressively sought to assimilate the Lao during the 1920s-1940s. World War II and the Franco-Thai War had a profound impact on everyday life for the Lao, which gave way to independence movements and the emergence of communism. Politics split Lao society and Lao literature, while the Royal Lao Government struggled to establish itself from 1954-1975.[13]
Independence and
Politics continued to dominate literature in the 1980s, with the communist Pathet Lao struggling to assert their control over Laos. Today Laos has a reawakening interest in literature, as people struggle with national identity, rapid technological and social changes, development and a lagging economy, while maintaining a strong popular interest in the folk culture which has been part of their cultural heritage for millennia.
Classical literature
The Lao period of classical literature began during the
The epic poem of Sin Xay
The epic of Sin Xay was composed by the Lao poet Pang Kham during the reign of King Sourigna Vongsa and is regarded as the seminal work of Lao epic poetry. The central message is one that unchecked desires will inevitably lead to suffering.
The plot follows the exploits of a king and his family, whose sister was kidnapped by a flying multi-headed nyak (mythological giant) during his youth. The king is so distraught he renounces the throne, and becomes a wandering monk to find his sister. As a wandering monk the king makes his way to a city where he sees seven daughters of wealthy merchant and falls in love. He returns to the kingdom and ceases being a monk to wed all seven of the girls. Six of the queens bear six sons. Through divine intervention the first queen gives birth to an elephant with giant golden tusks, and the youngest gives birth to twins- a golden snail, and boy born clutching a bow, who they name Sin Xay.
The king feared the omen of the births, and consulted the court astrologer, who secretly plotted with other six queens, and suggested that the snail, elephant, and boy together with the two queens who bore them be exiled. The Lord of Heaven (Phaya Thaen) at this point in the epic saves the divine children and the queens by constructing a castle in the sky for them to live. The astrologer is made to raise the remaining six princes, who are neither very smart nor very diligent.
When the princes come of age the king sends them out to find his sister who had long ago been kidnapped. Through the princes aimless wanderings they come to find Sin Xay- whom they trick into thinking will be welcomed back by the king if he joins them in their quest. The group endures many adventures, finally coming to the City of the Nyak among the clouds, where they find the king's sister. They fight a terrible battle where Sin Xay slays the flying multi-headed nyak.
Having achieved their quest, group sets out to return but stops to cleanse themselves and make offerings to the Lord of Heaven. The six brothers, not wanting to lose face in the eyes of their father push Sin Xay, the golden-tusked elephant and snail off a cliff and tell the king's sister that they had tragically drowned. The king’s sister did not believe the princes, but waited to tell the king directly.
On seeing his long lost sister and hearing from her that the princes had killed their brothers, the king becomes enraged and banishes them all, the astrologer, and his six remaining queens. Sin Xay, who did not die in the fall, but was saved by his elephant and snail brothers, returns to see his father. The king is overjoyed to see his faithful son, and crowns him king.
The epic poem of Thao Hung Thao Cheuang
The Thao Hung Thao Cheuang epic is regarded by literary critics and historians as one of the most important indigenous epic poems in Southeast Asia and a Lao language literary masterpiece for artistic, historical, and cultural reasons.
During the fifteenth century, under the
Despite the changes, major thematic elements and wording remained consistent, so the epic is one of the only descriptions of life in
Phra Lak Phra Lam – the Lao version of the Ramayana
The
During the festivals of .
The Rocket Festival Epics
The tale of the Toad King (Phya Khankhaak) and the nithan or love poem Phadaeng Nang Ai are extremely popular literary works and are read or sung as part of the Rocket Festival (Boun Bang Fai; Lao: ບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ,) celebrations each year. The festival has roots as a fertility celebration, and is held at the beginnings of the monsoon season each year.
The epic of the Toad King, tells the story of a prince born to a king in the form of a golden toad. The king cares for the prince, but the prince wishes for a wife as he grows older. The toad prince prays to the Lord of Heaven (Phaya Thaen), who grants the prince everything he wishes for and allows him to shed his toad-like appearance to become a handsome prince.
