The people ofLaos have a rich literary tradition dating back at least six hundred years, with the oral and storytelling traditions of its peoples dating back much earlier.[1] Lao literature refers to the written productions of Laotian peoples, its émigrés, and to Lao-language works. In Laos today there are over forty-seven recognized ethnic groups, with theLao Loum comprising the majority group.[2]Lao (part of theLao-Tai family) is officially recognized as the national language, but owing to the ethnic diversity of the country theliterature of Laos can generally be grouped according to fourethnolinguistic families: Lao–Tai (Tai–Kadai);Mon–Khmer (Austroasiatic);Hmong–Mien (Miao–Yao), andSino-Tibetan (primarily Tibeto-Burman).[3] As an inland crossroads ofSoutheast Asia the political history of Laos has been complicated by frequent warfare and colonial conquests by European and regional rivals.
Traditionally literature is held high regard inLao society. Lao literature spans a wide range ofgenres 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.[9] The act of copying a book or text held deep religious significance as a meritorious act. The emphasis in writing was to conveyTheravada Buddhist thought, althoughsyncretism withanimist beliefs is also common, religious and philosophical teachings. Individual authorship is not important; works were simply attributed with a perceived religious origin raising its status in the eyes of the audience.[8] Owing to the religious and societal importance of most literature, the written word is generally kept in high regard and stored according to specific cultural taboos (i.e. never on the ground, and must be stored in a way that demonstrates respect).
Traditionally texts were kept aspalm leaf manuscripts (bailan), which were prepared from dried palm leaves which had been cut, incised, covered over with ink or charcoal and subsequently cleaned to reveal the written words.[10] Texts were also recorded using folding books of locally produced paper from mulberry bark paper (saa),khoi paper, or from lacquered cotton although these materials were less durable, and thus tended to be used for non-religious purposes.
Theravada Buddhist religious texts were generally written inPali, or transcribed into Lao usingTham script. TheTham script shows a strong similarity to theMon script used in inscriptions in the ancient Mon kingdom ofHaripuñjaya (present-dayLamphun Province of NorthernThailand), dating from the 13th century. Versions of the Tham script continue to be used to this day by the Lao, Northern Thai,Tai Lue and Tai Khuen. comprising present-dayLaos, the Upper North and Northeast ofThailand, the Northeast ofMyanmar, and the Southwest ofYunnan Province inChina. In Laos, the Tham script was generally reserved for religious writings, whereas texts which were considered secular were written inLao Buhan, the precursor of the modern Lao script.
Less common script variants includeTai Dam, andKhom (Ancient Khmer) scripts. Khom script was mainly used for Buddhist texts, works on language, medicine, cosmology, astrology and numerology, protective and astrological formulas (mantra andyantra) in Pali orSanskrit, 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 courtBrahmin fromAngkor. KhmerBrahmin priests were recruited by Lao kings for the purpose of carrying out certain ritual functions at the royal courts.[11]
The Lao trace their linguistic, cultural, and political history to the Kingdom ofLan Xang (1353-1707).[citation needed]Lan Xang had a highly literate society because of the importance of religion and religious education inLao society.[12] A temple (wat) typically existed in every Lao village and certainly in every town (muang). The Laosangha had a moral and religious authority on par with themonarchy. All Lao males were expected to spend several years in religious education as a novice or to continue on as aBuddhist monk. Monastic education was the typical route to gain literacy and also some degree of social mobility in traditional society. Royal and religious records were stored inHo or specifically designed libraries on temple grounds.
From 1707-1713 theKingdom of Lan Xang had split into the kingdoms ofVientiane,Luang Prabang, andChampassak. By the end of the eighteenth century the Lao kingdoms, had become vassal states toSiam. The cultural impact of Siam was greatest in theIsan region of northeastThailand, an area which was predominantly Lao in terms of history andethnicity. By the end of the nineteenth century theFrench had forced Siam to cede the areas on the east bank of theMekong River, and had roughly established the borders of modernLaos.
