Buddhist Arts in Laos

Few studies have been dedicated to the subject, and the origin and development of this heritage remain largely unknown.

It must be said that historical research on Laos is itself rather backward, since :
 it is both ethno- and geo-centrist, relying essentially on the repetition, often without any critical analysis at all, of the Lao annals of Luang Prabang ;
 it is seriously limited on the chronological scale, as the texts do not allow us to go much further back than the fourteenth century, or even to before the sixteenth century for more reliable data ;
 it is flawed, moreover, in its methods, which are still mainly deprived of the usual associated sciences, notably archaeology.

Laos is, in effect, practically devoid of any excavations. The main political, economic and religious centres of Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Xieng Khouang and Champassak have never been subject to archaeological survey, and though some remains have been uncovered, this has always been the occasional by-product of construction or earthworks. For the rest of the country, it is no exaggeration to say that on the historical map it represents a veritable terra incognita.

Research is hardly any more advanced in the field of visible heritage, which is steadily becoming an economic asset. I wrote recently of the That Luang (photo 1), the most important religious monument in Laos, that “the standard perception of the structure is one of a compact and homogenous mass, unchanged over time. There is no awareness of its evolution : the That Luang seems to somehow exist outside of history”. This perception is, I believe, being applied to practically all the material vestiges of Laos – especially the statuary and architectural structures – at least those more than a hundred years old. History of art in Laos also lacks references and defined frameworks, whether they be chronological, geographic, or even ethnic.

The purpose of this paper is not to review the whole of the Buddhist arts in Laos. The subject is much too vast, and has already been quite well outlined by Madeleine Giteau, a former EFEO member, to whom I should like to pay tribute here, as two months ago she passed away at the age of 87. Madeleine Giteau was above all a Cambodia specialist, but she conducted several missions in Laos, and was particularly interested in the collections of the last Lao sovereign, and that of the Vat Ho Phra Keo Museum in Vientiane.

My objective here is rather to convey a certain number of new elements which allow us to reconsider the history of artistic practice in Laos, by clearly distinguishing aspects of a geographical, ethnic and chronological nature. Buddhist art seems here to be an especially interesting common thread, for it facilitates study of variations on how the same themes are treated by peoples of different regions and eras.

I mentioned just now artistic practice and Buddhist art. These terms should be defined : we now have the habit in the West – it was different in the past – of considering art as a expression of the human spirit, which can be detached from all external events and can thus be the product of individual and totally free feeling. The idea of art is today associated with that of ‘creation’ in the noblest sense of the word. It is very different in traditional societies, where what we call ‘art’ is in fact a communal expression of shared religious feeling, and is regarded purely as a ritual practice. For the general question of the spread of Buddhism, it would be interesting to study the importance of the role played by material production, including sculpture, painting and architecture, in the process leading to conversion to the religion. It is worth remembering that objects and monuments are believed to possess a holiness, a spiritual power, and so magical properties. In the practice of popular Buddhism, their importance was doubtless greater than that of the texts, which were barely or not at all understood, for they were visible, tangible, and themselves were identified as the divinity. Relics – worshipped from the earliest beginnings of Buddhism – are the best example of materials endowed with this religious symbolism. Construction of a stupa, of a Buddha image or footprint, is only the developed form of this need to physically represent an entity that people wish to worship.

Research currently being conducted by the EFEO centre in Vientiane across all the provinces of Laos – in the context of a programme to research and publish epigraphic sources – has given us a relatively clear view (though still to be better focused in the years to come) of the historical and cultural disparities that exist in this geographically complex country.

The Buddhist arts of Laos fall naturally into what is known as the ‘historic’ period of the country, since they are one of the manifestations of Indianization – to use the famous coinage of G. Cœdès – which is notable for the spread of scripts and the subsequent production of inscriptions on stele.

