CONTEXTS - The Rough Guide to Laos - page 424

outside of the province at Wat Khili in Luang Prabang. Examples of architecture produced
by the Tai Leu are very similar to that found in the Xishuangbanna region of China's Yun-
nan province. The sim at Muang Sing's Wat Sing Jai is a picturesque example of the Tai Leu
style.
Decorative features on the sim and other structures found at a Lao wat are in a variety of
mediums. Carved wood, moulded stucco and, to a lesser extent, mirrored-glass mosaics typ-
ically ornament the exterior while, inside, detailed murals cover entire walls. Doors and win-
dows of the sim are often made from teakwood, ornately carved with the figures of celestial
beings or demons upon a background of stylized flames or floral forms known as lai lao -
“Lao pattern”. The structure's wooden pediments - triangular segments of the upper facade
that support the roof - are another place to look for pleasing examples of lai lao , along with
carved depictions of Hindu deities such as Kala and Indra atop Airavata. Many of these mo-
tifs have origins in ancient Khmer ornamentation, such as that found at Wat Phou in Cham-
pasak province. Lao stuccowork is sometimes gilt-covered and almost always looks better
from a distance. The use of stucco for ornamentation was introduced to Laos by the Khmer or
possibly the Mon, but the methods and designs of Lao stuccowork owe more to the Tai Yuan
of what is now northern Thailand. Likewise, the use of mirrored glass also came to Laos via
Thailand. The mosaics at Wat Xieng Thong are Laos's most famous example of ornamenta-
tion using this medium but the works are modern, having been created in the late 1950s. Lao
murals are meant to be read like a story and those found on the walls of the sim usually depict
one of the tales from the Jataka tales, the Lao version of the Ramayana , or scenes of local
life.
The Lao belief that religious merit can be made by restoring old monastery buildings en-
sures that nearly all Lao sim are restored every fifty years or so. The artisans who restore
these buildings are under little pressure to be true to an earlier design. Indeed, it is believed
that the more lavish the new design, the more merit is likely to be made by the patron who
commissioned the restoration. The result is that much of the decoration on Buddhist build-
ings in Laos is nowhere near as old as the structure it adorns.
Textiles
The matrilineal society of the lowland Lao and tribal Tai meant that when a man married, he
immediately set up house on the property of his new bride's parents. Sometimes this entailed
leaving his home village and subsequently, when this couple's son came of age, he would
do the same. With such a custom, men's roots in a village were never deep and this was re-
flected by their simple dress: it told almost nothing of a man's background. Women, on the
other hand, were the heirs to a weaving tradition that reflected their ethnic and geographical
origins. Techniques improved with each new generation and were passed on.