Colonialism during these periods had a lasting impact on Lao society and literature. The traditional model of monastic education was slowly replaced by asecular one which was dominated bySiamese orFrench culture. The earlier forms ofLao literature were preserved only in the monasteries, andfolk culture and tradition remained one of the few remaining links between the Lao and their ethnic heritage.
The twentieth century was period of immense upheaval and conflict, but also a gradual renewal of Lao literature. BothFrench andThai nationalist policies aggressively sought to assimilate theLao during the 1920s-1940s.World War II and theFranco-Thai War had a profound impact on everyday life for the Lao, which gave way to independence movements and the emergence ofcommunism. Politics split Lao society and Lao literature, while theRoyal Lao Government struggled to establish itself from 1954-1975.[13]
Independence andsecular education helped to create anationalist identity for the Lao, and interest in traditional Lao history and culture slowly reemerged. Revolutionaries in Laos andVietnam during the early 1950s began to spreadcommunist ideology, which culminated in theVietnam War era and the ousting of theLao monarchy in 1975. During this period Laos became the most heavily bombed country in world history.[13]
Politics continued to dominate literature in the 1980s, with the communistPathet 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.
The Lao period of classical literature began during theLan Xang era, and flourished during the early sixteenth century. The primary cultural influence onLan Xang during this period was the closely relatedTai YuanKingdom of Lanna.[14] By the second resurgence ofLao classical literature in the seventeenth century, theLao had developed a sophisticated tradition of art, literature and scholarship. Subjects were primarily religious or historical in nature, but also included epic poems, law, customs,astrology,numerology, as well as traditional medicine and healing. Many of the works during this period have been lost due to wars in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century.[citation needed]
The epic ofSin Xay was composed by the Lao poetPang Kham during the reign ofKing Sourigna Vongsa and is regarded as the seminal work of Laoepic 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-headednyak (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 theNyak among the clouds, where they find the king's sister. They fight a terrible battle whereSin Xay slays the flying multi-headednyak.
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 pushSin 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.
TheThao 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.[15] Both the single extant copy of the text and the oral history originated inXieng Khouang in Laos, among theKhmu peoples, which wereindigenous to Laos prior to theTai migrations. The oral tradition of the folktale recalls the struggle between theKhmu andindigenous peoples ofLaos and theTai-Lao.[16]
During the fifteenth century, under theLan Xang era, the story was written and adapted by royal scribes so that the version recalled the struggle of the Lao against theDai Viet during the 10th and 12th centuries. The plot follows the exploits of a conquering hero Thao Hung, who even in death goes on to lead a ghost army in the afterlife. One scene of the epic describes the creation of thePlain of Jars as part of a massive victory feast. The composition resulted in three patterns ofLao verses in 20,000 lines, making it one of the longest Lao epics.
Despite the changes, major thematic elements and wording remained consistent, so the epic is one of the only descriptions of life inSoutheast Asia amongindigenous peoples during theTai migrations. Both the written form and oral traditions are uniquelyLao and show the complex relationship between the major ethnic groups of theLao Loum,Lao Theung andLao Sung.[citation needed] The historical and cultural value continues in the description of the way of life among Lao peoples prior to the introduction ofTheravada Buddhism.
ThePhra Lak Phra Lam is the officialnational epic ofLaos and retells the Lao version of theRamayana. Phra Lak Phra Lam is named after two principal characters, the brothers Phra Lak, orLakshaman, and Phra Lam, orRama. The emphasis of the story is on selflessness and brotherly love in the Lao version, making it traditionally classified among theJataka tales although the story also had great significance in the royal court as a dance-drama.