In fact, if the adoption of Indian beliefs and the use of scripts can indeed be considered as determining markers in the historical development of the peoples of Southeast Asia, it should be remembered that the history proper of these peoples did not begin there. As we shall soon see, what is currently Laos has also been marked by a civilisation that has left ornate steles of Buddhist character as its main material evidence. Between this stele civilisation – which there is a tendency to consider a proper entity, though it is not possible to assign it precise geographical and chronological limits – and the megalith culture of northern Laos, which is usually considered prehistoric, the gap may not be as large as might be believed. Some very recent discoveries – of megaliths covered with symbols believed to be linked to a solar cult, but also reminiscent of the principal decorative motif found on bronze drums – belong perhaps to a period of transition, though it is still too early to draw any conclusions in this matter.

From a purely chronological point of view, one might perhaps consider that the first manifestations of Buddhist art on current Lao territory belong to the pre-Angkorian culture. Part of the Khmer heritage preserved in Laos has enjoyed international recognition since the site of Vat Phou, an architectural complex situated in Champassak province, was inscribed on the World Heritage list of Unesco. Unfortunately, although this place has long been included in regional historical research (EFEO became interested in the site from 1900), and despite several important archaeological missions conducted over the past few years by the teams of my colleagues Marielle Santoni and Patrizia Zolèse, the history of the Khmer civilisation in these northern reaches remains poorly appreciated. The role of Buddhism in this history is one of the least understood aspects ; for example, I will mention the surprise detailed in one of the mission reports of Marielle Santoni, concerning the discovery in the ancient pre-Angkorian city situated at the foot of Vat Phou, in a spatial and religious context considered profoundly Hindu, of two circular plan architectural structures which have been identified as stupa. The presence of these Buddhist monuments should not be so astonishing however, since numerous pieces attesting to worship of the Buddha had already been found around Vat Phou, at times and in places that are often indeterminable. These pieces, of which I can show you some examples, have unfortunately never been studied. When art historians do look at them, they may perhaps find similarities with some pieces from Cambodia or Champa, or even more probably I personally believe, with the art of the Môn civilisation which was developing at the same time and nearby, in the northeast of Thailand.

Khmer archaeological studies in Laos have until recently concentrated on the Vat Phou site. Happily, they are now starting to be enlarged to cover the rest of Champassak province, which holds many other sites hidden in the vegetation or long-forgotten by researchers.

I would like to take this opportunity to mention that further north, and also forgotten by research, lies a temple known locally as Heuan Hin, the stone house, which is to my knowledge the northernmost Khmer temple in Laos, as it is situated in Savannakhet province more than 200 km upstream of Vat Phou. This temple, from the Angkorian period, is obviously linked to a Hindu cult, but it is interesting to note that from a later date, and one which I think is very recent, it was like Vat Phou reused for Buddhist worship. The centre of the sanctuary today contains several steles or bas-reliefs which have evidently been reworked, with their motifs modified in a manner that has often replaced very fine carving with images that are of somewhat lower quality.

I have just said that the northern limit of the Khmer presence in Laos can be fixed at the province of Savannakhet, where this monument lies. I would specify that on the right-hand bank of the Mekong the limit is further up, for there are other Khmer temples in the Thai province of Sakon Nakhorn. I absolutely reject the idea, held for the last hundred years, that there could have been a Khmer city located thirty kilometres downstream of Vientiane. I explain this at length in an article which I urge you to read if you wish to learn more of the details. It is true that there are several Khmer archaeological pieces in Vientiane and in Luang Prabang, but these pieces are of relatively modest size, and in my mind there is hardly any doubt that these were imported to the two cities, which were for centuries renowned Lao capitals, and moreover were important centres of trade and commerce. These Khmer pieces are almost all Buddhist in character and are linked to the end of the Angkorian period, in particular to the reign of Jayavarman VII. I will merely mention here two examples that figure among the most important objects conserved in the museums of Vat Ho Phra Keo and That Luang. The first is one of the famous hospital steles of Jayavarman VII. It provides evidence of the favour that Mahayana Buddhism enjoyed during this reign, but it was rediscovered in a place where no trace was found of the stone sanctuary that would normally, following well established policy, have been built next to the hospital. It is useful to note that at Ban Phan Na, a village in Sakon Nakorn province only a hundred kilometres away, there is a sanctuary from a Jayavarman VII hospital, regularly overlooked in the works on the Khmer temples of Thailand, but the stele that should be there is missing.

