Laos - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 754

SPIRITS ARE YOU THERE?
The life of a Lao person involves a complex appeasement of spirits through a carousel of sacrifices
and rituals designed to protect the supplicant. The pĕe héuan (good spirits) represent both the guardian
spirits of the house and ancestral spirits. In order to promote domestic happiness they're fed with Pep-
si, and come crisis time it's their job to recalibrate the troubled household.
In the backyard or garden, you'll often see what look like miniature ornamental temples, the pa
poom (spirits of the land). Their task is to protect the grounds from any malignant spirits; in Laos the
air is thick with them. Before anything is built within their grounds, offerings must be made and per-
mission granted. The same goes for a tree that must be knocked down to make way for a bridge, a
field before a harvest…and so on. It's an endless animistic communion between the seen and unseen,
the prosaic and the spiritual.
Arts & Architecture
The true expression of Lao art is found in its religious sculpture, temples and handicrafts.
Distinctively Lao is the Calling for Rain Buddha, a standing image with hands held rigidly
at his sides. Similarly widespread is the Contemplating the Bodhi Tree Buddha, with
crossed hands at the front.
Wats in Luang Prabang feature sĭm (chapels), with steep, low roofs. The typical Lao
tâht (stupa) is a four-sided, curvilinear, spirelike structure. There are also hints of classical
architectural motifs entering modern architecture, as with Vientiane's Wattay International
Airport.
Many of the beautiful villas from the days of Indochina were torn down by the new re-
gime in favour of harsh Soviet designs, though fortunately there are plenty of villas left,
with their distinctive shuttered windows and classic French provincial style.
Traditional Lao art has a more limited range than that of its Southeast Asian neigh-
bours, partly because Laos has a more modest history as a nation state and partly because
its neighbours have stolen or burnt what art did exist. Upland crafts include gold- and
silver-smithing among the Hmong and Mien tribes, and tribal Thai weaving (especially
among the Thai Dam and Thai Lü). Classical music and dance have all but evaporated,
partly due to the vapid tentacles of Thai pop and itinerant nature of Laos' young work-
force.
TOP OF CHAPTER