During the festivals ofPii Mai (Lao New Year) scenes from the work would be recreated, read aloud, or used in religious sermons. The Lao version is set along theMekong River and includes Lao characters such as the king of thenāga, and scenes which involve buffalo sacrifice which is associated with thesatsana phi (animist religions) in Laos. The story is part shows the influence ofIndia in Lao culture, and more broadly throughoutSoutheast Asia. Variations of theRamayana story are common in Southeast Asia, and can be found as theReamker inCambodia or theRamakien inThailand.
The tale of the Toad King (Phya Khankhaak) and thenithan or love poemPhadaeng Nang Ai are extremely popular literary works and are read or sung as part of theRocket 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 thenāga 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.
ThePhadaeng Nang Ai poem is a love story that takes place across multiplereincarnations. The title heroine Nang Aikham was born to a powerfulKhmer king, her beauty was so great it was renowned even among thenāga. King Phadaeng, in a neighboring kingdom came to see her and seek her hand in marriage. The two fell quickly in love. TheKhmer King ordered arocket 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 theKhmer King sent the contestants away without promising his daughter to anyone. When thenāga came to bring the rain after the rocket festival, thenāga 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 apoisoned arrow, while transformed as a squirrel and with his dying breath laid a curse on his meat. The meat from his dead body multiplied and was served to the entireKhmer court. The court was all poisoned except Nang Aikham. King Phadaeng charged in to rescue her on a white horse. Thenāga king, seeking revenge on theKhmer for killing his son sent a massivenāga army to destroy theKhmer.
Thenāga king pursued King Phadaeng and Nang Aikham in a chase that went on for days. Eventually he caught up when Nang Aikham stopped to drink water from a stream, where thenāga king was able to drag through the water to theNāga City. King Phadaeng looked for her till the day he died. In death, he became a ghost king and made constant war with thenāga. Finally the Lord of Heaven (Phaya Thaen) had to separate Nang Aikham from her two lovers; there they wait betweenrebirths for the second coming of theBuddha, who will make the final judgment of who she should be with for eternity.
History was related usingsan (poetry) which was intended to be sung or performed, andphongsavadan (chronicles) which were meant to be read aloud during festivals and important occasions.
The Lao frequently wrote origin legends (nithan a-thi bay hed) for the people, places, and cultural relics which were part of their society. TheNithanKhun Borom (Story ofKhun 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. TheNithanKhun Lo expands where theKhun 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 annualPii Mai (New Year) celebrations by red-faced masked figures representing the spirits of the couple (Pu Nyoe andYa Nyoe).
Other origin legends describe the founding of major cities inLan Xang, such asVientiane,Luang Prabang,Xieng Khouang, andSikhottabong. Important religious sites such as Phu Si inLuang Prabang andWat Phu inChampassak were also recorded. Major statues of theBuddha, which included thePhra Kaew (Emerald Buddha),Phra Bang (namesake ofLuang Prabang),Phra Sae Kham, andPhra Luk (Champassak) all had written accounts for their creation or discovery and transfer toLan Xang. The Buddha images were symbols of royal and religious authority, and their stories combined folklore with animist traditions to become powerfulpalladiums of themonarchy and kingdoms ofLan Xang andLaos.
The royal court chronicles (phongsavadan) and more general historical accounts (phuen sueb) ofLaos come in many versions, yet few of these primary sources have survived due to wars throughout the history of Laos and the earlierKingdom of Lan Xang. Each of the major cities (muang)Vientiane,Luang Prabang,Xiengkhouang,Champassak maintained various versions of the court chronicles ofLan Xang. During the eighteenth century when thesemuang became the kingdoms ofVientiane,Luang Prabang andChampassak, and thePrincipality of Xieng Khouang, the chronicles became more regional in nature.
In 1779 underKing Taksin the Great and again following therebellion ofKing Anouvong in 1828, theLan Xang capital city ofVientiane was razed and many of the most important royal chronicles were destroyed or carried toBangkok along with thePhra Kaew (Emerald Buddha) and other cultural treasures. The population in and aroundVientiane was relocated to the west bank of theMekong in the area of theKhorat Plateau.