The second piece I will mention is a stone statue of the Buddha in the samadhi attitude, but which is presumed to have once been an image of Jayavarman VII – like others that have been found in Thailand and Cambodia – which has been reworked, especially in the area of the hair. The presence of this piece in Vientiane is in fact more surprising than the other remains of Khmer design. Relatively heavy, it is however by no means improbable that this could also have been imported. It is impossible though to say at what point in time it was reworked.

The That Luang museum, where the Jayavarman VII-Buddha statue is kept, is interesting for another reason : it is currently the repository of the majority of the Môn Buddhist vestiges that have been found in the Vientiane region and brought to the capital. This fact does not result from any planned museological policy, but rather happened by chance or necessity, for these pieces have always been difficult to identify – they might even be considered ugly – and were sorted and separated from those considered more fine and better made (in metal and in wood), which were placed in the museums of Vat Ho Phra Keo and Vat Sisaket in Vientiane. The objects kept at That Luang are in effect all in stone and often of great size. Study of them began in the 1970’s through Pierre-Marie Gagneux, who was the first to suggest their significance to historical understanding of the Vientiane Plain during the first millennium. This research was, unfortunately, brutally interrupted by political events. The Vientiane centre of the École française d’Extrême-Orient has for several years reawakened interest in this kind of artefact and one of its projects is to create an inventory of all pieces found within current Lao territory. They belong in fact to a Môn civilisation, distinct from that we know by the name of Dvaravati. This civilisation developed in northeast Thailand around sites such as Muang Fa Daet but extended well beyond the Mekong, as evidence of it can be found as far away as Cambodia, at Phnom Kulen. In Laos, the number of pieces so far identified is very large : they are mostly concentrated in the Vientiane plain, where several ancient religious sites have already been identified, but they are also found in certain central and southern provinces, such as Savannakhet. The main objects found are large ornate steles, which mostly display a stylised image of a stupa, the Buddhist symbol par excellence. These large steles were clearly intended to delineate a sacred space, for many of them were found in their original position, that is to say marking the cardinal and subcardinal points of the compass. Among the steles discovered recently, two bear inscriptions (these are currently being studied) : these can be added to the first inscribed stele, in the Môn language and script, found in 1969 and translated a few years later in an EFEO publication. The Buddhist character of this civilisation is also attested to by the large number of Buddha images which have been discovered. These are either in ronde-bosse, or carved on stele, or sculpted in bas-relief on rock. Different indicators (for example palaeographic study of the inscriptions, or stylistic analysis) allow us to say that these remains date from a period between the eighth and the tenth centuries. The use of the Sanskrit language in the inscriptions of northeast Thailand, and also certain iconographic details, lead us to think that the form of Buddhism practiced was not Theravada, but another school of Buddhism of the lesser vehicle, perhaps the Mulasarvastivada. It is notable that among these Buddhist artefacts several linga have been found, providing extra proof of the numerous mixes occurring between Buddhism and Hinduism over the course of Southeast Asian religious history.

If the parallels between Môn art and Khmer art are easy to draw – the two peoples had obvious historical relationships ; it is even possible that the Khmers were responsible for the extinction of the Môn culture in northeast Thailand, either by assimilation, or by forcing the Môn to move westwards – the links between Môn art and Lao art are often much less evident. As far as Buddhism is concerned, the Môn probably transmitted nothing to the Lao in a direct manner (if they had any influence, it came in through northern Thai culture), even if the Lao, in colonising the banks of the Mekong and its principal tributaries, settled on sites that the Mon had previously occupied. Vientiane is without doubt one of these places which was inhabited from early times by several types of population. The Lao found centuries-old Môn remains there (more are still discovered today during earthworks) and it is interesting to note that in certain cases, they reused them. Thus, we find steles featuring a stupa image, and dating from the end of the first millennium, that were from the sixteenth century carved with Lao inscriptions.