The prince finds a beautiful wife and his father happily allows his son to become king. The Toad King and his wife are so beloved that everyone and everything under heaven comes to pay him homage, and forget to honor the Lord of Heaven. The Lord of Heaven is so humiliated he forbids the nāga to make rain, which causes drought, terrible fires and suffering on Earth. After seven years of suffering the people, and creatures of Earth and even the divine creatures of heaven cannot take anymore trouble, and come to the Toad King for help.
The Toad King builds a bridge to heaven and fights a terrible battle with the Lord of Heaven. The Toad King wins, and teaches the Lord of Heaven the value of humility. As a result, each year the Lord of Heaven sends down rains, but just in case he forgets the people hold festivals and shoot rockets into the air to bring the rains and remind the Lord of Heaven of his promise.
The Phadaeng Nang Ai poem is a love story that takes place across multiple reincarnations. The title heroine Nang Aikham was born to a powerful Khmer king, her beauty was so great it was renowned even among the nāga. King Phadaeng, in a neighboring kingdom came to see her and seek her hand in marriage. The two fell quickly in love. The Khmer King ordered a rocket festival (Boun Bang Fai), where the winner would be the one to shoot their rocket the highest.
As a reward they would win his daughter’s hand in marriage. King Phadaeng built a rocket but it exploded on the launcher, he left humiliated, and the Khmer King sent the contestants away without promising his daughter to anyone. When the nāga came to bring the rain after the rocket festival, the nāga prince Phangkhi fell madly in love with Nang Aikham. Prince Phangkhi had been Nang Aikham’s soul mate in past lives. Prince Phangkhi transformed himself into a white squirrel to slip past her father’s guards and visit Nang Aikham.
Prince Phangkhi was shot by a
The
Historical legends and chronicles
History was related using san (poetry) which was intended to be sung or performed, and phongsavadan (chronicles) which were meant to be read aloud during festivals and important occasions.
Origin legends
The Lao frequently wrote origin legends (nithan a-thi bay hed) for the people, places, and cultural relics which were part of their society. The Nithan Khun Borom (Story of Khun Borom) is one of the most important origin legends and describes the origin of the peoples in Laos and the surrounding regions from a common gourd. The Nithan Khun Lo expands where the Khun Borom story ends to describe the relationship between the early Lao and the Lord of Heaven (Phaya Thaen) and how the first kings were sent among men to rule the surrounding regions.
Within the tale, mankind was threatened with destruction by giant creeping ivy, and was saved only through the sacrifice of a common elderly couple who volunteered to destroy the ivy and was crushed to death in the process. The story is recalled during the annual
Other origin legends describe the founding of major cities in
.Chronicles
The royal court chronicles (phongsavadan) and more general historical accounts (phuen sueb) of
In 1779 under
The
Today the Isan region remains part of
Leup Pha Sun and other secret histories
The dominance of
The willingness to challenge Siamese
Other histories were put into the classical form of epic poetry including the Kab Phagna Siengsa, which retold the history of King Anouvong from the perspective of his top commanders. These secret histories and poetry circulated among the ethnic Lao in Isan and in Laos, keeping the cultural memory of the rebellion in the popular memory. In 2010 a statue of King Anouvong was erected in Laos, a tangible symbol that the cultural memories of the rebellion still carried symbolic importance in the modern era.
Religious literature
Religion and religious teaching is a recurring theme for much of Lao literature throughout its history.
- Vinaya Pitaka("Discipline Basket"), dealing with rules for monks and nuns
- Sutta Pitaka(Sutra/Sayings Basket), discourses, mostly ascribed to the Buddha and disciples
- , etc.
