CONTEXTS - The Rough Guide to Laos - page 420

THE BASI
While travelling in Laos, you'll probably come across many lowland Lao wearing one or
more bracelets of white thread around their wrists. This is a sign that the wearer has re-
cently taken part in a basi , the quintessential Lao ceremony of animist bent, which is per-
formed throughout the year. Also known as sukhuan , the ceremony is supposed to reunite
the body's multiple souls, which are thought to succumb to wanderlust and depart from the
body every now and again. Basi ceremonies are held during Lao New Year as well as being
an important part of weddings, births and farewell parties.
Before the ceremony can be performed, an auspicious time must be gleaned from an as-
trologer, and a phakhuan - made from rolled banana leaves and resembling a miniature
Christmas tree - must be prepared. The phakhuan is decorated with marigolds and other
flowers, and draped with white threads. This arrangement sits in a silver bowl filled with
husked rice, which is placed in the centre of a mat laid out on the floor. Participants sit
in a circle around the phakhuan and offerings of food and liquor are placed near it. These
are used to entice the absent souls to return. An animist priest , known as a maw phawn
or “wish-doctor”, presides over the ceremony, inviting the souls to return with a mixture
of Pali and Lao chants. The white threads that are draped over the phakhuan are then re-
moved and tied around the wrists of the participants while blessings are invoked. During
the basi ceremony performed at Lao New Year, each thread tied around the wrist may be
accompanied by a shot of rice liquor, and this sometimes leads to an impromptu lam wong ,
or “circle dance”, performed by euphoric participants.
While trips operating from major tourist centres may include the chance to experience a
basi ceremony, these have always been set up especially for the benefit of visitors. Altern-
atively, you may find yourself invited to partake in one if you travel out to more remote
towns and villages, where locals are often keen for foreigners to join the party.
Other beliefs
The Mien also worship Taoist deities, painted images of which are traditionally displayed
on the Mien altar. Hinduism , or Brahmanism, was first introduced to what is now southern
and central Laos by the Khmer, who adopted many Hindu traditions and beliefs from Indian
traders who began arriving in the ports of Southeast Asia in the first century AD. While the
Laos' recognition of Hindu divinities is minimal compared with that of their Thai cousins,
two such deities, namely the multi-armed, four-faced Brahma and the green-skinned Indra ,
have become icons in the Theravada Buddhist pantheon and so are commonly depicted in Lao
monasteries. Images of Ganesh , the so-called elephant god, can be found on the premises
of some Buddhist monasteries and shrines, particularly in the south. The shivalinga , or stone
phallus symbolizing the god Shiva , was commonly enshrined at ancient Khmer temples and,