TheIsan region, although historically within theLan Xangmandala, was more accessible for the growing power of anationalistSiam where the population could be taxed or brought into thecorvee system of labor. The Lao kingdoms maintained theirmonarchy andsangha but becamevassal states within Siam. TheFrench establishment of Laos in 1893 as part ofIndochina would create a political division with the Isan region, although the majority population was historically and ethnicallyLao.
Today the Isan region remains part ofThailand, and has developed a distinctly different historical identity which has been the resultThai policies which began during the 1930s and sought toassimilate these people within the dominant culture of the centralThai. During theVietnam War, and the period of theKhmer Rouge, the influx of Lao andKhmerrefugees to the Isan region revived cross cultural communications. The importance of this history to Lao literature and culture is that Thailand is now home to an estimated 30 millionLao speakers, whileLaos has an approximate total population of 6 million.
The dominance ofSiam during the nineteenth century left theLao unable to remain politically independent, and the infighting among the kingdoms ofVientiane,Luang Prabang andChampassak was bitterly resented among the common people. In 1828,King Anouvong ofVientiane, together with his son the king ofChampassak rebelled against Siam in what became known as theAnouvong Rebellion (1828). The end results of the rebellion were disastrous for the Lao, and resulted in the total destruction ofVientiane and moreforced population transfers to theIsan.
The willingness to challenge Siamesehegemony created the first stirrings of Laonationalism, and presented afolk hero identity to the Lao who would not compromise to outside pressures. In one of the most enigmatic and controversial Lao epics, theLeup Pha Sun expresses the author's sadness that he cannot speak freely of his country while he tries to cope with tumultuous relationship betweenLan Xang and Siam using both romantic and religious language and imagery. The unnamed author In the end prays for a divine intervention to end the widespread suffering. Similarly, thePheun Raxavong andPheun Viang are first hand Lao histories of theAnouvong Rebellion.
Other histories were put into the classical form of epic poetry including theKab Phagna Siengsa, which retold the history ofKing Anouvong from the perspective of his top commanders. These secret histories and poetry circulated among the ethnicLao inIsan and inLaos, keeping the cultural memory of the rebellion in the popular memory. In 2010 a statue ofKing Anouvong was erected in Laos, a tangible symbol that the cultural memories of the rebellion still carried symbolic importance in the modern era.
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Religion and religious teaching is a recurring theme for much of Lao literature throughout its history.Laos is predominantlyTheravada Buddhist, which was the state religion in theKingdom of Lan Xang since the time ofKing Photisarath in the 1520s.King Fa Ngum the founder ofLan Xang broughtTheravada monks and thePhra Bang (palladium ofLaos) with him when he establishedLan Xang in 1353, according to folk traditions. The principle religious texts ofTheravada Buddhism are known as theTipitaka (Three Baskets) which include:
The texts, collectively known as thePali Canon, are written inPali and were a traditionalmerit making gift among the kings andsanghas ofSoutheast Asia. The earliest record of a complete copy of theTipitaka in Laos was such a gift from theKingdom of Lanna toKing Vixun in the 16th century.
Monastic education has been central to Lao society from theLan Xang period to the modern day. The oldest monastic school in Laos was founded byKing Vixun in 1503. Throughout the areas of what are today southeastMyanmar, theXipsongpanna inChina, north and northeastThailand, northwestVietnam, andLaos it was common for monks, texts and even complete libraries to move between monasteries. Kingship in Laos, andSoutheast Asia generally, was reinforced and legitimized by sponsorship of thesangha and acts of religious merit. In return, the most prolific teachers with royal sponsorship attracted wealthy patrons, artists, and pilgrims.