The texts, collectively known as the
Monastic education has been central to Lao society from the
As a result of itinerant monks, Buddhist texts in Laos vary greatly between monasteries, with an emphasis for those texts used most frequently in daily community life, rather than complete or formal copies of the
Jataka tale of Prince Vessantara
In
The
Folklore
Spirit stories
Phi, or spirits, are believed to inhabit buildings, territories, natural places and things, and phenomena. Phi commonly includes ancestral spirits and protection spirits, which are popular in shamanism and traditional medicine. Oral and written traditions also include entertaining stories of malevolent ghosts, such as Grandmother Vom (Phi Ya Vom), who eats the living that wander into the jungle, or the ghosts of spurned lovers (Phi Khon Long).
The spirit stories are varied and extremely popular. The Lao ceremony known as
Naga stories
Folk traditions include the protector spirits of the
The
Trickster tales of Xiang Miang
Xiang Miang tales are among some of the most recent and widely known folk literature in Laos. The stories emerged as clever and irreverent political
Indigenous and tribal stories
Modern literature
Modern
The goals of these initial studies were threefold. The first goal, was a genuine intellectual and rational discourse to better understand the Lao, from an
The first modern Lao novel, The Sacred Buddha Image (Phra Phoutthahoup Saksit) by
In the
In promoting a
The Empire of Japan mediated the conflict, which forced Vichy France to cede Lao territories and areas of Cambodia. In 1945 facing when the Empire of Japan was on the defensive, control of Laos was handed over to the Lao Issara. In 1946 following the end of World War II, Thailand returned the territories to France in exchange for recognition in the newly established United Nations. France reasserted control of Laos, and the Lao Issara fled to Thailand.
Lao
Post-Second World War
In 1946 the
By 1953 the Franco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association, gave control of Laos to the
From 1975 to the present Lao literature has begun to reemerge after decades of wars and conflict. Some literature remains overtly political, Laos being one of the few remaining
At the same time, expatriate
Preservation efforts
The history of conflicts in Laos over the centuries shaped much of Lao literature, and determines what primary sources have continued to survive. Yet, renewed scholarship has led to important discoveries of classical literature in the twentieth century.
The first serious efforts to interpret and preserve Lao literature began in the twentieth century. Modern efforts to translate and preserve Lao literature began with
From 1928-1940
In 1956, the
The project digitally copied and stored Lao
See also
- Culture of Laos
- Lao alphabet
- Lao Language
- Isan language
- Dance and Theater of Laos
- Mor lam
- Phra Lak Phra Lam
- Sang Sinxay
- Big Brother Mouse
References
- ^ Hundius, Harold (2011). "The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts" (PDF). The Journal of Lao Studies. 2 (2): 68. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ISBN 92-3-103891-5. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ Chamberlain, James (2005). The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination and Research Perspectives (PDF). Vientiane: National Library of Laos. p. 326. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
- ISBN 0810856247.
- ^ Hundius, Harald (November 2011). "The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts" (PDF). The Journal of Lao Studies. 2 (2): 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ISBN 9780313339776.
- ISBN 92-3-103891-5. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0700710904.
- ^ Hundius, Harald; Wharton, David (November 2011). "The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts" (PDF). The Journal of Lao Studies. 2 (2): 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- PMID 23847746.
- ^ Igunma, Jana (2013). "Aksoon Khoom: Khmer Heritage in Thai and Lao Manuscript Cultures" (PDF). Tai Culture. 23: 26–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ISBN 0810856247.
- ^ a b Ingram, Simon (5 January 2001). "Laos: 'Most-heavily bombed place'". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Hundius, Harold (January 2004). "Lao Manuscripts and Traditional Literature: The struggle for their survival" (PDF). The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination, and Research Perspectives. Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Chamberlain, James (2005). The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination and Research Perspectives (PDF). Vientiane: National Library of Laos. p. 326. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
- ^ Chamberlain, James (1991). "Thao Hung or Cheuang" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies (18–19): 14–34.
- ^ "About DLLM: Project". East Asia Department. Berlin State Library. 12 Sep 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
The database is maintained via Internet by the National Library of Laos. Master copies of digital data are stored at the National Library of Laos and at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and the Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (GBV) in Germany.