If the Lao who settled in the central Mekong valley were conscious that a form of Buddhism had been previously been practiced there, they themselves only adopted this religion when a new school of it – the Singhalese-inspired Theravada – was introduced into the region from the north. It was the Lan Na kingdom – and already flourishing cities like Chiang Mai and Chiang Saen – that introduced to the new Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, from the middle of the fifteenth century, scripts (fak kham and tham), religious and literary texts, art forms, and also a royal ideology, that of the cakravartin sovereign. This process of ‘rebuddhisization’ in the central Mekong valley can be perceived very clearly by analysis of the manuscripts (I have explained this in detail in other articles) but also through the study of epigraphic sources and archaeological evidence.

Until the middle of the sixteenth century, that is to say prior to the Burmese intrusion into the history of the region, the political and cultural influence of the powerful Tai kingdom of Lan Na covered the greater part of northeast Laos. Proof of this expansion was only provided very recently, by the discovery of sites such as Souvanna Khom Kham, whose history was obviously linked to that of Chiang Saen, but which, due to its position on the left hand bank of the Mekong, had long been ignored. Evidence can also be seen in certain architectural works, artefacts and remains just discovered in the Muang Sing area, near the current border with Yunnan. From the end of the sixteenth century, following the decline of the Lan Na kingdom, the history of northwest Laos becomes extremely confused, for both written sources and archaeological evidence are absent. It is probable then that for more than two centuries, the practice of Buddhism was extremely limited and even that it disappeared. It reappeared however at the beginning of the nineteenth century with the Lue, another Tai group, though under a rather different form, as shown by the material evidence that has survived. While the texts may still be very close to those that can be found from the old kingdoms of Lan Na and Lan Xang (though studies in this matter are still at the early stage), the architectural and artistic expressions appear to be relatively poor. The wooden Buddha images that have survived are usually of small size and of rather crude workmanship in comparison with the large bronze images that were earlier produced in some quantity in Lan Na. The temples also appear to be much more modest structures, and their foundation was no longer recorded on stone steles. This was not only due to a break in the transmission of technical skills. The reasons for this impoverishment of material expression are rather more linked to a totally different political and economic context : the Lue of Laos had never established any powerful kingdom, nor any significant commercial centres. On the contrary, they had been the victims of the political expansions of their neighbours and had often been forced to move, notably towards the south. In the Lao province of Sayaboury, and also in the neighbouring Thai province of Nan, is a Buddhist heritage very close to that found around Muang Sing, on the border with China. The study of these remains provides us with very valuable information on the history of population movements.

The history of the Lao kingdoms spanned a period of around six hundred years, from the beginning of the fourteenth to the end of the nineteenth centuries, and essentially unfolded in the Mekong valley between the confluence with the Nam Tha, which forms the northern limit of Luang Prabang’s territory, and the falls of Li Phi, which today mark the border with Cambodia. The oldest Lao Buddhist remains are concentrated around the old capitals of Luang Prabang and Vientiane, as well as in formerly important political and economic centres, slightly further downstream, such as Muang Pak Huay Luang – now the Thai city of Phon Phixay – or Muang Lakhon – on the site of the modern Lao city of Thakhaek. It was in this last muang that the earliest Lao inscription has been discovered, linked to the foundation of a temple and dated to 1493. Its script, the composition of its text, and the presence of a horoscopic disc all directly point to the cultural and religious influence of Lan Na.

If a form of Buddhism was clearly practiced among the Lao from the fourteenth century (it is impossible to find solid evidence proving earlier adoption), it is however very probable that religious art did not develop until the middle of the sixteenth century, following the links tied between the royal dynasties of Lan Na and Lan Xang. The first bronze Buddha images in Laos were brought from the former of these kingdoms, as suggested by the chronicles, but also by the style of the oldest datable images found, as well as by analysis of their inscriptions (palaeography and the calendrical system used). It is equally probable that the artisans of Lan Na played a very significant role in the construction of the first Lao stupas, particularly those of royal importance, such as the That Luang.

Lao Buddhist art particularly evolved during the whole of the seventeenth century, a period regarded as the golden age of the greater Lan Xang kingdom. It remained at a high level of production in the two separate kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vientiane, until the end of the nineteenth century and even into the twentieth century for the former, and until 1828 for the latter, when the city of Vientiane was sacked and its population deported. In Luang Prabang, works of Buddhist art continue to be conserved in the various temples, and no museum for them has been established – except perhaps the Royal Palace Museum, which contains the collections of the last king of Laos. In Vientiane, such art works are mainly kept in the temple museums of Vat Sisaket and Vat Ho Phra Keo.