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 thePali Canon. Generally, the most popular texts include blessings used in ritual ceremonies (animasa); blessings used for protection (paritta); instructions used for lay or religious ceremonies (xalong); non-canonical stories from the life of the Buddha (jataka); commentary onTipitaka (atthakatha); ritual rules or instructions for monks and nuns (kammavaca andvinaya pitaka); local epics and legends (e.g.Xiang Miang,Sin Xay, andThao Hung Thao Cheuang); summary treatises on Theravadist doctrine (Visuddhimagga andMangaladipani); grammar handbooks (excerpts from thePadarūpasiddhi andKaccāyanavyākarana); and relic, image and temple histories (tamnan).
Jataka tales are morality stories which recall previousincarnations of theBuddha before he was able to reachenlightenment. The stories are used to exemplify a particularvirtue or teach a specific lesson, in which the character representing theBuddha may be either human or animal.
InTheravada Buddhism, the Jatakas are a textual division of thePali Canon, included in theKhuddaka Nikaya of theSutta Pitaka. The term Jataka may also refer to a traditional commentary on this book. Jataka tales are common throughoutSoutheast Asia and there can often be found with many regional variations.Laos has developed a number of Jataka tales which are uniquely Lao in their tradition.
TheLao written version of theVessantara Jataka is generally considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Lao literature. The story recalls the past life of a compassionate prince, Vessantara, who gives away everything he owns, including his children, thereby displaying thevirtue of perfectcharity. The story is incorporated into Lao celebrations of the festivalBoun Phra Vet (Festival of Prince Vessantara) where the story is read aloud and is usually accompanied with dance, drama andmor lam (Lao folk singing).
Folklore is among the most diverse, and expressive form of literature inLaos. The category can apply to almost any narrative form of expression, and includes many myths, customs, popular beliefs, riddles, jokes, and common depictions of everyday life. Most Lao folklore is pre-classical and mostly comes fromoral traditions. Lao folk singing ormor lam is one of the most popular and widely used methods to preserve folk heritage. Another widely used method is in the variousmotifs found in weaving. All ethnic groups in Laos practice weaving at some level and it forms an important method of story telling and identity through folk art.
Animism is the most widely practiced spiritual practice in Laos behindTheravada Buddhism. Collectively known asSatsana Phi the religion preserves pre-Buddhist,indigenous, and tribal spiritual practices. Although there is no central hierarchy or authority, the practices do form a cultural link between theLao Loum,Lao Theung andLao Sung throughout history.
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 inshamanism 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 asbaci is one of the most popular folk traditions and beliefs which stem fromanimist traditions, and are performed at key moments inLao life to strengthen the soul and its believed thirty-two components (kwan).
Folk traditions include the protector spirits of theMekong River, thenāga which take a serpentine form and are popularmotifs in Lao art, weaving and folklore. Thenāga are along with phi the oldest written and oral subjects in Lao folklore. Thenāga stories show a mixing of indigenousLao beliefs andKhmer influence. The indigenous and pre-Buddhist Lao took their folklore and combined it with the serpents found in theHindu pantheon which was familiar through interaction with theKhmer.
Thenāga would again be “tamed” by the influence ofBuddhism, and became popular spirit guardians depicted among Lao temples (wats). The cities ofVientiane andLuang Prabang were first ruled bynāga in Lao tradition, and theMekong River itself was first calledNam Nyai Ngu Luang or "Great River of the Giant Serpent," for the belief that the river and surrounding terrain were gouged by the movement of a greatnāga lord over the Earth.
Xiang Miang tales are among some of the most recent and widely known folk literature in Laos. The stories emerged as clever and irreverent politicalsatire during the wars of the eighteenth and nineteenth century when both the Lao kings and sangha were politically at their weakest, and yet direct criticism would have broken culturaltaboos or religious authority (saksit). The stories involve the protagonist Xiang Miang, who is portrayed as a boy and novice monk, and his efforts to outwit the king or abbot in both humorous and morally instructive ways.
