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ThePhra Bang (Lao:ພະບາງ,pronounced[pʰāʔbàːŋ];Thai:พระบาง,pronounced[pʰráʔbāːŋ], "Royal Buddha Image in the Dispelling Fearmudra") is a statue ofBuddha in the city ofLuang Prabang, Laos; it is the namesake of that city. The statue stands at 83 centimetres (33 in), with palms facing forward, cast usingthong, an alloy of bronze, gold, and silver. According to local lore, it was cast in Ceylon (nowSri Lanka) sometime between the 1st and 9th century. However, the features of the image suggest a much laterKhmer origin.[citation needed]
The Phra Bang arrived inLan Xang during the reign ofFa Ngum fromAngkor and was used to spreadTheravada Buddhism in the new kingdom.[1]: 225–226 In 1359, the Khmer king gave the Phra Bang to his son-in-law, the first Lang Xang monarch Fa Ngum (1353–1373), to provide Buddhist legitimacy both to Fa Ngum's rule and by extension to the sovereignty of Laos. The former Lao capital ofLuang Prabang, where it was kept, is named after the image.
The Phra Bang has long been seen by devout Buddhists as a symbol of the right to rule Laos, as only a commendable and virtuous government deserves to be caretaker of such a sacred image. In 1705, it was taken toVientiane. In 1778, the Siamese (nowThai) invaded Vientiane and captured the Phra Bang, taking it with them toBangkok.[2] There, political upheaval and misfortune were attributed to the statue, and in 1782, it was returned to theLao people. Again in 1828, the Siamese captured the Phra Bang but once more returned it in 1867, after a similar period of political upheaval.[citation needed]
In 2013, the Phra Bang was moved from theLao National Museum national museum in Vientiane to the Haw Pha Bang, on theRoyal Palace grounds.[3] Each year, on the third day of "Pi Mai", or Lao New Year, the statue is taken in procession toWat Mai. There, it is exhibited at a shrine, where the Buddha image is ritually bathed by devout laypeople during new year festivities.[citation needed]
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