I have already mentioned that the south of Laos is rich in Khmer remains, some of which are of great antiquity. It is interesting to note that the Lao culture in this area is extremely poor in terms of Buddhist heritage with no religious images of any great age. Buddhism seems not to have spread into this region until the beginning of the eighteenth century, with the creation of a political entity, Champassak, that was independent of Vientiane (though very quickly integrated into the Siamese sphere of influence). It is likely that truly ethnic Lao population was for a longtime a small minority in this area and that its progressive development was in fact the result of a slow assimilation of very different populations. Physical differences are still very marked among the people here, suggesting a very recent blending and acculturation. This process is still occurring today with the resettlement of minorities from their highland and forest homes to the lowland plains.

The province of Xieng Khouang, consisting of a vast plateau in the northeast of Laos, is without doubt the part of the country that is home to the most mysteries. Aside from the famous stone jars, scattered by the thousand across the plain, and which continue to amaze visitors, there are also some surprising historical remains. Rare, for they are survivors of various destructive wars that have plagued the region until recently, they are however testimony to the richness of a particular Buddhist culture – that of the Tai Phouan – and to the privileged place that this culture occupied on a regional scale. The few monumental remains that survive show, through their size and architectural technique, both the importance that was afforded to Buddhism, and the considerable economic resources that were traded in this area. Multiple influences are still visible. The statuary, which perhaps provides the best indication, shows for the oldest pieces the stamp of Lan Na, while certain pieces up to around the beginning of the nineteenth century bear the mark of Vientiane. There is also some suggestion of a more northern influence, still difficult to ascertain, but probably of Burmese origin.

Hua Phan province, situated beyond the plateau of Xieng Khouang and also well known for its prehistoric remains, equally constitutes a special case for historical research and I will finish with this example. Inhabited by numerous ethnic minorities, some of whom belong to the greater Tai linguistic family – the White Tai and the Red Tai for instance – it represents the ultimate stage in the geographic progression of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia, like a beach where a wave finally dies, leaving only the slightest imprint. Temples are rare, thinly distributed, and small in size. Buddhist images are almost non-existent, or display a relationship with the kingdom of Vientiane, for whom this region long represented the furthest extent of its political power.

Through various examples of Buddhist art from different parts of Laos, I have merely presented you with the main lines of the history of the spread of a religious culture, a history which is still to be clarified. It can be noted however that this history, far from being a continuous process, was marked by significant breaks. The archaeological evidence that has been revealed over recent years across Lao territory shows great disparities between provinces, mainly due to the very heterogenous characters of their inhabitants and the cultures they developed. Buddhism often played a major role in this. We have seen that in the first millennium it left its imprint on the Khmer and Mon civilisations, whose centres were located in the southern areas, but whose influence reached up to parts of what is today Laos ; we have then observed that the practice of Buddhism in these more northern areas seems to have ceased for several centuries – and that the absence of evidence here results in large voids in our historical knowledge of the region. It is only from the beginning of the fifteenth century, thanks again to the material remains of Buddhism, that a part of this history becomes clear once more, but it is this time linked to the destiny of Tai peoples who imposed themselves politically, economically and culturally throughout the greater part of the central Mekong valley. The development of Buddhism is certainly linked, for a very great part, to the production of works which provided a material support to practice of the religion, but which also themselves conveyed a spiritual value, proportional to the monumental character of these works and to their technical and aesthetic quality. It is relatively easy now, through critical analysis of the manuscripts and inscriptions, to identify the stages of Buddhism’s spread over current Lao territory. Resources from the history of art also provide some extremely important evidence, which unfortunately has been under-utilised. The objective of this paper has only been to distinguish, in the documentary body that is now starting to be representative of all the Buddhist artistic traditions that developed in Laos, some coherent subsets. There are still numerous further prospects for research in this country however. By this very condensed presentation, I hope to have contributed to raising interest in a field of study that is steadily becoming more promising.

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