Oral traditions among theethnic minority groups ofLaos are a rich source of folklore which developed along parallel lines to the written literature of the majorityLao Loum. Stories from theMon–Khmer,Blang,Lamet,Khmu,Akha,Tibeto-Burmese,Tai-Rau, andHmong–Mien create unique myths, legends, laws, customs, beliefs and identities which have been passed down largely throughoral tradition.
Anthropological studies of these societies, and first hand retelling from the members of these groups have become an increasing part of modern literature about Laos, and are a source of increasingethnographic study. Each group maintains unique aspects of their storytelling culture. For instance, theHmong, a division of theMien who immigrated to Laos in the nineteenth century fromChina, are famous for their "story cloths". Thesecloths, ranging in size up to several square feet, use figures to represent stories fromHmong history and folklore in anarrative form.
ModernLao literature is inseparable from the political history of the country. Modern literary forms began in Laos began to emerge during theFrench Colonial period in Laos (1893–1954).French cultural influence was strongest among the Lao nobility and upper classes who were sent to French languageparochial schools in Laos, would subsequently pursue high school at thelycee inVietnam, and in rare occasions were sent on to higher education inFrance. Studies into traditional Lao literary forms were made by a small group of French intellectuals representing the French cultural institute theÉcole Française d'Extrême-Orient.
The goals of these initial studies were threefold. The first goal, was a genuine intellectual and rational discourse to better understand the Lao, from ananthropological and historical perspective. The second, being more intentionally political, was to preserve Lao cultural identity and fashion it into a morenationalist one as a means to counterbalanceThai cultural influence. Lastly, there was also a political aim to presentcolonialism to the French public as a "positive" for Lao society in general. The net impact to the culture was one which was positively pro-French.
The first modern Lao novel,The Sacred Buddha Image (Phra Phoutthahoup Saksit) bySomchine Nginn, was published in 1944 and was composed entirely inLao, with an introduction inFrench. The fictional account follows a French-Lao detective in his efforts to recover a stolen sacredBuddha image. In the same period,French colonial influence took a decidedly morenationalistic tone to counterbalance Thai regionalhegemony.
In theIsan region, thefascist policies ofField Marshal Phibun, sought to forciblyassimilate the ethnic minorities of Thailand into theCentral Thai identity. Lao language, dress, and cultural expression in the Isan region were made illegal. The ultimate goal was an attempt to absorb the territories ofLaos (as well as theMalay in the South, and the remaining traditions of theTai Yuan, ofLanna) into a reunified Thailand, within the borders of the formerSiam.
In promoting aLao identity, theFrench had indirectly created the Lao independence movement under theLao Issara. WhenParis fell to theAxis powers in 1940, the momentary weakness of theVichy Government, forcedFrance to permit theEmpire of Japan to establish a military presence inIndochina. Seizing on this opportunity and perceived weakness, Thailand attacked French outposts in theFranco-Thai War (1940–1941) where Thailand was able to seize areas of Laos andCambodia.
TheEmpire of Japan mediated the conflict, which forcedVichy France to cede Lao territories and areas ofCambodia. In 1945 facing when theEmpire of Japan was on the defensive, control of Laos was handed over to theLao Issara. In 1946 following the end ofWorld War II,Thailand returned the territories toFrance in exchange for recognition in the newly establishedUnited Nations. France reasserted control of Laos, and the Lao Issara fled to Thailand.
Laonationalism having been firmly established during the 1930s-1940s, political movements for independence took shape afterWorld War II. Politics and internal struggle would come to dominate Lao life and literature for the second half of the twentieth century. Literature took on apolarity between pro-French views which distrusted the influence ofVietnam and Thailand, theIssara which sought their own government but were deeply divided between pro-Thai and pro-Vietnamese factions, andcommunist revolutionaries among thePathet Lao which were supported from Vietnam.
In 1946 theFrench establishedLaos as aconstitutional monarchy within theFrench Union, in an attempt to reconcile with thenationalists. Academic study took a step forward in the early 1950s with the creation of theComite Litteraire, the forerunner of theLao Royal Academy, and brought together bothFrench andLao historians and academics for serious study with an aim of popular publication.
By 1953 theFranco–Lao Treaty of Amity and Association, gave control of Laos to theRoyal Lao Government, with the exception of the military. However the rifts between the political factions were deep and split along both ideological and personal lines among the Lao royal family, and would later give rise to theLaotian Civil War. Literature produced during the war, from the early 1950s to the communistPathet Lao victory in 1975, can be divided into two distinct groups: literature created in the regions of the country controlled by theRoyal Lao Government and literature from the "liberated zones" governed by thecommunist Lao Patriotic Front (Pathet Lao). Further complicating the conflict was theinternationalization of theLaotian Civil War, with theUnited States supporting theRoyal Lao Government, theVietnamese supporting theLao Patriotic Front, and theThai government which was concerned with its own internal security and relationship with theUnited States, but very cautiously seeking to preserve its own regional interests.
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 remainingcommunist states is caught in a balancing act betweenChina, Thailand and Vietnam, and all three have a history of mutual distrust stronger than cooperation. Yet, the economic power ofChina and its increasingnationalistic image remain a model forMuang Lao'scommunist regime. Statues of formerLan Xang kings were erected beginning in 2004, with the founderKing Fa Ngum.
At the same time, expatriateLao are reflecting on the period of upheaval which began in the 1940s and came to crisis during theVietnam War era, creating a Lao literary tradition from outside the country. The younger post-war generation of Lao is influenced byThai culture andWestern pop influence, creating a modern mix ofgenres and topics. All of these groups and transitions are creating a broad spectrum of uniquely Lao literary voices, which are reemerging with a frequency that had long been dormant since the classical era ofLan Xang.[citation needed]
The history of conflicts inLaos 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 withFrench scholars working with theÉcole Française d'Extrême-Orient, a French colonial institute dedicated to cultural studies withinIndochina. Academics likeGeorge Coedes,Henri Parmentier, andLouis Finot working in the late 1910s and 1920s produced the first in depth cultural materials on Laos since the explorations ofAuguste Pavie in the 1870s.
From 1928–1940Prince Phetsarath promoted theChanthabouly Buddhist Institute for the promotion and preservation of Lao cultural heritage. During the 1940s and 1950s preeminent Lao scholars began to emerge.Nhoui Abhay, andMaha Sila Viravong working through the Comite Litteraire, produced the first popular publications of classical Lao literature.Maha Sila Viravong did extensive work on the early classics identifying the major masterpieces of Lao storytelling and producing one of the first popular histories of Lan Xang. Maha Viravong is also credited with the rediscovery of one of the only primary copies of theThao Hung Thao Cheuang which he uncovered in 1943, having been kept in storage at theNational Library inBangkok for a century.
In 1956, theNational Library of Laos (Lao language: ຫໍສະໝຸດແຫ່ງຊາດ) was established inVientiane. In 1988 the first serious attempt to catalogue and digitize Laoprimary sources began. The Toyota Foundation in conjunction with the Lao Ministry of Information and Culture began an initiative to catalogue over 300,000phuk (palm-leaf books) in over 800 monasteries. From 1992-2004 the Preservation of Lao Manuscripts Programme began as a joint German and Lao venture. Starting in October 2007, the National Library has collaborated with theUniversity of Passau and theBerlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz) to create the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts. The government granted permission for the manuscript collection to be made accessible via the Internet.[17]
The project digitally copied and stored Laopalm leaf manuscripts, with over 86,000 texts being preserved and 12,000 texts microfilmed in a central database. The results of these efforts are over 7,500 old and unique titles, representing a massive amount of literary wealth despite the destruction and wars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The effort to translate, preserve and promote these primary sources is ongoing and will protect the literary heritage ofLaos for future generations.
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.